Respect for man and mountain
Canmore, Alta. -- The CBC miniseries Everest takes atrocious liberties with the truth and does complete injustice to the climbers and the sport itself (Haute Hosers Do Everest - Review, Aug. 29).
Most of the "compelling" moments in the miniseries are pure fiction: Climbers' wives weren't threatening divorce at the airport, there were no fist fights on the expedition, no screaming matches between warring leaders on the mountain, no investigation by Nepalese police of a supposed drug-smuggling operation, no callous, macho abandonment of "weak-link" members. Most importantly, there was very little, if any, of the bumbling "hoser" spirit that reviewer John Doyle and the filmmakers conjure up as a motivating force behind the tragedies and ultimate successes of the expedition. The 1982 team was hardly a band of buffoons out of their league who got to the summit only through innocent Canuck pluck; they were very talented and experienced athletes, as trained, committed and aware of the risks as any Olympic competitors. Portraying that reality more honestly would have respected the story, the mountain and the audience, far more.
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