JOURNEY TO EVEREST

JOURNEY TO EVEREST is a documentary about six Evangelical Christians taking a trip in 2008 to the Base Camp at Mt. Everest in the Himalayas, halfway up the imposing 29,000-foot mountain.

On their way into the mountains from Katmandu in Nepal, they are bumped from a plane flight that crashes and kills 18 people. While they struggle with their decision of whether to continue their trek, their faith comes into the fore as they experience the Hindu/Buddhist world of Nepal. They decide to go ahead with their flight to the small local airport next to the trails leading up to Everest. The next village up, however, the lone woman on the trek has trouble acclimating to the altitude, so she stops her journey and returns to Katmandu while her husband continues the climb. Everyone discovers the depths of who they are as Christians in a life-altering way.

Beautifully photographed, JOURNEY TO EVEREST perfectly captures the remote locations and daunting challenges of even making it to the Mt. Everest Base Camp, much less climbing the rest of the way. It also contrasts the Christian faith of the explorers and that of a native missionary couple in Katmandu with the Hindu/Buddhist superstitions of the majority people in Nepal. In one poignant sequence, the explorers and the missionary couple visit a remote village where the missionaries are helping a school of “untouchable” children, who are condemned by the Hindu/Buddhist traditions in Nepal and India. The children’s grateful, smiling faces toward these Christians speaks volumes.

JOURNEY TO EVEREST is a visually striking, informative documentary if you and your family are curious about Mt. Everest, the Himalayan Mountains, and the culture of the people living there. The DVD comes with a great deleted scene where the contrast between Hinduism/Buddhism and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is reiterated in a brief, concise, lucid way. In fact, proceeds from the DVD are going to fund Christian missionary work in Nepal and the Himalayas.