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Nordenwand- movie review

Nordwand (North Face in English) was released in 2008, and gives a dramatized account of The Tragedy of Tony Kurz chapter, in The White Spider. It is not based on the book, but more than half of the movie takes place on the wall of the Eiger, playing out with varying accuracy the scenes depicted…

High Crimes book review

High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed by Michael Kodas was a very entertaining read that captivated my attention from the beginning of the book but also did a fairly good job at informing the reader of the message that is being conveyed throughout the book; man is every bit as…

Touching the Void Film Review

This movie is insane! It unfolds more like a documentary with re-enactment, actually that’s exactly what it is. The documentary interviews all of the men involved which are Simon Yates, Joe Simpson, and Richard Hawking. In a strange or perhaps fated series of events, Simon and Joe travel to Peru in hopes to successfully complete…

Final Paper Topic

For my final paper topic I will be examining the trends in narratives employed about the psychology of the main hero character and how they overcome their tribulations, and what this may say about the author and time period. It’s always interesting to analyze the perspective of the author, especially in biographies and auto-biographies. Without…

The Wildest Dream Film Review

A film of two tales is how I would describe this documentary. One story line of the film tells the story of George Mallary and his upbringing and fascination with climbing, his life and relationship with his wife, and his obsessive desire to conquer the tallest mountain in the world during a new age of exploration.…

Touching the Void Review

Touching the Void is most certainly one of the most epic mountaineering books that I have read and truly captures the unbreakable determination and fight that resides in the human spirit. The book tells the real life story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates and their climb and disastrous descent from the west face of Siula…

Climbing Wall Expansion Survey

Here’s the link to my (very quick) survey. Please be honest and feel free to spread the word! Thanks everybody! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MPMCPZ If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions feel free to email me at vertigomsu@ gmail.com. Thanks again!

Terrorism and War in the Himalayas Sources

My paper is focusing on terrorism and war in the Himalayas and their effects on mountaineering and other tourism in these areas.  My personal favorite source is the book that Greg Child wrote about the 1999 Kidnapping of Americans in Kyrgyzstan. It allows for a turning point and the main focus of the paper and…

Final Paper Topic

For my final paper, I will be looking at how commercialization of Everest and the Himalayas has positively and negatively impacted the native Sherpa people. The question that my paper will be trying to answer is whether commercialization has led to the exploitation of the Sherpas on Everest climbing expeditions and whether the dangerous work justifies the…