EVEREST UNMASKED: MESSNER & HABELER ON EVEREST. The 1978 ascent of Everest by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler without oxygen. 52 minutes.
This film documents a milestone, an illustrious chapter in the history of mountaineering. It also has some rare historical footage of the early Everest expeditions: the tragic Mallory expedition, the pioneering Shipton expedition and the successful first ascent expedition by Hilary and Tenzing.
For Messner and Habeler, two of the finest Alpine climbers of our time, the expedition is a combination of confidence and fear. They both feel they can summit Everest unaided, 'by fair means' but have no way of knowing the consequences - can they return without brain damage due to excessive exposure to the thin, freezing air? As they begin their climb their progress is rapid and confidence is high.
Habeler recovers from a bout of food poisoning and they make a bid for the summit. Bad weather drives them back. The situation is now critical. Both men have been at high altitude for a long time. They set off in bad weather conditions. They stumble and crawl up, struggling for breath, inching toward their goal. They have climbed Everest without oxygen masks, and have survived. Now they have to go back down.
Messner who has lifted his goggles too often is snow blinded. They have made a pact with one another, for survival's sake, to abandon the other should he become incapacitated..... Everest Unmasked captures the dangers, the suffering and the elation of this historic milestone expedition.
