The Wildest Dream: Conquest Of Everest
This BBC documentary about an ambitious climb of Mt. Everest is compelling in scale and stunning in its vistas.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under Programming, Reviews
Sunday night is bound to be all about The Block and Underbelly: Razor  but there is another offering that is definitely worth your attention.
The Wildest Dream: Conquest Of Everest is a fascinating BBC documentary.
In 1999 US mountaineer Conrad Anker found the frozen corpse of Britain’s George Mallory at 26,760 feet on the mountain. Mallory and fellow mountaineer Sandy Irvine were last seen in 1924, 800 feet below the summit. For Anker It must have been like finding the Titanic…
On Mallory’s body, Anker found all that Mallory had carried on his expedition, save for one item -the photograph of his wife he said he would leave on the top of Everest.
Did it mean he had conquered Everest years before Sir Edmund Hillary and perished on his descent?
Mallory was the man who, when asked by a journalist why he wanted to climb the world’s highest peak, famously replied, “Because it’s there.”
Together with UK rock climber Leo Houlding, Anker now attempts to retrace Mallory’s steps, wearing nothing but the same attire as Mallory and Irvine, to prove their feat was possible.
As if that isn’t trepidatious enough, they are accompanied by a film crew carrying their equipment all the way to the top to capture this achievement. Amazing.
Narrated by Liam Neeson and rich in its stunning vistas, this is a compelling tale.
Following the feature ABC will also screen Everest: Shooting The Impossible which is an equally-fascinating look at how the documentary was filmed.
If you are a sucker for icy films like Touching the Void and Alive (and I don’t know why, but I am!) then this is a must-see.
The Wildest Dream: Conquest Of Everest airs 8:30pm Sunday on ABC1
Everest: Shooting The Impossible airs 10pm Sunday on ABC2
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- Tagged with Everest: Shooting The Impossible, The Block, Underbelly
4 Responses
Was amazing! Loved it. Want it on Blu-Ray.
This sort of programme cries out for HD, so bad luck if you want that.
Interestingly it was shown on BBC/BBCHD last night 17/8.
It’s such an intriguing story and yes I agree Secret Squirrel, the scenery is enough in itself for me to take a look.
Thanks David
Agree, worth a look for the scenery alone. Just to add to what David wrote – it’s really two docos in one as it also includes archival footage of Mallory plus Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson read out letters from Mallory and his wife. This was also Richardson’s last film before her death.