The amount of video content available these days is like the Sargasso Sea. You can sail it, but you might get stranded in the weeds and never return. Thus, challenge for companies these day is to come up with something that won’t get tangled in the “sargassum.”
Mountain Equipment of the UK is pushing to sell their line of storied gear in the North American market. Along with their NA launch, ME is celebrating their 50th anniversary as a company. To honor their heritage, Mountain Equipment created the 19 minute flick we show above, comprising a bundle of interview clips from past generations of (mostly UK) extreme alpinists.
What I like about the flick is they slanted towards the philosophical side, and actually tackle the question of if and why alpinism is more than just selfish recreation (though it is frequently that, and often ok to be so as far as I’m concerned). More, they managed to convey their branding message in a tasteful way. Check it out and let us know if they got stranded in the sargassum, or managed to hack out a clear spot and put together something worthy. Personally, I found it nicely done and a good look back at climbing and mountaineering from a UK view, logically divided into eras based on decades, e.g., 60s, 70s and so forth.
Best quote from the vid? When asked “why do you climb?” Pioneer alpinist Doug Scott answers, “I get grumpy when I don’t.”
Incidentally, at the OR show I did go through the ME line of gear. Nice stuff, we’ll probably review some.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
