Everest's Winter Ascent · ORIGINAL Documentary

Without bottled oxygen and without high altitude Sherpas support, Alan Rouse led a British expedition in the Winter of 1980-81 to attempt Mount Everest by the West Ridge. Along with Joe Tasker and Ade Burgess the expedition members battled fierce winds, bone-cracking cold conditions, numerous health troubles all in the First Everest attempt of the SW Everest Face in this historical documentary: Everest in Winter.

[@Somee989]

Messner no ropes no oxygen, just an ice ax. UNBELIEVABLE. When your father is a climber and you grow up climbing in the Alps, makes a difference.

[@TDubya811]

And perfect hair.

[@Noctifern]

Messner has got to be the greatest climber ever

[@scottinnh88]

Hmm I'll just sit here drink some beers and chain smoke I'll never get to 10k elevation and I'm happy with that.😮

[@me73941]

He also took drugs (PEDs) in order to do so, by his own admission.

[@cappy2282]

And no pants

[@ericastier1646]

Despite not meeting their goals, this is one of the better presented and narrated expedition. You could really follow well in well presented chronological order what difficulty they faced and how they overame it. It was really nice and immersive. And they were not playing with the audience with flashback and out of order and unclear progress and situation. This was sincerely presented. Some stunning natural colors without the awful digital crap saturated colors we get now in 8k. Beautiful dreamy filmography pure and fresh. This is a successful expedition from that aspect. I'd be the first to critic brits, but not on this. Well done lads.

[@chicagogyrl4846]

The colors are the same, just better film! 😂🤣

[@deaddropholiday]

I had a very interesting conversation with my heart specialist. He's been climbing for twenty years and is somewhat experienced on high peaks. He made his first Everest attempt ten years ago and got to camp 2 in what he described as "excellent condition". That night he dreamed that he got lost in a whiteout higher up the mountain and fell to his death. It scared him that much he immediately packed up his gear and went back down. He told me he had never been a superstitious man - but somehow he KNEW if he went up he'd die. I asked him did he regret his decision looking back? He smiled wryly and said "Not one bit!". He's since been back but was forced to abandon the climb because of terrible weather.

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

Smart man, always listen to to your intuition, especially if you're not superstitious.

[@smileygladhands]

Now THAT is an intelligent man! Putting his own safety (and possibly anyone who would have had to try and rescue him) ahead of emotions and pride. That right there could save so many needless deaths.

[@deaddropholiday]

@@smileygladhands He didn't consider himself an intelligent man. Indeed, he figured it was the least intelligent decision he'd made that trip. After all - he's attaching significance to a dream. Which isn't reality. No matter. He went down. He survived. Had he gone up he may well have fallen down the mountain. Or he might have summited. Who knows?

[@Hat3eer]

And that heart specialist was young Albert Einstein

[@politicallycorrectredskin796]

Honestly I think there might be something wrong with you if you don't have those in that situation. Doesn't mean it's a premonition, just that death is very close. And not to belittle these people, but that is really on any mountain. A buddy of mine was killed climbing a wall in Norway. Not hard by his standards, summer, no snow and obviously you have plenty of air on Norwegian mountains. But someone above him accidentally kicked loose a stone that hit him in the noggin. One tiny mistake + two seconds = dead. If this doesn't concern you at all wherever you are in the mountains you shouldn't be up there. There are good reasons people go up slowly. Not just altitude sickness.

[@Peace-tk3gr]

This was pure. Unlike the commercial expeditions that one typically sees in these Everest docos. This showed a more technical side to the highest mountain in the world. I'm not sure anyone could successfully summit (and make it back down) in winter? Was interesting to listen to their 'climbing' conversations too. One thing that puzzles me though : in that degree of isolation and cold, how on earth did they pick up dysentery?

[@udontknow1657]

Dehydration leads to the runs

[@mustang19ms]

@@udontknow1657 and the runs cause dehydration.. what a paradox

[@arneottosson4535]

16mm film is better than any HD 4K FullHD or whatever. It’s just unbeatable when it comes to magic natural feel 😍

[@oregonsdank]

Boooooomer

[@joeferraro5495]

Def the dumbest thing I’ve heard in awhile.

[@matthewgregory2106]

35mm maybe.

[@jamesdavis5096]

Have you ever thought about having sex with a 16 mm camera?

[@olimot8081]

Bet you’re fun at parties 😭

[@cullyx2913]

Absolute legends,love these old docs

[@jerryrichards8172]

i have had my tent lifted up on ledge one night. you feel your guy lines stretching the pull you back down. it dose get your attention. this video is one of the best everest documentary.

[@harolynallison6889]

These documentaries are well done and I love watching them and I get a glimpse of how life is there. Well done

[@semperinfidel2115]

Shows the mountain as the beast she is.

[@billywall7752]

Documentaries in general were better back then.

[@dann5480]

@@billywall7752 what do you mean to say? Isn't pawn stars good enough for you?

[@chamonix4658]

Joe Tasker, my mountaineering icon. Thanks for the upload

[@andycarmichael3012]

Absolute legend, from my home city of Hull, we've named a road after him so his exploits will never be forgotten

[@lou36heron87]

thanks for this interesting and adventurous story, these were tough and rugged strong men to try this in the winter, west ridge - near straight up vertical climbs with ropes in the snow, ice and cold, no Sherpa support nor bottled oxygen - really amazing what they tried -compared to what the climbers today are doing - thanks again for sharing

[@stefkadank-derpjr1453]

I watched this last night....it was beautiful. What these men accomplished is more than most. Although it might have been a big let down....a high adventure mixes with the intelligence to know when it's time to throw in the towel in order to secure your life...I ♡ it. Many of these dudes are surely alive today. I will have to go down that rabbit hole later on.

[@DennisTedder-wj5ln]

no one cares

[@technomickdocumentalist2495]

@ Dennis Tedder, suck it up kidder, it will get better one day.

[@chicagogyrl4846]

@@technomickdocumentalist2495??!

[@chicagogyrl4846]

6 died climbing.

[@StandedInUtah]

The musical score was an interesting choice. Rather than an air of excitement it gives a feeling of melancholy and slowness. The result is likely a true reflection of how the men felt fighting the mountain and illness.

[@upsidedahead]

I kept thinking I was listening to a weird instrumental rendition of 'Angelo', by Brotherhood of Man

[@GHELitefire]

Didn't realize the Burgess brothers were in this, very cool!

[@frenchfree]

The difficulties of this expedition were all of the physical and altitude challenges presented by the winter season and the technical difficulties. Rouse is often critizesed for lack of leadership. But the real reason that the team could not pull all its skill, experience and strength was because of illness caused by a kitchen at base camp that did not make the water and cooking food bombproof . Giardia meant that half the team were permentely on antibiotics and suffering from intestinal problems. In following years they all learnt this problem and how to deal with it. How do I know? because I was there.

[@ChrisGroggyCreaser]

Wow!! - It's NO GOOD Making False economies & cutting corners/being ILL PREPARED (No pun intended).... :(

[@chicagogyrl4846]

No, they have never dealt with the cleanliness problem! 😂🤣

[@Mrcatcherye]

this lot were absolutely bonkers!! lol ill as f*ck, 100mph winds, minus 50, digging snow caves, roping, scaling 1000 foot granite up Everest in winter..absolute madness!!!

[@mikeyforrester6887]

"We didn't really stick our necks out as far as danger was concerned"

[@Mrcatcherye]

lol - is that what one of them said! - crazy!@@mikeyforrester6887

[@realbudgiesmugglertwohatsb2611]

Wow now that was a powerful analogue telephoto lens..

[@dann5480]

Are lenses digital now?

[@maxasaurus3008]

It’s pretty cool seeing one of these where everyone lived… for now.

[@DougSandburg]

Another great expedition that I’ve never seen before!

[@jerryrichards8172]

enjoyable looking at the old gear we use to use. there where a few good companies but the outdoors markets would really bloom just a few yrs later.

[@QQ-my2rq]

Reinhold Messner in one of his interviews said that “exactly 50% of climbers I have ever known died in the mountains”. There are 8 people in titles, and 4 of them died. I wonder if they somehow knew that a half of them will die for sure, would they quit mountaineering..

[@seahog32]

I don't think so. I'd say each of them would think he'd be among those 4 that survive.

[@tidypog3272]

If the mountains killed no brave men, no brave men would climb

[@Somee989]

No. These people know life is short. They live it. In the end does it really matter how long or short your life is? I think, its may be better to die young and just move on up. Its easier then to watch loved ones go. This is a mind twisting discussion.

[@Felipe_Ribeir0]

I dont think so, high altitude mountaineers know that they probably will die on some mountain.

[@jerryscanas]

Their Spirit is matched by their classic British optimism

[@wendysuperfan1014]

Thanks Ryan. Whew!! Scary stuff. Glad you made it.

[@wyattearp9656]

Now this is climbing Everest. If you don't climb this way, basically you are hiring men to possibly die for a walk to the top of the world. Well done men, you are my heroes, you and the Sherpa people. The old school is the toughest

[@chicagogyrl4846]

Who’s hiring men??

[@chicagogyrl4846]

Oh, yeah, climb without oxygen in the winter is the way!! 😂🤣

[@Fire-Rabbit87]

I have never climbed any mountains and don't ever plan to, but I've been watching a ton of videos on this channel for the last few days! It's amazing what people are capable of when they have the right amount of determination balanced with the right amount of caution to know when to turn back!

[@alveyjohn]

The West Ridge route.....crazy tough, rarely challenged.

[@swayjaayy5495]

I know! And in winter! Balls of steel

[@alveyjohn]

@@swayjaayy5495 I have the time and experience, but not the balls to try that.

[@loveandlight3486]

Thank you for uploading. Enjoying these documentaries

[@jekanyika]

This is the first time I've seen someone using the toilet in one of these documentaries.

[@sophie4636]

I've often wondered about that!

[@chicagogyrl4846]

There is no toilet there!

[@fatmanskills3771]

If these lads said to me, wanna ger fer a walk lad, id say, no you're alright. Amazing.

[@Rosco-P.Coldchain]

Good exercise fat lad

[@Frillar]

47:27 "It's unfortunate that the mind drives the body, and when the minds given up the body ceases to function well"

[@dann5480]

Imagine the body driving the mind..

[@thestruggler3338]

Reminds me of 3 Years later when Tim Snape and Mortimer forged a new route direct up the North Face to Norton Couloir including a decent in the dark all without supO2. Had a similarly capable team but the big difference being a summit in the Autumn

[@jamesandrews264]

Wet

[@melodymacken9788]

Incredible. Loved this.

[@tamarabrunozzi8482]

Also love and agree that the snow tunnel is the best way to stay. FANTASTIC VIDEO TY!

[@lars-akechesburg9911]

Wish there was a documentary of the polish expedition that successfully did the first winter ascent Everest without oxygen and by taking the more difficult South Side route.

[@lifesahobby]

Many thanks for another inspirer, poor lads , they did their best .

[@alexandros8361]

Never knew this doco existed. Thanks for providing it. There, but for the grace of Mother Goddess, go I.

[@elpatudo3670]

I sorry to learn that Joe Tasker died on Everest 2yrs later. He was in his prime in this Xlnt documentary. 16mm is beautiful WOW. What an amazing team & incredible effort. I truly believe that w/the proper support the Burgess brothers & Tasker would've made the summit. Team stretched too thin after the 2 guys bailed. Q: What was the Dr. doing about team health, disentary etc.? Snowcaves are the best!

[@chicagogyrl4846]

They had all of the support they needed with their Sherpas!!

[@richieroma]

integrity, skill, independence, modesty. the way it used to be.

[@tidypog3272]

Does anyone else feel that the failed expeditions are more interesting?

[@wrexshunt]

Great documentary here- many thanks

[@talkinghead3169]

Love these old mountaineering films. What has happened to mountains like Everest is really sickening! I watched a sad film about a group of sherpa trying to clean up the mountain. Not just rubbish but human bones from years ago, as they re-emerged from the ice-fall. They have turned one of the most beautiful places on earth into a rubbish tip. Rampant selfishness!!

[@CC15-K]

Love these documentaries thank you for posting them all. The Fatal Game is very good one as well.

[@tracymetherell8744]

Wow! The amount of technical climbing is fascinating

[@swayjaayy5495]

Great documentary, awesome post sir. Amazing times those must have been. Sad to see that some of the men gave up but I think it was for the best because if they would have let the peer pressure coarse them to go for it, I think lives would have been lost. It just wasn't there for that group.

[@matthewalston1226]

These guys are nuts!

[@kathyborthwick6738LakotaEmoji]

Love these films - Thank You ❤💚✨☀️✨

[@Errcyco]

Camera man here has gotta be a fantastic climber.. this era even a small camera was like 8#

[@MarcusEye]

This is nutz !. talk about doing it the hard way!. Crazy!

[@DrJanpha]

Real mountaineering, indeed.

[@pizzafrenzyman]

These men were the titans of climbing. It makes the pioneering of Irvine and Mallory even more immense without all their primitive gear.

[@nicflatterie7772]

3:09 that merge is spectacular!

[@stevenmosher516]

They don't really issue permits for climbing Mt Everest in the winter for good reason. Only been done 15 times.

[@marcshelstead5355]

These guys were the real deal not like all the bucket list posers paying whatever to say I stood on Everest

[@cursuriproductdesign]

i didn't knew The Beatles climb Everest. Joking aside, great documentary!

[@dann5480]

The beatles wouldn't last one day in these conditions.

[@singlespeedcrossbike]

Now that was a climb!

[@ElysiumRose]

When was this filmed? I heard things used to be done right before Everest became so commercialized. Nice Doc.

[@loganhayden512]

description says winter of 80-81

[@ЛюбовьШаго]

Нашла еще один прекрасный фильм.Спасибо огромное за ваши лучшие фильмы об альпинизме!!Всего вам доброго,наилучшего!!Думаю,найду еще и другие,надеюсь!

[@chicagogyrl4846]

If you think this old film is the best, I hope that you find more, too!

[@captaindoeverything]

anyone else notice there's no lawyers on the team? I know why, it's so cold they would have their hands in their own pocket . . .

[@rondog540]

Last sentence from Tasker is prescient: "Physically we didn't push ourselves to the limit and I don't think we stuck our necks out as regards danger" With that attitude, he would likely have come back from Bonington's 82 expedition 🤷‍♂️

[@ricquebt1543]

Great doc

[@thecarpetman7687]

I’d say that’s a bit chilly!

[@bobby9476]

They needed more tea and biscuits.

[@factsoverfeelings1]

15 minutes in and I have no doubt these guys will fail....I will watch the rest.

[@frankomi4752]

GRACIAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[@JCO2002]

I spent a couple of months in India and Nepal in 1977 and had frequent problems with dysentery and food poisoning. I'd love to go back, but now at 69, I don't know if I'd survive it.

[@sophie4636]

It's much more "civilised" these days, you'd have a wonderful time! Go! ✨️

[@Dangergirl88]

All the tea in Nepal could not get me up on that rock. These guys were fearless.

[@Mrgurin]

respect... 👍

[@Error_404_Account_Deleted]

Great to see the Weasley twins getting out there and living life.

[@dougfogarty2461]

Mày the Lord be with them

[@movingonward]

Its hard for me to watch the sherpas barefoot or in sandals doing all that hard work.

[@arneottosson4535]

Man, that’s worse than K2

[@stephenasbridge878]

This looks like the 1970’s line up of Jethro Tull out on their summer hols…🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@jipangoo]

Don't be a kock

[@timothywilson6138]

It really does.

[@johnbarlow1428]

I’ve just read Kingdoms of Experience re Mal Duff’s expedition to the North East Ridge of Everest. This expedition suffered the same deficiency I.e. no proper leadership. You can have a go at Chris Bonington but it was planning, planning, planning. And he’s not the only one.

[@andyadventures2841]

Awesome 🏔 🤍🙏

[@mattfinch3895]

I love kumbu in the winter. Not many tourists.

[@13donstalos]

I've got a great idea... lets take 10,000 pounds of gear out to the middle of nowhere and climb a five mile tall mountain in the dead of winter. Also, we'll wear short shorts. What could go wrong?

[@dann5480]

Not everyone has the spark of adventure in them, I don't blame you.

[@jamesdewer]

I've climbed half dome and Shasta. No oxygen for either. How bad is a trip to Nepal? Come on. Everest? Bring it!

[@Girts-mp6jg]

This is also my dream, Everest in winter

[@trueMSB]

"I don't need no oxygen tanks, i only need ma trusty old axe and i ain't waiting 6 month for the 'PERFECT TIMING'"

[@Carlos-ql8sh]

A significant number of people in this documentary are voiced by Michael Palin’s King of Swamp Castle.

[@geraint8989]

14:44 Are smoked oysters still typical fare on Everest expeditions?

[@romuald9625]

The winter season there ends officially not on 31Jan but on 15Feb. The first successful winter ascent took part on 17Feb 1980 by two Poles (is on 17Feb still winter on Everest? yes it is)

[@str8cndian]

"It's more than a pity Pete" Lmfao!

[@ldhorricks]

Joe Tasker would perish a year later on the NE Ridge...

[@chicagogyrl4846]

If he wasn’t there, that wouldn’t of happened!

[@boomshine7]

is there no part 2 of this team, another winter? I liked it

[@myshepspud1]

Hairstyles are wild.

[@lloydmcguire4439]

6 of them unfortunately died climbing at different stages in their lives.

[@chicagogyrl4846]

If they were not climbing, they wouldn’t have died!

[@dougfogarty2461]

This looks very steep.

[@ShHeMiLeRe]

I thought it would be a documentary about the actual first Winter summit of Everest. An achievement as historically significant as the first Summer ascent except even more difficult.

[@jb1934]

me too... but now that I've seen it, I'm just glad I've seen it! i thought there were no more hidden gems about the pre-commercial everest to be found on youtube, and this doc was all that and more. it's not like these guys were incompetent or ill-prepared. They didn't get much luck on weather, but they did get some great footage with their analogue camera gear, including that whopping non-digital lens noted in the comment above. There's something about analogue video, even after it's been digitized. I don't know what it is, but many others in the comments are mentioning it, and i'm in full agreement. it's a particularly good match for everest for some reason.

[@theresachung703]

This period was the ideal almost. It hadn’t yet been marrrd by the mass commercialisation of unprepared climbers and indifferent guides.

[@mattjackson3617]

Is this route more difficult than the Hornbein route? It looks like it.

[@tsunamis82]

Obviously, winter expeditions are not viable. Did they not expect winds and cold conditions?

[@chicagogyrl4846]

Why in blazes are they going in the winter??! 😂🤣

[@katienoble3582]

Is that John Hurt narrating?

[@franciehartsog1347]

The climbers know what the risks are. The guides are guides, not Spider-Man!

[@lovesallanimals9948]

Not in this lifetime or any other😊

[@chicagogyrl4846]

😂🤣

[@chicagogyrl4846]

They wouldn’t pay them in pounds, they exchanged because then they will be paying the Sherpas much less!

[@jonntischnabel]

"the porters carry 30kg and get paid under a pound a day" . NOT IF YOU PAY THEM MORE THEY DON'T. FFS! 🤬

[@RaulMeatFactory1975]

Is the narrator's voice John Hurt???

I think John Hurt (English actor) is the narrator?

[@kiljaedyn]

i could have made it to the summit.

[@marietromp9404]

Anyone know the title of theme song at 0:38??

[@lilyfisher1702]

Open on computer and Spotify it