Everest Unmasked (1978)
Record of the first ascent of Everest made without the use of oxygen equipment, made in May 1978 by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler. Could it be done? Would their blood vessels burst? Would they suffer brain damage leading to madness? Nobody was sure. Messner: 'I would never come here for trying Everest with oxygen. That is not a challenge for me.' A fascinating piece of history, well filmed by Leo Dickinson and Eric Jones (above the South Col Messner used a cine camera to continue the filming), featuring Messner and Habeler's thoughts. The film follows the usual sequence from Namche to Base Camp, through the Icefall, to Camps I, II and III. It also shows historical footage of the pioneering Mallory and Shipton expeditions.
Director: Leo Dickinson
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Reinhold Messner as Self |
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Peter Habeler as Self |
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Leo Dickinson as Self |
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Wolfgang Nairz as Self |
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Robert Schauer as Self |
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Helli Hagner as Self |
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Franz Oppurg as Self |
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Dawa Nuru Sherpa as Self |
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Raimund Margreiter as Self |
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George Mallory as Self (archive footage) |
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Sky du Mont as Narrator |
| Directing | Leo Dickinson | Director |
| Production | Aled Vaughan | Executive Producer |
| Camera | Leo Dickinson | Director of Photography |
| Camera | Peter Habeler | Director of Photography |
| Camera | Reinhold Messner | Director of Photography |
| Editing | Leo Dickinson | Editor |
| Editing | Terry Elgar | Editor |
