"Actor: Tensing Norgay"

• The Conquest Of Everest | DVD | (17/01/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A real life Touching The Void and as tense and dramatic as any densely plotted work of fiction The Conquest Of Everest features images shot by Tom Stobart and then higher up the mountain by George Lowe one of the mountaineering party who was Hillary's original climbing partner: his footage shows Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay as they head off alone in their famous push for the summit. The group's tense struggle to reach ever greater heights contrasts sharply with the breathtaking images of the surrounding mountains and Irish poet Louis MacNeice's narration. The history of the mountain that lies between Tibet and Nepal is explained - in Tibetan culture Everest is known as Chomolungma and is revered as the Mother Of The Universe while in Nepalese it is called Sagarmatha meaning Forehead Of The Sky. An outstanding example of the documentary genre this true-life account of the heroic ascent of the world's highest peak by the team led by Colonel John Hunt records the complex logistical planning behind the attempt as well as the ten failed attempts to reach the summit that had taken place in the previous thirty years. The 175 mile trek to the base of Everest and then the seemingly endless barriers of ice snow and rock are all captured in this remarkable film.