The Man Who Skied Down Everest
10 Feb
If you haven’t seen this one, you should. (If you’re in New York, the MoMA is playing it this Friday afternoon along with a bunch of other old environmental documentaries throughout the month. Check the calendar here.) The Man Who Skied Down Everest is the 1975 Academy Award-winning documentary about Yuichiro Miura, a Japanese alpinist who skied down Mt. Everest in 1970. Miura skied 6,600 feet in 2 minutes and 20 seconds and fell 1,320 feet down the steep Lhotse face from the Yellow Band just below the South Col. He used a large parachute to slow his descent and came to a full stop just 250 feet from the edge of the crevasse. The movie’s narration comes from Miura’s personal diary and the awesome soundtrack from Nexus.
Eight died during the expedition’s ascent.
Watch: Yuichiro Miura skies down 6600 feet of Mount Everest in 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
I remember watching the movie on tv as a kid, I’d love to see the entire film again as it has been so many years. All I remember of the film is the big wipeout.
I thought this documentary was just okay… I mean, I like when he’s showing off his training for the sherpas but just what was the point of his whole adventure? Surely the two minutes when he actually skis down Everest weren’t worth 8 people dying; I’ve always felt so bad for sherpas, such an awful plight…