
            
                It looks like we don't have a Synopsis for this title yet. Be the first to contribute! Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Synopsis submission guide.
            
    

Modern Dinosaurs


            The death of Englishman David Sharp in May 2006 as he attempted to reach the summit of Mt Everest for the 3rd time thrust the debate surrounding commercial high altitude guiding firmly back onto the front pages of the worlds newspapers. Not since the 1996 Everest disaster recounted in Jon Krakauers book Into Thin Air had the morality and ethics of climbing in the Death Zone above 8,000 metres been questioned so loudly. Before the climbers involved had even returned to their Base Camp, the claims that blind summit fever caused them to turn their backs heartlessly on a stricken comrade were being levelled by the media.Mark Inglis, who had passed Sharp on the way up the mountain becoming the first double amputee to reach the summit, has claimed that he and other mountaineers tried to assist but, that after enduring a night of minus 30 degree temperatures without shelter or oxygen, there was little that could be done to save Sharp.The first person to climb Everest in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary, entered the fray criticising Inglis and his team and saying they should have abandoned their climb and tried to save him. According to Hillary I think it is the responsibility of every human being. Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of the mountain. Hillary said he would have abandoned his own pioneering climb to save another climber.To the casual observer it appears brutally callous that fellow mountaineers would not stop to help a climber who had been caught out and subsequently collapsed after spending a night in the Death Zone. Speaking for a past generation of mountaineers, Sir Edmund was appalled that Sharp was apparently left to perish.The worlds media latched onto these comments giving Mark Inglis and his fellow climbers little opportunity to defend themselves. But Inglis has his own story to tell. So too does his climbing companion, veteran Himalayan guide and cameraman Mark Whetu. Whetu lost his toes and nearly his own life trying to rescue his friend Mike Rheinburger from the summit of Everest over a decade before. Facing a similar situation this year on Everest, Inglis and Whetu knew a rescue attempt so high on the mountain would have endangered the lives of others.So who is right?In Dying for Everest we hear their stories and witness the strange effect Everest has on the rules of survival. And at the end, we are able to judge for ourselves the morality of climbing in the Death Zone.
    

Dying for Everest


            Every climbing season hundreds of mountaineers steel themselves to ascend Mt Everest knowing they might not return.Australian Mike Rheinberger, 52, had tried six times to reach the summit and failed. The seventh time he would not give up. With New Zealand cameraman, Mark Whetu, to record the great moment of his life, he summitted. Perhaps he should have been more concerned that it was so late in the day and their hopes of descending to camp 6 were disappearing in the sunset, but Mike was possessed by a dream that would soon become a nightmare.Mark had wanted to turn back but would not desert Mike. As night fell they realised they could not return to camp. They decided to bivouac on a ridge just below the summit. All night they huddled together in the freezing cold. They knew they were gambling with their lives.The next morning Mike was suffering altitude sickness and could descend only with extreme effort. By midday he had suffered cerebral oedema and could not keep going. The position for Mark Whetu was also critical. His feet were badly frostbitten and it was not likely he would survive another night on the summit, but he refused to leave his comrade. All day, Mark struggled in vain to bring Mike to safety. It was only after continuous pleading on the radio from the expedition leader that late in the day Mark was persuaded to save his own life and return to the base where his rescuers waited. Mark was to make it back to safety, but the body of Mike Rheinberger remains preserved on the frozen summit that he so dearly wanted to climb.Back in Marks hometown, Queenstown, Mark spent two years recovering from an operation to remove all of his toes. He went into a deep depression and could not forget the loss of his friend. But his friends in Queenstown made it something of a crusade to take Mark Whetu back to the Himalayas in the hope that he could rest the spirit of Reinburger and restore his confidence as a mountain guide. They return to Tibet and climb the sixth highest mountain in the world, ChoOyu. From the summit they get a perfect view of Mount Everest and celebrate the return of Mark Whetu, mountain guide.
    

James Heyward

James Heyward Movies or Tv Shows (upto Nov 2026) - Watch Online

Your region:
USA

Fan Zone

Streaming Availability

Releases by Year

Top Genres

Average IMDB Score

James Heyward's Movies and Tv Series available to Stream now ..