True Films 3.0 - Kevin Kelly

Touching the Void
This true film re-enacts a harrowing adventure by two mountaineers
on a remote peak in the Andes, still unclimbed today. Near the top one
climber breaks his leg, disappears over the edge of a cliff in a storm,
hangs by a single rope tied to his buddy for hours. After hours of no
movement the buddy cuts the rope to save his own life. Miraculously the
injured man falls into a deep crevasse, lives, and crawls out without use
of his legs, rolls down a glacier and creeps back to camp on his elbows.
He arrives almost dead 6 days after they set out. Together with two stunt
men, the two climbers re-live their nightmare by re-climbing the route
and revealing what they were thinking the first time around. As an act of
honesty, bravery and endurance, it’s staggering to watch. At every junction
you are sure this is the end! But it isn’t. In the climbing community
this is considered one of the best mountaineering films ever.
By Kevin MacDonald
2003, 106 min.
Available from Amazon
Rent from Netflix
Face blistered by sun and dehydration. That’s after
he gets out of a deep ice crevice (above) despite a
broken leg. He drinks from mud.
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