Monday, July 23, 2007

The Omni Alps


Over the weekend I had the fab fab fab experience of touring the Swiss Alps compliments of an OmniMax Theatre.

There were breathtaking views of impossibly cozy villages & the Swiss countryside, heart stopping pans over peaks and faces of 13,000 foot high elevations and sudden camera drops into miles long vastness ending in jagged snow covered rock.

But the story behind the documentary The Alps was awe instilling.

It was about John Harlin III's ascent up the North Face of the Eiger in 2005. Editor of American Alpine Journal, Harlin was nine-years-old when his father John Harlin II fell to his death climbing the same path in 1966.

The Eiger's North Face is treacherous because of its crumbly, limestone face & unpredictable rockfall. More than fifty climbers have died attempting to climb it and accordingly, the Germans have nicknamed it Murder Face.

In any event, no spoilers. The North Face no longer translates to retail for me and I clearly walked away with enthusiasm. If you live near an IMAX theater showing this film, get ye to the cinema!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The breathtaking views and impossibly cozy villages make me want to go there, not only watch the movie...

Stefanella said...

Me too. In fact, I watched it thinking: I wish I knew how to ice/mountain climb...