7 Movies that Will Inspire You to Climb Mountains

Movies that Will Inspire You to Climb Mountains

There is nothing more motivating than seeing other people’s journeys as they attempt to reach a summit. If you would like to get some inspiration from the people who have been there or are just looking for a boost in morale, these mountaineering films will surely give you what you need.

Everest

The latest, and perhaps one of the best, in mountaineering movies in terms of cinematography is this retelling of the tragic 1996 Mount Everest disaster. The movie is based on the book written by Beck Weathers, one of the survivors. The film generally received a positive response except from journalist Jon Krakauer, who was also one of the survivors. The director of the film did not use Krakauer’s book as a source, as his version is said to conflict with what really happened.

Meru

Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chen, and Renan Ozturk attempted to scale Meru in 2008 but failed, so they set off on yet another attempt in 2011—and finally succeeded. While documenting their climb, Chin always made sure to balance climbing with filmmaking, saying that he always considers their safety first before taking out the camera. Aside from the footage, the film focuses on the story of a climber facing their demons on the journey.

The Summit

Most mountaineering movies show tragedies, and this film is yet another example. This time around, the story revolves around the K2 disaster back in 2008, where 11 climbers died on their way to and from the summit, thus making it one of the deadliest and worst catastrophes in the history of climbing. The footage featured in the movie was captured by Frederik Strang, who planned to make a documentary from it but canceled the plans after failing to reach the summit.

127 Hours

Yet another tragic mountaineering movie on our list, 127 Hours focuses not on the difficulty of scaling the mountain but on the consequences of hiking alone—and not telling anyone about it. It is the story of Aron Ralston, whose arm became trapped under a boulder in Blue John Canyon, Utah, in 2003.

North Face

In 1936, German mountaineers Toni Kurz and Andi Hinterstoisser attempted to summit the Eiger in the Alps via its north face. The two mountaineers got involved in a competition between two groups, which is why the climb took place. In the movie, Kurz and Hinterstoisser were denied permission to leave the German army, so they had to quit their service to pursue the climb.

Touching the Void

Joe Simpson wrote a book of the same name about his near-fatal climb of Siula Grande in Peru in 1985. During the climb, his climbing buddy, Simon Yates, had to cut Simpson’s rope because of the hopeless situation they were in. It was astonishing how Simpson managed to survive by crawling and hopping nearly five miles across glaciers with almost no water.

K2

This 1991 film is loosely based on the 1991 attempt by Jim Wickwire and Louis Reichardt to summit K2, the second-highest mountain in the world. In the movie, the two were able to summit successfully, but one had to be left behind when he could no longer move after badly breaking his leg.

It may seem weird to draw motivation from a film that explores failures and tragedies, but here you will see people’s resilience and how they never give up, even in the trials they face.

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