The Man Who Skied Down Everest
and
Vertical Frontier
Admission: $5
Two award winning films, four showings: Man Who Skied Down Everest: 2:30 - 4:00, 6:30 - 8:00
Vertical Frontier: 4:30 - 6:00, 8:30 - 10:00
An action packed program of high mountain courage artistically captured by renowned cinematographers!
The Man Who Skied Down Everest documents one of the greatest
sports
achievements in history - one man alone, skiing down the slope of
Mt.
Everest.The Man Who Skied Down Everest was Japanese skier Yuichiro Miura. Given the number of people who have died trying to simply climb up Mount Everest, Miura's accomplishment is all the more astonishing. This 86-minute Canadian-Japanese documentary details Miura's lifelong obsession in achieving his goal, and concludes with breathtaking footage of his 1970 climbing-and-descending expedition. It was chosen as Winner of the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary in 1975.
This acclaimed film features adventurer, poet, and world champion skier Yuichiro Miura as he and his climbing team face the most challenging climb in the world -- an ascent up Mt. Everest. They faced an icefall that claimed 6 lives, still considered the worst natural disaster accident in Himalayan history. With a 35mm Panavision film crew in tow, they climbed to the South Col, only 350 meters from the very summit of Everest, where Miura put his life in the hands of the Gods. Using oxygen and a parachute to help slow him down from the 120 mph he would have reached, Miura skied over 7000 feet over sheer ice and rocks. Then, his parachute caught a gust of wind which unbalanced him. He hit a boulder and fell 1,320 feet, smashing into rocks and ice ridges. Miraculously, he hit a patch of snow which allowed his fall to end - less than 200 feet from the Bergshrund Crevasse.
The final climax has been called the most exciting six minutes of film ever shot, as Miura plummets helplessly down Everest's unforgiving icy slopes toward certain death below.
Possibly the first truly extreme skiing film ever produced, The Man Who Skied Down Everest is more than a simple adventure film. It is a portrait of a man who is an athlete and a world record holder. It is a document of an arduous and treacherous trek in the Himalayas that left six people dead. It is a timeless story of courage, and one man's incredible dream to do the impossible. With its heart-pounding, death-defying climax, it is reality film at its most intense.
Yuichiro Miura is still achieving spectacular heights...in May of 2002 he and his son Gota reached the summit of Mt. Cho Oyu (8,201m), the sixth highest mountain in the world.
From John Muir in the 1860s to the super athletes of today ,
Kristi Denton
Cohen's feature documentary, Vertical Frontier, is the
character-driven
story of the art, sport and philosophy of climbing the legendary
big walls
of Yosemite. Illustrated by spectacular old and new footage shot
on those
granite walls, the story is told by the climbers. Their ranks
include David
Brower, Royal Robbins, Yvon Chouinard, Jim Bridwell, Lynn Hill,
Hans
Florine, Dean Potter and many more. Narrated by Tom Brokaw, this
film won
Best Film on Climbing at the prestigious Banff Mountain Film
Festival in
2002. It has since screened to sold-out audiences at numerous
international
film festivals."A must see. While the footage appeals to the hardcore adventurer, the spectacular scenery and the character of those who climb make it interesting for even those who get acrophobia..." - Santa Barbara Press.
The producer has promised to donate ALL of the net profits from Vertical Frontier to non-profits that support the mountain environment, such as the Sierra Club, the American Alpine Club and the Access Fund.
Kristi Denton Cohen has been producing and directing award-winning documentary, non-profit, commercial, educational and corporate videos and events for more than 15 years. She has a B.A. from Denver University and an M.A. in Broadcast Communications from San Francisco State University.
Siskiyou Arts Council
PO Box 597 Mt. Shasta CA 96067
530-926-0355
arts@siskiyouartscouncil.org
All materials © 2003 Siskiyou Arts Council. All rights reserved.