Doesn’t he ever rest? Nocturnal film writer BRYN TILLY reveals one of the delights of the film “40 Days at Base Camp” on of the nominees at the Canadian Film Festival …
Directed by Dianne Whelan, 40 Days at Base Camp is pretty much exactly that; forty freezing nights at the base camp of Mount Everest, the launch pad, so to speak, for climbing expeditions attempting to reach the summit of the highest mountain in the world.
It is shared by climbers and sherpas (the experienced locals who carry most of the gear) and is a curious mecca for those who share that extreme desire to conquer what is essentially a very difficult place for humans to be.
One in forty people die above base camp. Not the most attractive odds for an adventure holiday.
These days commercial expeditions charge up to $US100, 000 per client to climb to the summit. In spring of 2010 four people died trying to reach the top, whilst another 512 were successful.
One of the successful in the 40 Days at Base Camp was Arjun, who at 16-years-old is the youngest person ever to scale Everest. He had a pretty nonchalant attitude that was impressive to behold.
At base camp the sherpa culture and the climbing culture mingle.
Apa is the lead Sherpa of a company called Asian Trekking. He has reached the summit 19 times. During the making of this documentary he adds a twentieth notch to his climbing belt. That is an amazing feat.
He’s not an especially talented climber, but he respects Everest implicitly. For the Hindus and Buddhists the mountain is known as “Great Mother of the Universe”, and she is dutifully respected.
The same can’t be said for the amount of garbage that is left behind on the mountain, and that with each passing year’s melting of the ice, brings up more and more empty oxygen canisters, frayed climbing rope, and more empty food tins and cans than you can shake a pick-axe at.
“To know a people you must spend forty days with them,” says the ancient proverb.
And as such we get to know a little about some of the climbers and sherpas during the spring of 2010. Dianne Whelan’s doco is not as revealing as it could be, but it’s still fascinating. What I wanted was some real alpine drama!
According to the sherpas there are 250 bodies abandoned on Everest. Not the most dignified way to shuffle off this mortal coil, especially those that never actually succeeded on what they call the summit push.
Above the 8000 metre mark is the area known as The Death Zone, where there isn’t enough oxygen to support human life. As one of the experienced medics at base camp says, for the successful climber it’s simply a combination of genetics and time. Some people have the physiological makeup to make it to the top, and some don’t.
And those that do have the right genetic material still need to allow the right amount of time for the climb. Not just picking the right moment to head off from base camp, but pacing yourself.
40 Days at Base Camp works curiously as a motivational piece, that doubles as a warning. Embrace adventure, but understand and respect that which is greater than you.
For more on Possible Worlds, the Canadian Film Festival in Sydney, Like their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/possibleworlds
Film reviewer Bryn Tilly is a Sydney DJ, scriptwriter and composer and publishes the movie sites Horrorphile and Bruno Dante’s Cult Projections.
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