ABC SUNDAY MOVIE: INTO THIN AIR: DEATH ON EVEREST (TV)

Summary

This docudrama portrays the deadly ascent of Mount Everest that killed five experienced climbers in the spring of 1996, based on journalist Jon Krakauer's first-hand account. Experienced guides and friendly competitors Rob Hall and Scott Fischer explain the stages of the climb and the effects of thin air, but Hall is concerned by the growing popularity of climbing Mt. Everest, since inexperience can lead to death. Two groups of climbers stay at base camp for three weeks so their bodies can acclimate to the altitude. On the journey to Camp One at 19,500 feet, the climbers encounter ice crevasses that can swallow climbers and send them into a freefall toward an icy death. At Camp Two at 21,600 feet, a Taiwanese climber plunges to his death due to improper footwear. As they settle into Camp Three at 24,000 feet, Fischer helps a client trek back down the mountain as he is suffering from cerebral edema. But Fischer underestimates how much energy he will waste returning, and while he claims to be fine, Hall knows he is weak and tired. Hall and Fischer argue about one sherpa's heavy baggage for a wealthy client, but then agree to mind their own groups. Soon people's senses betray them and dementia develops. At Camp Four at 26,000 feet, the remains of dead climbers are scattered about. Beck Weathers tells Hall that his eyesight is failing, and Hall instructs Weathers to wait to be picked up on the way down. During the ascent of the infamous Hillary Step, the ropes that the sherpas were supposed to install are not in place. Krakauer and Andy Harris install the ropes themselves, a process that consumes valuable oxygen, and reach the summit at 29,028 feet -- yet Krakauer can barely think with his oxygen-deprived brain. The descent proves difficult due to a traffic jam on the ropes as others try to reach the summit. And Hall continues climbing an hour after the predetermined turnaround time, while Weathers waits. The second group reaches the summit hours after the turnaround time when a severe storm approaches. At Camp Four, Fischer is utterly disoriented, Hall's legs are frozen, and nobody from the second group has returned. Confused, Harris leaves to get help, but never makes it back, and Hall is unable to reach the oxygen tanks due to his frozen legs. Anatoli Boukreev boldly rescues a group stranded by wind chill temperatures of one hundred below zero. Several people, including Weathers and Fischer, are regrettably abandoned to save more climbers. Stranded in the storm, Hall contacts Krakauer and demands to be patched through to his wife to speak one last time. Miraculously, Weathers stumbles into camp, badly frostbitten and practically blind. But the other climbers -- Hall, Fischer, Harris, Doug Hansen, and Yasuko Namba -- perish on Mt. Everest. Includes commercials, promos, and a public service announcement. This program is closed-captioned.

Details

• NETWORK: ABC
• DATE: November 9, 1997 Sunday 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:55:10
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: T:51465
• GENRE: Docudrama
• SUBJECT HEADING: Docudrama
• SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1997
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials - "One Night Stand" (feature film)
  • TV - Commercials - "The Jackal" (feature film)
  • TV - Commercials - "The Lost World" home video
  • TV - Commercials - AETNA U.S. healthcare
  • TV - Commercials - AFLAC insurance
  • TV - Commercials - Buick LeSabre automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Burger King fast food
  • TV - Commercials - Cadillac Deville automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Caress soap
  • TV - Commercials - Chevy Blazer automobiles
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  • TV - Commercials - Chex party mix
  • TV - Commercials - Cigna healthcare
  • TV - Commercials - Clairol Herbal Essences body wash
  • TV - Commercials - Cover Girl Simply Powder makeup
  • TV - Commercials - Crest Multi-Care toothpaste
  • TV - Commercials - Dimetapp medicine
  • TV - Commercials - Electrasol dishwashing tabs
  • TV - Commercials - Enterprise rental cars
  • TV - Commercials - GMC Jimmy automobile
  • TV - Commercials - GM Goodwrench auto services
  • TV - Commercials - Gateway computers
  • TV - Commercials - Healthy Choice meals
  • TV - Commercials - Mastercard credit cards
  • TV - Commercials - Mattel toys
  • TV - Commercials - Maxwell House coffee
  • TV - Commercials - McDonald's fast food
  • TV - Commercials - McShilling recipe mixes
  • TV - Commercials - NyQuil medicine
  • TV - Commercials - Payless Shoe Source shoe store
  • TV - Commercials - Philips Magnavox DVD video
  • TV - Commercials - Pontiac Grand Prix automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Saturn automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Sears department stores
  • TV - Commercials - Special Olympics
  • TV - Commercials - St. Ives moisterizing lotion
  • TV - Commercials - Triscuit whole wheat wafers
  • TV - Commercials - United States Postal Service
  • TV - Commercials - Visa credit cards
  • TV - Commercials - Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum
  • TV - PSA - Partnership for a Drug-Free America
  • TV - Promos - "ABC Monday Night Football"
  • TV - Promos - "ABC World News Tonight"
  • TV - Promos - "Cracker"
  • TV - Promos - "Dharma & Greg"
  • TV - Promos - "Ellen"
  • TV - Promos - "Home Improvement"
  • TV - Promos - "Medusa's Child"
  • TV - Promos - "NYPD Blue"
  • TV - Promos - "Oliver Twist"
  • TV - Promos - "Penn & Tellers Home Invasion"
  • TV - Promos - "PrimeTime Live"
  • TV - Promos - "Soul Man"
  • TV - Promos - "Spin City"
  • TV - Promos - "The Drew Carey Show"

CREDITS

• Bernard Sofronski … Executive Producer
• Hans Proppe … Producer
• Rosalie Muskatt … Producer
• Matthew Stillman … Co-Producer
• David Minkowski … Co-Producer
• Rachel Verno … Co-Producer
• Deborah Edell Underwood … Associate Producer
• Robert Markowitz … Director
• Robert J. Avrech … Writer
• Jon Krakauer … Based on the book "Into Thin Air" by
• Lee Holdridge … Music by
• Peter Horton … Cast, Scott Fischer
• Nat Parker … Cast, Rob Hall
• Christopher McDonald … Cast, Jon Krakauer
• Richard Jenkins … Cast, Beck Weathers
• Pamela Gien … Cast, Sandy Hill Pittman
• Peter J. Lucas … Cast, Anatoli Boukreev
• Jeff Perry … Cast, Doug Hansen
• Ned Vaughn … Cast, Neal Beidleman
• Akemi Otani … Cast, Yasuko Namba
• Richard Rees … Cast, Lopsang Sherpa
• Stuart Milligan … Cast, Dale Krose
• Nicholas Hewelson … Cast, Tim Madsen
• Luke Garrett … Cast, Mike Groom
• Romilly Weeks … Cast, Charlotte Fox
• Esther Hall … Cast, Jan Arnold
• David Forman … Cast, Taiwanese Climber #1
• Nigel Fan … Cast, Taiwanese Climber #2
• Tim Dutton … Cast
• Long Nguyen … Cast