Two French madmen climbed 26,000 feet with no oxygen—then one jumped off with a parachute.
In October 1984, Pierre Béghin, an engineer from Grenoble, and Jean-Noël Roche, a high-mountain guide, completed the Himalayan ascent of Dhaulagiri (8,172 m). The expedition's context: seven people crossed Nepal to Muri, collected accounts from trekkers—including that of the author Robert Rieffel—and attended Sherpa prayers at base camp. Then, the two of them embarked on a rocky and snowy route without supplemental oxygen. At over 5,000 meters, on the mountain of winds, Jean-Noël Roche made a paragliding flight. The climbers brought back footage with their Super 8 camera from 6,500 meters, but only photographs have been able to confirm their presence on the summit ridge of the seventh highest peak in the world.
Practical Effects
Actual paragliding launch from 16,000+ feet—no CGI, just madness.
Cinematography
Handheld Super 8 at altitude: shaky, sacred, irreplaceable.
Production
Sherpa prayer sequences ground the ego before the ascent.
Director
Philippe Lallet
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
FR
