Join six adventurers as they embark on an amazing journey to the base camp of
Mt. Everest and discover for themselves a greater purpose and meaning for their
lives. On their way into the Himalayas to begin their trek, they are bumped from
a plane flight that crashes in the mountains. All passengers on board perished.
As the team struggles with the risky decision of continuing, you will be there
at every step. Explore the Hindu/Buddhist world of Kathmandu, trek over cracking
glaciers to 17,400 feet, and meet the Christian Nepali pastor who touched their
hearts.
From producer Mitchell Galin (Frank Herbert’s Dune, The
Apostles of Comedy) and director David Kiern, JOURNEY TO EVEREST is a real-life
adventure that will captivate and motivate your entire family.
Following up last month’s review of The Mysterious Islands comes another documentary – this time about one of the Seven Natural Wonders Of The World, Mount Everest.
Be prepared for a welcomed assault on the senses as you watch Journey to Everest, a cinematically stunning and culturally immersive documentary written, directed and co-produced by David Kiern.
Epiphany Productions (company of multiple Emmy winning producer, Mitchell Galin) and Ed Smith (Executive Producer) have put together a documentary that is not only fascinating, but breathtakingly beautiful.
A tale of adventure and adversity, a story of perspective and ministry, all exquisitely packaged with some of the most arresting shots of the Himalayan region that you’ll ever see on the screen.
Journey to Everest is the story of six Americans (Ed Smith, Mike Yarborough, Mark and Anne Bortz, Doug Perry and Wayne Cole) who set off on the adventure of a lifetime. Along the way, they discover much more about the world and their place in it than they had ever anticipated.
The beauty of this documentary lies not only in the amazing footage and cultural immersion that Kiern provides, but also in a tragic part of the story that neither the adventurers nor the filmmakers ever anticipated.
So strap on your hiking boots and dress warm because this documentary makes the viewer feel like part of the Journey to Everest.
Starting off with magnificent shots of Mount Everest, known to the locals as Chomolungma (the mother goddess of the world), and chronicling the six adventurers' story, the journey begins in Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu. The team prepares to board a small propeller plane which will take them to a runway carved into the side of a mountain, in the tiny Himalayan village of Lukla. This airport is rated as the most dangerous in the world.
But as the team is preparing to board the 6:15 plane to Lukla, they find out that they have been bumped from their scheduled flight because of earlier cancellations. Another team that has been waiting gets to take their flight instead. They await hopefully, eager to start their hike, but eventually learn that all flights for Lukla have been cancelled. Expedition leader Ed Smith leaves the terminal to make arrangements for the delay and the team returns to their hotel frustrated, to find out what happens next.
Later when the team is back at the hotel, individuals in the lobby have grave looks on their faces, several are on their cell phones and many simply look shocked.
The team approaches their fellow hotel guests to inquire as to what is going on. They are informed that Yeti Airlines Flight 109 that departed Nepal at 6:15 heading to Lukla has just crashed, killing all but one of the passengers aboard.
The team is completely stunned and unsettled when they realize that this was the flight that they were supposed to be on.
At this point, the team has to prayerfully make a decision on how, and if, to proceed.
My favorite line in the documentary comes to mind here, when expedition leader Ed Smith states, "To live life without risk is to risk not living."
They prayerfully decide to press on.
Kiern documents the entire journey in extraordinary fashion. There is the cultural immersion aspect, the ministry aspect with the team’s local guide Bishwa Karmachaya, an encouraging reunion of team members, the extreme difficulty of the trek to 17,400 ft. above sea level to Everest Base Camp, a heartwarming story involving a school, a computer and a promise. There is even a mystery discussed in the documentary involving a theft, a real Yeti and famed actor Jimmy Stewart. Sound jam-packed? It is.
So here is my thought: Don’t miss out on the depth of this documentary; pick up a copy for yourself and your family. You’ll be blessed and you can thank me later.
JOURNEY TO EVEREST IS A JOURNEY WORTH TAKING
In October of 2008, six Americans traveled to Nepal to embark on the journey to the top of the world – Mt. Everest Base Camp. The world they encountered was a world apart; alive with color, pageantry, and passion. From crowded streets to breathtaking vistas available nowhere else on earth, these travelers began to see themselves and their world in a different light; to regard their fellow human beings, however different their culture may appear, as fellow sojourners and children of the same God.
Their journey took a dramatic turn after the flight they were supposed to be one was overbooked and they had to wait another day for their chance to tackle Everest. That flight, the soon discovered, went down in a fiery crash in a dense fog, killing everyone on board except the pilot. Gut check time revealed understandably mixed emotions. Eventually the team began the 18,000 foot ascension, but not everyone would make it.
Journey to Everest is an exquisitely produced documentary. Yes, it is about a quest to conquer the world’s highest peak, and yes, the cinematography is breathtaking. But Journey to Everest is more…much more. It is as much about scaling the heights within your own soul as it is about reaching the summit. It is as much about learning to trust things you cannot see with your eyes as it is about trusting your teammates. It is as much about compassion as it is about conquering the natural world.
Produced by Hollywood vet, Mitchell Galin, and filmed and directed by up-and-coming filmmaker, David Kiern, Journey to Everest is an experience that is not to be missed.
Simply glorious.
