Climbing mountains may offer you a lot of benefits; it improves your fitness, lets you see the world from an amazing vantage point, gives you the chance to meet wonderful people who like the same kinds of sports, and it will give you valuable life lessons about patience, persistence and becoming aware of your environment. Find here a list of adventure mountain movies to know more about this extreme sport.
Meru – 2015
Jimmy Chin, Conrad Anker, and Renan Ozturk, are a group of climbers that tried to climb Meru mountain on 2008, but they failed, so they tried this challenge again in 2011. They aim to climb 4000 foot of the Meru mountain, known as “Shark’s Fin”. this time they documented their trial by making a film about it, and because they faced a lot of disasters in their first trial, they make their safety a priority this time.
Everset – 2015 (adventure mountain movies)
A famous addition to the adventure mountain movies about Jason Clarke and Josh Brolin, who went to climb Mount Everest in 1996, the highest point on Earth. They find themselves in the middle of the most violent storm, as they face death on multiple fronts; the freezing temperature, blistering winds, and poor visibility.
Touching the Void – 2003
Joe Simpson and Simon Yates are two climbers who decided in 1985 to reach Siula Grande summit, to become the first climbers to carry out this achievement. They succeeded, but on their way down they faced what they never guessed would happen to them; first Simpson’s leg broke, and it became Yates’s responsibility to bring him down safely, and they also faced a storm.
127 Hours – 2010 (adventure mountain movies)
Another one of the best adventure mountain movies about the adventurer Aron Ralston; who went on an expedition to explore an isolated canyon in the state of Utah, but he got trapped under a big rock that fell on his arm.Aron tried his best for 5 days to stay alive, and he calculates all his surviving chances, and finds that the only solution is amputate his own arm and find his way back to the city.
Into the Wild – 2007
A mountain adventure movie directed by Sean Penn, and it’s about Christopher McCandless who is a well-off guy, born to a privileged family. After his graduation from a sophisticated university, he chooses to go on an adventure instead of working in a bid company and starting a new career. He climbs mountains and finds his way through Alaska, and finds his joy and happiness in wild.
Free Solo – 2018 (adventure mountain movies)
The movie about Alex Honnold the climber who decides to climb the rock wall; a 3000 feet climb in El Capitan, Yosemite National Park. He wants to be the first person to accomplish this mission. Alex is a shy person living in a van with his girlfriend. He attempts the climb but the first time he fell and broke his leg, but in the second trial he did it and documented that as a free solo climber.
Vertical Limit – 2000
The movie is about Peter Garrett who felt guilty about his father’s death during a climbing trip, so he quit climbing and became a photographer, but his sister Annie completes her father’s dream and becomes a top climber. Annie gets hired by Elliot Vaughn the wealthy businessman to lead a climbing trip but she gets trapped in the storm. This forces Peter to get back to climbing to rescue her and her group.
Sherpa – 2015 (adventure mountain movies)
The movie is about the Sherpas people who want to reclaim their mountain Chomolungma Sherpa, from the point of view of Phurba Tashi who is a professional climber that climbed Everest 21 times on commercial trips with Russell Brice’s expedition company, New Zealand. However, his family and his wife do not want him to climb for money, to keep his life safe. The movie shows us the traditional life of Sherpa and their spiritual connection with the mountain.
Beyond the Edge – 2013
The movie was produced in 2013 in New Zealand, and it documents the epic ascending of Mount Everest done in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. It also includes some original photographs from Everest and an interview with Hillary,. it premiered in 2013 in Toronto Film Festival and got a positive reviews from both of the critics and the fans, it is one of the adventure mountain movies you will enjoy.
The Dawn Wall – 2017
A documentary about the legendary American rock climber Tommy Caldwell. It is one of the adventure mountain movies that show us his attempt at climbing the Dawn Wall of El Capitan and ascending it’s height which is 3000 feet, with his partner Kevin Jorgeson. Tommy has a lot of records in climbing sports, and has many achievements and successes. it is a nice and interesting movie you can watch with your family.
The Wildest Dream – 2010
The movie is a documentary and one of the best adventure mountain movies about a famous British climber called George Mallory.The climber went with his partner Andrew Irvine on 1924 to climb Mount Everest, but they lost their way, until another climber called Conrad Anker found his body in 1999. The movie was released in the United States in 2010 by National Geographic Entertainment.
Valley Uprising – 2014
The movie is about Yosemite valley, California, USA, where the climbers under it’s shady campgrounds live their life on their own terms. They don’t care too much about the rules, making wild parties, and they compete with each other in climbing unbelievable curves, and push themselves to the limits. It is another one of the adventure mountain movies You can enjoy watching.
North Face – 2008 (adventure mountain movies)
A mountain adventure movie about a true story that happened in 1936, when a group of climbers competed to climb the northern side of the Alps mountain, which is the most dangerous side of it. It was a part of Nazi propaganda, from the point of view of two German climbers that tried their best to beat their fear and dare to do this epic ascent.
180° South – 2010 (adventure mountain movies)
Jeff Johnson is an adventurer who wants to do something special in his life, so he rides his ship to Patagonia, but his ship gets wrecked near Easter Island. He prepares himself for an epic adventure and goes to climb Cerro Corcovado, he also finds some good company and becomes best friends with Chouinard and Tompkins. They change his life head over heels.
Cold Mountain – 2003
A movie showcasing a group of big stars including Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger and Natalie Portman. It is about love and loyalty from the point of view of an injured American solider in the civil war, who want to make it back home alive to his wife through the mountains and valleys, while his wife is taking care of their farm. it is one of the best adventure mountain movies you can see.
Seven Years in Tibet – 1997
A biography movie starring Brad Pitt, and one of the adventure mountain movies telling the story of sergeant Heinrich Harrer the Austrian mountaineer, during world war II when he escapes from the Nazi army to Tibet and stays there for seven years between 1944 and 1995. He becomes best friends with the Dalai Lama, and he lives a wonderful spirit life, learning about love and peace.
The Eiger Sanction – 1975
An action movie starring Clint Eastwood, based on a novel written by Trevanian in 1972 with the same name, and it is about a history professor and climber named Jonathan Hemlock, working for a secret agency. In his latest mission, he has to ascend the north face of mountain Eiger, to get revenge on the murderer of his partner. another one from the best adventure mountain movies list you can enjoy.
Cliffhanger – 1993 (adventure mountain movies)
The movie is about Gabriel Walker and Jessie Deighan, who are working as a rangers. They went on a rescue mission to save their friends Hal and Sarah, because Hal got a knee injury and could not descend from the peak in the Colorado Rockies; but while they were trying to save them, Sarah’s belt breaks and she falls down and lost her life. It was not Gabriel ‘s fault but Hal put the blame on him.
The Summit – 2012
A documentary directed by Nick Ryan, and one of the adventure mountain movies about a true disaster that happened in 2008. The movie recreates the K2 disaster where 11 climber died while they tried to reach the Summit of the most dangerous mountain in the world. The movie was filmed on the Jungfraujoch glacier in Switzerland and the north side of the Eiger.
Tracks – 2013 (adventure mountain movies)
An Australian movie and one of the mountain adventure movies directed by John Curran, based on the memories of Robyn Davidson, which documented his nine months adventure across the Australian desert riding a camel, through heights and valleys. The movie premiered as an opening film in the Adelaide Film Festival – Australia, on 2013, and won many documentary movies awards around the world.
Mountain – 2017
An Australian documentary narrated by Willem Dafoe, and directed Jennifer Peedom, it premiered in 2017 in Sydney Opera House. The movie takes you on a wild adventure around the highest peaks in the world at present, and it teaches us about the relationships between human beings and mountains, and how it affects their life on Earth. It is another one of the best adventure mountain movies list, and you can get a lot of useful information out of it as well.
The Himalayas – 2015
The movie is about Hong-gil and Mu-taek, the climbers who became best friends after they climbed Kanchenjunga together. They wrote their names in history after they became the 14th team to climb Himalayas. They both got injured and retried. Hong-gil works as a lecturer, but Mu-taek decides that he has to climb Everest. They lose all traces of him and that compels his friend Hong-gil to make a rescue team and find him, despite all concerns related to this mission.
The Climb – 2017 (adventure mountain movies)
The story about Samy Dhiakate who was living in La Courneuve town in Paris, dreaming about getting married to the love of his life Nadia, but she cannot believe that he could be a responsible person, so he asked her what he can do to make her sure that he will do any thing for her and become the right husband. She said sarcastically that he has to climb Everest. Samy has no experience in climbing but with support from his community, he starts his journey to the Himalayas. Could he do it?
The mountain between us – 2017
A movie directed Hany Abu-Assad, starring Idris Elba and Kate Winslet. The movie is about neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Bass and photojournalist Alex Martin who hired a private pilot to take them to their destination from Idaho to Denver after their flight was canceled due to violent storm. The pilot got a fatal stroke and the plane crashed on a mountaintop. They both survived but Alex got injured and Ben gives her aid. They waited too long to get any help with no response, so they tried to reach a point on the mountain that could increase their survival chances.
Alive – 1993 (adventure mountain movies)
The movie set in 1972 about the Stella Maris College’s Old Christians Rugby Team, who went for a game, and flew over the Andes, using Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. However, the plane crashed over the mountain and the team captain Antonio (a medical student) and his friends try their best to help the injured and keep the survivors safe. one more from the adventure mountain movies list.
The Conquest of Everest – 1953
A British documentary nominated for the Oscars academy award for documentary movies. The movie was directed by George Lowe, and it is one of the adventure mountain movies about many trials done by climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The movie was filmed by Tom Stobart, and is unique for showing a lot of emotions on the climbers’ faces.
The Revenant – 2015
The movie is set in 1823 about Hugh Glass, a fur trapper who leads a group of hunters through Dakotas’ lands. The hunters are attacked by Arikara war party, and many of them are killed.The survivors escaped with Glass on a boat, and they went to Fort Kiowa, where they complete their mission in getting furs, but Glass gets betrayed by his peers and attacked by a bear, which makes him fueled by vengeance.
Sugar Mountain – 2016 (adventure mountain movies)
A movie starring Jason Momoa, directed by Richard Gray, and it is one of the adventure mountain movies about two brothers who want to get attention from others and invent a cool story for their friends to tell, so they tried to fake a wild trip in the Alaskan wilderness, but soon their trick becomes much more real than what they planned for.
A Lonely Place to Die – 2011
A crime movie directed by Julian Gilbey and starring Alec Newman, and one of the best adventure mountain movies about a group of climbers who went on an adventure to climb the Scottish Highlands. Unexpectedly, they found a young Serbian imprisoned in an isolated room, so they rescue her but still they have a difficult mission to escape from the kidnappers safely.
High Lane – 2009
A horror movie and one of the adventure mountain movies about a group of friends who decided to go on a vacation, and climb mountains for fun. They found a part of the mountain under maintenance and they thought it will be more interesting to go there, but soon it become a nightmare with no safe place to go.
The Asgard Project – 2009
The movie is a documentary about the the first ambitious trial to ascend the mount of Asgard on Baffin Island , it is a dangerous place found in the depth of the Arctic, where you could reach freezing temperature very easily. The movie documents how Leo and his friend Stanley Leary climb the big wall, then descend from the summit using a wing-suit.
Nanga Parbat – 2010
A documentary about the climbing trial of the brothers Reinhold and Günther Messner, to climb the Nanga Parbat, one of the peaks of the Himalayan mountain. The movie shows us how the brothers become enchanted by the climbing sport, starting from their younger days in the school when they climb the school wall, in their town of St. Peter in Villnöss.
The Beckoning Silence – 2007
Joe Simpson is an ambitious climber, at one of his climbing trips he got injured and the doctors told him that he should not climb ever again, but he survives the injury and asks himself if the climbing is so important to lose your life for? Could he go back to do what he is passionate about or find another hobby? It is another one of the adventure mountain movies you will enjoy watching.
Encounters at the End of the World – 2007
A documentary directed and narrated by Werner Herzog, and it is filmed by him too. He wants to focus on the scientist who are working in treacherous conditions in Antarctica; some of them studying neutrons, others studying Animals, while some of them search for Volcanoes, but all of them had to learn how to survive first of all.
