In 2003, Jon Miller filmed the efforts of then 23-year-old Ben Clark in his attempt to become one of the youngest climbers to summit Everest. That became the 2005 documentary, “Everest: The Other Side”. Now Jon hips the world to The Rest of Everest.The Rest of Everest takes unseen footage from the “Everest: The Other Side” chronicles, and packages it in bite-sized webisodes, regaling us with the stories behind the climb. This web series is a great way for site surfers to grasp the entire notion of staging a mountain climbing expedition, a fantastic way to witness the rarified air of Earth’s tallest peaks, and just plain fun.
Each webisode includes original footage along with added play-by-play commentary by Jon. Folks who were on the climb stop by Jon’s place, watch the footage alongside him, and provide additional color commentary.
Jon is a talented filmmaker. I learned some valuable lessons regarding the interaction of Western and Tibetan cultures in the climb region. I glimpsed the lifestyle and economic needs of the sherpas. I marveled at some astounding footage.
Jon needs help as a narrator. For instance, in Webisode #17, “Weighing the Expedition.” Jon displays footage of Chinese/Tibetan officials using simple scales to weigh the entire expedition team’s equipment and uses that as an opportunity to bag on professional ability of those very same officials. Thankfully, climber/guest host Ben Clark finally gets Jon back on audio track by explaining to us the reason for Chinese/Tibetan weight officials. The reason is environmentally and economically compelling and deserved more attention than it was given.
If you can forgive Jon his cultural biases, then you will certainly enjoy watching The Rest of Everest, as it unfolds. The nice thing about this website is that it is also a blog. So sitesurfers without broadband can still enjoy the experience. The series streams for free via QuickTime or by free subscription at the iTunes store.
On the .com Dish! site surfin’ scale, The Rest of Everest rates an enthusiastic “E” for everyone.
