Last year around this time, we got up before the sun rises on a Saturday to go to the Upper East Side of Manhattan to The Explorers Club. The Explorers Club is "an international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. Since its inception in 1904, the Club has served as a meeting point and unifying force for explorers and scientists worldwide." The Club is filled with stuffed polar bears, free coffee, ancient scientific and camping equipment, old flags, and loads of pictures from its' 100+ year history. There was a film festival going on that day that featured a film about eels in Australia and a Jean Michel Costeau film about sharks. Pretty great stuff and a wonderful place to watch a movie with a bunch of sharply dressed 60 somethings. Anyway, there's another one going on real soon and it looks like it might be better than last year. The film is the Conquest Of Everest:
The classic 1953 feature documentary of the British expedition to Mt. Everest, led by Sir John Hunt, which culminated in Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay's historic summit. Directed by George Lowe. 90 mins.Introduced by Norman Dyhrenfurth, Honorary Club Fellow, who led the first successful American team to Mt. Everest, having spent three years on the organization and fundraising of this privately-mounted venture. Mr. Dyhrenfurth is coming from his home in Austria as theFestival's honored guest.