Do your stoke a big favor and take on this flick. It is amazing!
The aerial shots are nauseating. And congrats to my buddy John on sending it despite the gut churning fear! Just wish I could get over there and do that thing someday

Wayne, you're such a tease. It's not gonna be another "Vertical Limit," is it?

If it's not yet in Seattle, Spokane, Portland, or McMinnville (scheduled to open in Seattle March 30, not scheduled for future for other 3), where/when did you see it?

The IMAX movie is actually called "The Alps." Interesting I just bought today Harlin's new book "The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain that Killed My Father." Congrats to John.

Here's The Alps trailer:

McGillvray-Freeman films are first rate.

p-town at omsi, 7 and 9 thursday-sunday

OK, thanks. It's not listed at all at the Imax site for Omni, but now I see is here...best to check those show times..."at 11, 1, 3, 7, and 9, today."

Saw this last night. Excellent movie. Great footage and a good story. Stayed for the Everest movie too. Fine way to spend 2 hours.

Sorry if this is a tease for seattleites, We went to a catered invitation only premier showing. I feel like a snob now.

You knob, I mean snob

This IMAX freakin' rulez!

This is the BEST all time imax.
awesome everything
Soundtrack by the greatest band of all time=QUEEN
Unreleased soundtracks from Brian May solo= greatest rock guitar player of all time.
Awesome watching Robert Jasper climb.
awesome alpine climbing, sport climbing, and AT skiing shots
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Sour grapes though when the 40cm of new snow and unstable weather thwarted my attempt on the North Face when I was over in the alps climbing this summer.

Bah, guess I'm the only one here that thought it was a stinker. The scenery was good though, obviously.

I think they should've named it "The Eiger" or something to that effect. "The Alps" isn't exactly on target, to me.

Counterpoint: (warning, plot spoilers below)

There is some pretty mountain footage, but you guys got my hopes too high. Most of the climbing footage is of Harlin following moderate (if loose) ground, with the guide's wife next to him or just above him the whole way. I wanted to see the badass guide leading hard pitches with basically no pro at all. The very brief footage of him climbing was impressive, but we never saw more.

Then at the top the guide's wife is feeling faint, so she calls in a chopper for a shortrope ride home. Great photo ops. Then they drop her off, still at the end of the shortrope, in her backyard, literally, where grandma and her daughter come running in for the victory hug. Puke-o-rama.

Finally, coming down off the glacier, there is a gratuitous crevasse crawl crumble crash for dramatic effect. Whazzup?

There were opportunities to film leading that were missed. There were better opportunities to talk about the technical parts of climbing (ice tools, rock pro, anchors, how leading works) and how they fit into the story, but they were missed. Maybe they ended up on the editting room floor.

The human story is good, but Harlin's father was pioneering a bold, new, hard route up the face as part of true team effort when he died. Harlin got two guides to lead every pitch on a well-established route while he followed. There's nothing wrong with that approach; it's probably what I would do if I had the chance, but comparing the young Harlin's climb to his father's is like comparing apples and oranges. It is still a compelling vanquish-the-demons-of-dad's-death human story nonetheless.

I'll still give it a big thumbs up. The Alps scenery footage is jaw dropping. The tangents on Alps climbing history and avalanche studies are excellent. The dialog and people are all very good. Go see it for these things, but don't expect great things from the climbing footage. - edit: limestone sporto clipping next to a waterfall was way cool.

Rad, thanks for the review. I haven't seen the movie, but have read Harlin's book. He mentions much in the book that would better enlighten anyone viewing the movie.


Harlin was originally doing this only as a personal experience. Stephen Venables, employed by MacGillivray-Freeman, was hired to do the story line for The Alps and knowing Harlin wanted to climb the Eiger, talked him into having it filmed. One of the concessions Harlin requested was that he didn't want the climbing experience impeded by the film crews. Outside of the obvious intrusion of having to wear helmet cams, a helo hovering around, and cameramen at strategic spots, Harlin in no way wanted the climbing altered/stopped/changed/repeated for the whims of the film crew.


Too bad, saw that in the trailer and wondered how it would fit myself.


Harlin actually led many of the pitches, but then these must not have been compelling enough for the film editors. Right, Harlin did the classic route vs. the Harlin Memorial diretissima, and he details many reasons why including wishes of his family and that this route was his first attempt on the face. Considering all the weighty personal issues, I can't fault him for the choice of route. After all, it's still the Eiger Nordwand.

The book's a good read, and you might like it better than the movie.

Harlin said that on the actual climb, the bridge was sketch, but it didn't collapse. The producers wanted him to get that filmed, but when he did the 2nd time, it collapsed. He argued that the footage shouldn't be used because it wasn't what happened on his climb, but of course, the producers loved the footage.

I got my tickets to go tomorrow night... I'm stoked!

I saw it. The scenery is jaw dropping and the music is great.

The scene looking DOWN the NF from the top is also great.

The portrayal of the female climber as "very strong, one of the best" followed by her inability to follow a traverse off the bivy ledge, and subsequent helicopter flight off the top, makes me wonder if they couldn't have chosen a female alpinist who is better able to represent her gender...

The staged parts were dumb and unnecessary. All the footage drinking wine on the train and wandering the streets of quaint mtn villages added local flavor, but detracted from the punch of the movie, which struggles in 51 minutes to have clear focus or impact...

The reenactment of Whymper's climb was very cool, though!

Other reviews???