Meru

Human endurance.  An X factor.  No one can accurately describe what it is.  It is somewhere between genetic code and willpower.  Some have it in spades.  And then some.  There were three that did.  They are all mountaineers.

Meru is a documentary directed by one of the climbers of this dizzying peak in the Indian portion of the Himalayas.  It is a fascinating picture showcasing the human ability to surmount odds and pursue a passion where it becomes a matter of life and death.  We watched this film today and were blown away by not just the expedition but the art of film making in what can only be described as arduous circumstances.

Meru is approx 22,000 feet altitude which makes it about 75% of the height of Mt. Everest, the tallest peak in the world.  But the challenge to summit it for a human is not the mere height, which is still staggering - just around where jet planes fly - but the sharp final ascent on a granite wall that can crack and collapse if you are not careful.  That ascent alone is the last 1,000 feet and can take days for the best climbers in the world.

It was summited in 2011 by a team of three called Jimmy Chin (also directed and produced the documentary), Conrad Anker and Renan Ozturk.  All amazing people in their own rights who apparently only live to scale new peaks.   Renan made a near miraculous recovery from an earlier ski accident where his skull and vertebrae had fractured just couple years prior and went on to summit the Meru peak with these other two in part as an homage to their first attempt that failed just 100 meters from the peak.