Human being.Being first.It’s a common human drive.For mountain climbers like Jonny Copp and Micah Dash, it’s first ascents. They specialized in new routes in the most extreme terrain they could find.
No one had ever climbed the 8,000 foot east face of the 22,000 foot Mt.Edgar. After much research and a brutal fitness regime, they traveled to a place in eastern Tibet.It was clear to them that the residents rarely saw Westerners.
An assembled team of porters left the climbers and cinematographer Wade Johnson at their base camp. For two weeks they waited for the weather to clear, just so they could scope out a “line” for their climb.They heard rock falls daily, some close by.
“First Ascent” is the name of a film series. There’s a reason why this Mt.Edgar climb is called “Point of No Return.”In its 24 minutes, the film compactly communicates the compellingly mundane extremes of physical nature and human personality and the culture of a rarefied community of climbers.