Discovery channel has a new documentary on the Everest “Everest – Beyond the limit“. I have been eagerly expecting this show for a few weeks now since it came to my knowledge that it is going to be broadcast here.

I caught the first episode and sad to say, it was a serious let down. The documentary does not inspire awe nor does it move you enough to take up climbing instead of channel surfing. I guess the problem here is multi fold:

1. There have been enough documentaries on the Everest and more books written (some of them very well too) that little more can be added to how difficult it is to climb the mountain.
2. Everest has almost become a tourist destination – all you need is a ticket (though an expensive one at 40 – 60 K USD)
3. This makes climbing Everest a event for the rich and not to mention the commercialization of climbing Everest with numerous sponsors.
4. Logistical issues are managed by large organizers and though unexpected things happen high up, it is nothing to write home about – unexpected things happen when I take my bus to work.
5. The cost of a mistake on higher altitude is death – which people sign up for anyway.
6. If one is unable to proceed higher up – due to any form of altitude sickness, they have two choices, push ahead and lose life (signed up for) or go down and lose the cost of the non-refundable ticket. The biggest tragedy for someone not able to climb seems to be the loss of money. Sad.

Note that I am not saying that the risks are unreal etc… but just that we all understand it and it is time to stop talking about the risks and talk about more interesting things. 500+ people attempt the climb every season – some summit, some don’t , some get sick some die. Nothing more there is to it.

The problem with the documentary seems to be that it is modeled more on the reality TV format of recent days. The participants are aware this is going to be a TV show and that makes them not very real. The focus is placed on the climbing group to give the audience a sense of the difficulty in climbing – Which I think does not add much value.

I guess it would be of much value if the cameras follow the sherpas doing the ground work for others to climb. Focus on the logistical arrangements needed to support so many tourists. Focus on the cleaning up effort on the mountain. These are issues that I guess audiences don’t understand and would be a fresh take on the old story.

But I do not produce the show and I do not know the market. May be discovery thinks they can inspire more tourists with this show – I don’t know. But I do think the show is pretty pedestrian and if you want to be inspired about climbing, you should watch this PBS documentary. It is a far better show – may it will inspire you to do something more with your life. As you know, Everest is just a symbol. The real mountain you have to climb is within you and discovery channel does not seem to get it.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007 at 10:40 am and is filed under climb, musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.