Dynamic Summit a Climb of Heroism and Tragedy
It is the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Out of every four climbers who make it to the top only three will make it back down again alive. It is K2, most commonly known as ‘Savage Mountain,’ an extension of the northwestern Himalayan Mountain range, and ascending to its summit takes an uncommon amount of bravery, smarts, skill, luck and, yes, stupidity very few human beings anywhere on the planet possess.
PHOTO: IFC Films
The Summit chronicles an August 2008 attempt on K2 by a group of about 20 climbers from around the world, 18 of whom would ultimately reach the top. But of that group only nine would come back down alive, 11 members of the group losing their lives between the time the current day came to a close and the sun rose on a new morning.
Director Nick Ryan focuses most directly upon climber Ger McDonnell, the first Irishman to ever reach the summit and who subsequently died under highly mysterious circumstances. While the majority of the remaining tragedies could be attributed to dumb luck or some other unforeseen calamity, his death, how it happened, the reasons behind it, were never conclusively ascertained, journalists covering the event moving on to other stories before the truth could be discovered.
Ryan juxtaposes this story with that of Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, McDonnell’s good friend and a heroic Sherpa who would go against mountaineering codes to rescue a number of stranded climbers. Also added to the mix is the historical account of the successful 1954 assault on K2 by Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni as well as the controversies that surrounded it. Utilizing raw footage shot by the climbers themselves as well as new images of the mountain utilizing reenactments staged by the director and supervised by Pemba, the movie is full of awe-inspiring visuals that makes the danger involved in trying to reach the peak viscerally palpable for the viewer.
The film is filled with interviews with climbers and members of the support team who were on the mountain during that fateful day, all putting in their two cents as to what happened and why things tragically went the way they did. They talk honestly about the mountaineering code, about how going out of your way to help others who are injured or are in trouble is typically an unwritten no-no. It also attempts to bring additional insight into the mentality that allows this thought process to take hold and blossom, and in the process Ryan composes an intimate look at the people who take these risks knowing that a full quarter of those who do the same will not return home alive.
This all help make McDonnell’s and Pemba’s stoies so interesting and unusual. Ger’s family refused to believe the man and climber they knew would just give up just as he was hours away from safety, that he would mindlessly walk back up the mountain to his death. They felt there had to be more to it, that something else was going on, and in the end they feel journalists gave up on the story when the sensationalism of what transpired dissipated, no one going out of their way to discover the actual truth.
And they were right. There was more to the story. In the end, McDonnell went against the mountaineering code and attempted something superhuman. But where Pemba’s similar efforts met with success, earning him the title of National Geographic magazine’s 2008 adventurer of the year, his friend’s exertions were met with nothing but tragedy. The fickle nature of the mountain upended McDonnell’s attempts to save additional live, and for all his skill as a mountaineer by all accounts bad luck and even worse weather proved to be obstacles to gigantic for him to be able to overcome.
PHOTO: IFC Films
I do feel like the movie could have dug a little deeper, that some of the reenactments come across as forced and a little false no matter how skillfully they’ve been crafted. Additionally, not all of the interviews add as much insight as I think Ryan intends, and while stuff detailing the 1954 expedition is interesting, how it relates to what happened in 2008 isn’t always clear.
But The Summit is still a fascinating watch, the director utilizing the raw footage shot by the climbers and the recollections of those that were there when this catastrophe took place quite expertly. Ryan manages to tell a story of quiet heroism in the face of unspeakable tragedy, the life and death struggles on the face of K2 telling a tale of the indefatigable power of the human spirit that’s undeniably universal.
Film Rating: 3 (out of 4)
