COLD, by Cory Richards is a short mountaineering documentary that won a number of awards at a number of film festivals in 2011-12 (Banff Film Festival, Telluride etc) . Richards was also named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. I found a truncated version of the film on YouTube that captures much of their story and some of the vivid experiences on the mountain that relate to existential and rhetorical questions, physical and mental solitude, loneliness, doubt, respect for the mountain ("be gentle"), humility, suffering, family, and yes, how COLD it really is. I have been caught on the mountain when storms and winds roll in, turning my lips blue, freezing my hands to useless and clumsy appendages, and disorienting my mind and body. These are just a few symptoms that set in when adversity and trials are amplified by the COLD. Richards begins this film with an existential yet pragmatic question that is captured with an expletive. Although I am not a big fan of substituting profanity for articulation, it works in capturing the dyer conditions and his despair. Richards' film is a simple masterpiece of how we experience adversity, how the mind, body & spirit respond to adversity, how we work through existential doubt and anxiety, and how we find the strength to carry on. Enjoy this brief 11 minute film (the original is about 28 minutes long) and offer any responses or impressions.
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