The film tells the story of how Alberto Iñurrategi and Jean Christophe Lafaille climbed the east ridge to the top of Annapurna, the symbolic mountain of the Nepalese Himalayas. The second complete ascent along the ridge was digitally recorded and is narrated in flashback. The film aims to capture the tension the two alpinists experienced in a bivouac tent at 7,800 metres in the hours prior to the attack on the Annapurna peak. An important goal for Iñurrategi as this was the conquest of his fourteenth 8000m peak. In a way the film is dedicated to Alberto’s brother, Felix Iñurrategi, who died during the descent of the G I.
Director
ALBERTO IñURRATEGI
Alberto Iñurrategi
Alberto Iñurrategi was born in the Spanish town of Aretxabaleta, Guipúzcoa in 1968. He is the tenth climber in the world to succeed in reaching the peaks of the fourteen “eight-thousands”. Climber, writer and film-maker, he has directed the television series Oinak Izarretan for ETB (Televisión Autonomica Vasca). An episode of the series, Annapurna, sueño y vacio was entered in the Trentofilmfestival in 2002 and received the prize for best film at Torelló festival in Spain. His film Hire Himalaya, a homage to his brother Félix and giving a deep insight into the mountains, was awarded the first prizes at the festivals of Trento, Cervinia, Torelló, Poprad (Poland), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Kendal (England) and Telluride (Colorado), as well as the Jury award at Banff (Canada). In 2005 he shot Gure Himalaya. Since 1997 he has worked on the project “Al Filo de lo Imposible”, participating in several climbing expeditions to Everest, Baintha Brak, Gasherbrum III, Shivling, Nanga Parbat, Torres del Trango, Jala Bary, Moun. Cook and Dhaulagiri.