Product Details

• Actors: Phurba Tashi Sherpa, Rod Baber, Darius Vaiciulis, Fred Ziel, Russell Brice
• Directors: Barny Revill, Ed Wardle
• Producers: Barny Revill, Tomi Landis
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Discovery Channel
• DVD Release Date: October 16, 2007
• Run Time: 287 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000TEUSKY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,799 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #54 in Movies & TV > DVD > Reality TV
• For more information about "Everest: Beyond the Limit" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

EVEREST:BEYOND THE LIMIT - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Series...But Troubling Ending..., November 12, 2007

By 

Travis Kircher "www.writenowcs.com" (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everest: Beyond the Limit (DVD)

Please note that this review contains spoilers. Don't read if you don't want to know the ending.

First off, let me say that if you're looking for a series that covers an Everest expedition with careful attention to detail, this is the series for you. Over the course of six episodes, we get to know the individual climbers pretty well. We learn their motivations, their fears, their hopes and the risks they are taking by climbing this mountain. We watch them suffer from exhaustion, oxygen deprivation, frostbite and other serious ailments. By the end of the series, you've come to care about these climbers and you feel you have a vested interest in the success of their summit bids.

What's even more noteworthy is the exceptional job done by the photojournalists who shot the climb -- some of whom were sherpas. Using special cameras attached to their headgear (humorously nicknamed "sherpacams" by the production team), the climbers were able to continuously shoot their dangerous trek from the Death Zone to the summit. As someone who has seen a lot of documentaries of Everest, this is some of the most breathtaking footage ever shot of that mountain.

From the production angle, this documentary gets top marks. Kudos to the Discovery Channel for placing this in our hands.

So why is one star deducted?

It should be noted that this documentary was shot during the 2006 climbing season -- one of the deadliest seasons on record, rivaled only by the 1996 climbing season recounted in John Krakauer's book "Into Thin Air".

If memory serves, 11 people died in 2006. One of them is David Sharp, a solo climber who collapsed in the Death Zone. Members of the Discovery Channel's expedition encountered the dying Sharp while making their way down from their summit attempts (there is actually some dispute as to whether they also encountered him on the way up).

To their credit, some of the climbers (like Lebanese climber Max Chaya) attempted to help Sharp. But ultimately Russell Brice -- the expedition's guide who stayed below at Advanced Base Camp -- ordered them to leave Sharp to his death. All of this is covered in detail in the final episode, as it happens -- even to the extent of including Chaya's weeping transmissions as he has to leave the climber to die.

Brice's logic is simple: he doesn't want to risk the lives of his own clients (who are already frostbitten and on the verge of exhaustion) to save the (at the time) unknown climber.

In retrospect, he was probably right.

All the same, when it's all said and done, I can't decide if I like Brice or not. That incident causes you to see the trek to Everest in much different light. Is it really worth it? It would be one thing if you were climbing for the purposes of exploration and discovery...if the trek had never been done before and you were hoping to learn something new. (Like the first lunar landing or a manned mission to Mars.) But why are these guys going? To fly a flag and get their picture taken? Bravado? Vanity?

Leaving Sharp was a tough moral decision...one that's hard to reconcile. Until I can do that, I'm docking one star.

Oh...and one quick note to the producers: there's no such word as "disorientated". Other than that, it's an excellent documentary.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific, May 29, 2009

By 

iBlick "1st in my family to own a Mac" (Planet Earth, Milky Way) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Everest: Beyond the Limit (DVD)

If you are an Everest fan, have read all the books and seen the Imax movie, you will love adding this to your collection. This is climbing from the North side, where you can follow the climbers from Advanced Base Camp along much of the route. They also have awesome footage from helmet cameras worn by the Sherpas. For the first time, you can see how narrow the climbing ledges are get a sense of what it is really like to make the climb. The radios are wired in for audio. This is terrific production.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Human Interest Mountaineering DVD, October 18, 2008

By 

Tropicalwolf "Freelance Writer" (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Everest: Beyond the Limit (DVD)

Everest: BTL is an amazing DVD that captures the drama of a diverse group of climbers and their attempt to summit Everest. While not technically exhaustive, the DVD is presented in more of a "reality show" format that draws you into the human struggle of the ascent. The DVD focuses on both the strengths and the weaknesses of the men who are attempting to summit the greatest mountain on Earth. That being said, ANY CLIMBER who has ever stepped foot on a mountain knows that many treks (ESPECIALLY EVERST) have been corrupted into purely commercial "events". However, to focus on that aspect and miss the larger picture is the sign of an unrealistic, mountaineering mind. We can't go back in time and change what these types of climbs have become. Accept it and move forward. Some can, some can't...just like climbing the mountain. It needs to be said however, that each and every man and woman who place their feet on Everest have already proved everything they need to prove. As far as the dead climber (Sharp) controversy, it should be noted that there was nothing these men could do that would have saved that poor soul that wouldn't have also cost their own lives. Not worth it. Each person knows the score when attempting Everest. This is nothing compared to the tragedy of the 1996 expedition. I would suggest that those who are overly concerned about this aspect of the 2006 expedition have never faced true tragedy in their lives or been in unique, "team-centered" experiences (such as combat) where the survival of the group is paramount. While in safe, secure, civilized society we would all do everything in our power to save a human life, combat and an "assault" on Everest are different scenarios where (unfortunately) different rules apply. Overall, outstanding presentation. The avid climber will find enough here to keep them interested and have them trying on their boots and dusting off their gear in the off-season. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!