Meru: Odisea En El Himalaya

While far to old and out of shape to consider technical climbing, I recently watched 3 seasons of Everest and am hooked on the extreme sport. Meru is every bit as exciting and well produced as those 3 seasons. Thank you for sharing your life with me.

According to Wikipedia, Mount Meru is “…is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the center of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes.” It is in the Himalayan mountain range and has an elevation of 6,600 meters (21,850 ft.). Thus, Meru is not anywhere close to being in the fabled group of 14 8,000-meter mountains. But Meru, just a couple thousand feet higher than Kilimanjaro, which numerous non-climbers simply walk up, is one of the very hardest mountains of earth to climb, with the summit only successfully being achieved in 2011. This documentary demonstrates why it is SO difficult, requiring a complete range of excellent mountain-climbing skills.Conrad Anker was the driving force behind the expeditions to Meru. Regrettably I had never heard of him before, though he seems to have been featured on numerous periodicals in the field. His chief claim to fame, somewhat ironically, is finding George Mallory’s body on Everest, where it had laid for 75 years, fairly well-preserved, due to the cold. Anker was accompanied by two other very accomplished mountaineers, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk. As Anker says, alpine sports, particularly in the Himalayas, is the most dangerous of sports. The three tried to summit Meru in 2008. For four days they were in their hanging tent, on a ledge, unable to move due to a raging snow storm. As a result, they were low on food. If there was ever a classic example of “discretion is the better part of valor,” when they resumed their climb, they demonstrated it by turning back within a mere 150 meters of the summit. Too late in the day, and zero margin for error. They lived to see “that other day,” the successful climb in 2011.I found all three to be quite likable individuals. Sure, you have to be a bit obsessive and focused. Even if I was 22… and I am now far from it… I don’t think I’d take up mountaineering, preferring the many gentler walks on this earth. Still, it must be a truly great sport, without human opponents. It requires a combination of mental and physical skills, and excellent judgment in how to deal with the unexpected. And your life is literally in your buddy’s hands, so select them well. Jon Krakauer, who wrote “Into Thin Air,” about a disastrous Everest expedition, involving a very bad turn in the weather, provides some excellent incisive narration. Jennifer Lowe-Anker also provides some meaningful commentary. She is now Anker’s wife; she had been married to Anker’s best friend, Lowe, but he died in an avalanche, which almost took Anker’s life also. She had three children by Lowe, which Anker adopted. Keeping it all in the “mountaineer family.”There is a lot of stunning photography and, at least of the mountain, it appears to be done exclusively by the three climbers. They never really explain any of the issues involved in keeping the all-important visual documentation going – for example, they had to have at least two cameras and even in the digital age, there were issues involving the cold and the camera’s usage.“Real men” carry their own gear. And do they ever. Just the amount of climbing rope and carabiners were significant, but never specifically explained. There is one scene of them pulling a 200-pound bag up the hill, with ropes. In general, the gritty logistics are omitted, with the focus being on the spirit of the men and their project. Between the 2008 and 2011 expeditions, both Chin and Ozturk had near-death experiences on the mountains. Chin rather wryly relates an anecdote about his mom, who had fled the Communist takeover in China to start a new life in America. She was quite disappointed in his choice of vocations but extracted one promise: “Just don’t die before me.” He makes that commitment, a useful factor in calculating the “margin for error.”A great film on mountaineering, including those who are obsessed with the straightforward explanation, as Mallory once proclaimed: “Because it is there.” 5-stars, plus.

well done great stories about three climbers.

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I think Chin has matured quite well as a filmmaker, and this was his first major document that received a lot of popularity. Meru deserves the praise, as the climb up the Shark Fin is no joke. You have to haul a lot of gear up there, and being caught in any kind of storm is usually a disaster, as is concisely showed here on the first ascent.The film does a good job of honoring the three main climbers and their past partners as well the tragedies in each of their lives. It's quite crazy that Renan went for it on the second ascent, but the life these guys live is for the climb.Yes, there is some ego involved, but the proceedings here are all very calm for the most part. Desperation is seen through breathing rates, the eyes, and the memories of their struggles. I found each of these guys fairly likeable, so I will have to disagree with some of those negative reviews. I don't think the film blew me away or anything, but it was incredibly solid and an easy watch all the way through for someone that mostly just hikes 14ers when I have time.Chin is a fellow native from MN! Conrad has a long history of climbing, and Renan brings in the resilience that they needed to get to the top together. The pitches on this thing are just busted in that kind of weather with all the weight they have. Portaledges are scary on this peak, that is for damn sure. And they use a lot of them. You really need trust all your climbing party here. In life and death. Conrad does some absolutely mean looking leads near the top of the Shark Fin, and it's good there were no major accidents on their first ascent or even the second.I think people looking for drama probably need to look elsewhere, though, I felt the drama here was in fine form. I mean, what more drama do you need? One guy almost died skiing, another has had multiple friends die, and the other guy is trying to make a coherent documentary about it all while having suffered a miraculous avalanche that he somehow came out of unscathed. All that and we aren't even talking about the peak Meru. Come on man.This is hardcore mountain climbing. And it has some extremely beautiful photography. That is enough for me.

One of the best documentaries when considering the story and the cinematography. All three of these guys are amazing people!!!

I decided to watch this film as a fan of Jimmy Chin's photojournalism and work for NatGeo. First film of his I watched was Free Solo, but this one (Meru) has been on my list for 5 years. I watched it just now because I decided to pick up my DSLR again and wanted some inspiration. I really should have watched it years ago when it first came out. The film is not only breathtaking in photographic / film shots but it is also a humbling story about man's sublime relationship with the mountains and a superb demonstration of the athleticism, intense study of nature, physical coordination, excellent physical and vocal communication, and tuned skills of survival of these three men on this peak. I highly recommend this documentary as a document of man and the sublime in nature and as a humbling reminder of how nature has dominion over mankind.

Outstanding movie and probably my favourite mountaineering film (although it is so much more than that). The back story compliments the film perfectly. We get to know the guys climbing, get to glimpse into their world. Then there's the climb which is brilliantly shot by Jimmy and Renan as they climb. Highly recommended and well put together. (As someone else has mentioned just use caution if watching with children only in that the F word is used.)

What a fantastic film. It’s gripping from start to finish. I’ve watched this at least 10 times and could watch it over and over again. Jimmys filming is very good for someone up a mountain (meru) good soundtrack too.

One of the best documentaries I've seen. Highly recommended. Also very insipirational.

Loved it, thought needed just a little more footage of the actual climbing to be 5*...but then those guys spent much of the time in such precarious, freezing conditions, filming was highly dangerous!

Excellent film - lost track of time while I was watching so was completely moved by a tough decision they had to make regarding the climb half-way through the documentary (I thought it was nearly over at the time). The filming is fantastic - never would have dreamed it possible with just the three men on the mountain.