Rock and Ice

Rock & Ice Magazine's DVD of the Month July 2004

Review by Alison Osius

DVD of the month Farther Than the Eye Can See By Michael Brown Everest skies are jewel-blue in this high-definition documentary. Erik Weihenmayer, star of Farther Than the Eye Can See, cannot see their hues, yet the blind climber perceives the scenery: "I can ... hear that there's these big mountains around us." These are the moments that bring this very beautiful--in many senses--film home. Farther than the Eye Can See, now available on DVD, was nominated for two Emmys this spring. Filmed with almost preposterous clarity, from inventive, changing angles, and using moody time-lapses and little narration, the 75-minute film takes us into the experience of a man climbing this endless mountain without being able to see a single step. Crossing a ladder over a crevasse, Weihenmayer taps his front points onto one rung, bends to feel the siderail with his hand, touches his heel to the previous rung; then covers both rungs. "Sometimes people assume that if you can't see how far you're going to fall you're not afraid," he narrates. "But sometimes I think falling into the unknown is scarier." The first time through the Khumbu Icefall, Erik is just too slow, as discussed in low voices by his teammates, for realistic summit hopes. "Gotta rally, dude," one urges him gently. Responds Erik, in a dry, choked voice, "I haven't been able to take a step, without being worried that it's going to drop into space, for about 16 hours." He must sustain perfect focus on right footstep, then left footstep, hour ... after hour ... after hour. "[I] don't have time to think about anything else," he says. Occasionally, the camera's presence leads to dialogue that feels forced. At the summit a teammate says, "Erik, man, you did it. So many people doubted you, you showed 'em." Yet in the next frame comes this most natural outburst from Kevin Cherilla, basecamp manager: "Erik, I love, you man, you are the f--in' best! You are the baddest dude on the planet, over..." The film also could have scratched the subplots of other Everest "firsts" on the expedition. It's "Super Blind" and what he did that we want to fathom, and the film illuminates. As much as anything could. --Alison Osius

The film's director-cinematographer, Michael Brown, 38, answered questions through a PDA from 17,000 feet, Everest Base Camp, Tibet.

Alison: You've climbed Everest three times. Had enough?!
Michael: Yes! I love the journey ...but really just want to sit on the beach. You gotta go with the paycheck, though. What was your father's classic climbing film?
Michael: Dad (Roger Brown) made Sentinel: the West Face with Tom Frost, Royal Robbins and Yvon Chouinard way back, scripted by Barry Corbett of the 1963 American Everest Expedition. My brothers Gordon and Nick also make mountain films.
Alison: How many films have you made now? What is your best?
Michael: About 50. My best is easily Farther Than the Eye Can See.
The footage almost ended up sitting in boxes and rotting. I worked on Erik and the executive producer, Les Guthman, for over a year to secure the rights. We were [originally] hired by another company to shoot the film.
Alison: What sequence was hardest to get?
Michael: The summit. I had to run 50 yards down from the top to pick up the camera. Chuldim Sherpa had made a huge effort getting the 25-pound thing there but he was used up, and Erik was summiting. Back on the summit, I set the exposure and focus with the camera on my knee, and tried to get the camera to my shoulder, but just couldn't. Luis Benitez [teammate] came over and helped me get the camera on my shoulder and then pushed me upright. That was how the team was.