"Take It To The Limit"?
Artist and year?
1975. The Eagles, of course. Very funny.
That's not a song. It 's ridiculous. You made it up.
That is definitely a song. It's a good song, and a winning song.
You give up?
On belay.
"MacArthur Park." Richard Harris. 1968
1968? I didn't even think they had recorded music back then.
Excuse me. I have a signed album by Mr. Harris.
It was cutting-edge stuff back then.
Peter, check your sister's belay.
Want to tell him we're not 15?
Why bother? We'll always be 15.
Dad, she needs a second cam.
That won't hold in a fall.
Screw you.
Listen, Annie.
No matter how experienced...
...a smart climber always wears a belt and suspenders.
Two cams are safe, three's better.
I'm not kidding. We're not moving until you put another cam in the wall.
I have three cams. He's yanking your chain.
Watch out!
Amateurs at twelve o'clock! Check your safety!
Too much weight! It's not gonna hold!
Hold it together, you two!
Now get a grip.
We're getting out of this.
Annie, how close to the wall are we?
Keep still, goddamn it! Stop moving around! Stop!
Dad!
Both of you...
...keep very still.
Try and stay calm.
Annie.
Is the other cam moving?
No.
Try and reach the wall.
See if you can anchor us back in.
Try it.
It's moving!
Peter, get your knife.
What?
Just do as I say.
Get it!
You don't have much time here.
You have to do something for me.
Cut me loose.
One cam can't hold us all.
You have to cut me loose...
...or else I' II pull everybody down. Everybody will die!
Shut up, Annie!
It's one dead or three, Peter.
Don't make him do this.
You're gonna kill your sister.
Annie will die if you don't.
- I won't do it! - Cut the rope!
- I can't! - Stop it!
That cam is gonna come out and Annie and you will die!
- You'll kill your sister! - Stop it!
Cut the damn rope!
It doesn't matter about me. Cut it.
We're out of time!ŁĄ
Don't do it!
No one will blame you for it! Just cut it!
Annie and you are gonna die! Just cut it, Peter!
We're cleared for the Siachen glacier. A doctor's on standby.
I was heading there anyway. Mail and supplies.
I can drop you on my way back to K2 base camp
Sounds good.
I tried to visit you a few days ago.
But the weather closed in.
Annie's at base camp. Arrived last week.
Would you like a tea?
No, I' m fine.
You must try the tea. It 's very good. Indian, of course.
We may be at war with them, but their tea's the best.
- Forgive me. Mr. Garrett, isn't it? - Yes.
National Geographic is always welcome.
The only Westerners who come to Pakistan without conquering something.
The colonel' s angry. Only 25% of his medical supplies are onboard.
And three days late. Look at this place.
In six years, I' ve lost 800 men. Not one to the enemy.
But the chopper was full of stuff.
Not for my men.
For Americans who can pay $3 million for climbing permits.
Elliot Vaughn, the entrepreneur.
He's got 40 people with him to try K2. I've been seconded to his team.
Seconded or sold?
That's a question only a general in Islamabad can answer.
Three o'clock. Time to wake up the Indians.
So Annie's coming in with Vaughn's team?
She's leading a WNN documentary crew
They're going up the mountain with him.
Have you seen her?
Not yet. One of the guides told me.
What about Vaughn? What's he all about?
Pretty much what you'd expect. Sensitive, kind, modest.
Your typical billionaire.
Four years ago his team took on the south face.
Was 800 feet from the top when weather closed in.
Twenty-four hours in the death zone.
Next morning, he walked down. He's a bloody good climber.
- Got your update, Annie. - What's up?
That cyclone's tracking fast from southeast.
Let me know if anything changes.
What are you?
I just happened to be in the area.
I heard WNN hired you. And you're hosting it. Congrats.
They needed someone who could climb K2 and look presentable.
Not much of a rush.
That's not true. They wanted the best.
I read about you on the Eiger. Fastest female ascent.
Dad would be proud.
When you leaving?
Early tomorrow morning. We want to be summiting by 2:00 Wednesday.
What does the mountain say about that?
I thought you laid siege to it.
I didn't know it could be scheduled.
It's a plan, Peter, that's all.
Vaughn's aggressive. He knows what he wants and goes for it.
I admire him.
How long have you known him?
Wherever you're going with this, you're wrong.
Nobody ever affects my climbing.
Was that two of them, Cyril
Or has this stuff just gotten better than we thought?
- Frank. - Good to see you.
- Tommy McLaren. Colorado Kid. - You ready to go?
You lead, I' II follow.
There's my leading lady. Hi, Annie.
- How was your trip? - My stomach's still up there.
Luckily I passed on the eggs Benedict.
Excuse me for a minute.
Ed Viesturs. It's an honor to meet you.
- Elliot Vaughn. - Nice to meet you.
This guy has been up Everest five times.
He's climbed 12 of the world 's 14 highest peaks.
All without oxygen.
Rock on. By comparison, all of us are merely amateurs.
- It 's a real honor, Ed. - Welcome to base camp.
Thank you.
"Outdoors magazine" wants to interview you.
"Bankruptcy at High Altitude."
How much can we...
Yes?
I could go and come back, or...
Looking for Skip?
Yeah.
Try the command tent.
Thanks.
Skip?
I'm Peter Garrett.
- Good to meet you. - Good to meet you.
I got your message. Bad luck about your porter.
I've got four you can meet tomorrow. Supplies you need are no problem.
The Swedish hooker's taking longer than I thought.
There's no shortage of entertainment. You saw Mr. Vaughn fly in?
He's hard to miss. What's this about his climbing to a deadline?
- Friend of yours? - My sister's climbing with him.
Annie Garrett.
Vaughn's got this publicity stunt for his new airline, Majestic Air.
He stands on the top of K2 waving as the inaugural flight goes overhead.
Are you serious?
I'm deadly serious.
Your sister's safe. No one knows these hills better than Tommy McLaren.
He told Vaughn they'd get up there. I know I did.
I'd have told him anything for $1 million.
Is that what he's spending?
That's just for Tom. Bought his company out for the entire season.
Not that I' m pissed off. Look what I get to drag to the top.
56-year-old movie producer with dysfunctional bowel syndrome.
He's got the runs, mate. Permanently.
The Bench brothers bet he won't make it past 18,000.
- What do you think? - What do I think?
It depends. I' m so broke I might have to shove him in a crevasse myself.
This is Monique, our base camp manager and medic. Monique, Peter.
We've met. You should look at these.
Don't mind her. She's French-Canadian.
Some days she's Canadian and can be quite pleasant.
Today, she's obviously French.
How about some Spanish mackerel for the bow?
My name's Cyril. I' m not much, but I' m all I think about.
Watch out for him, he's like a dog. If he sees something...
...he tries to shag it. If he can't shag it, he tries to eat it.
If he can't eat it, he pisses on it.
It's easy to tell us apart, because I' m the shy one.
No, no, no, senorita.
Here you go. Have a drink on Mr. Vaughn.
What time's the laser show?
Is this thing on?
Howdy!
Everyone hear me all right?
No!
You're the lucky ones.
Welcome to the highest party in the world!
Okay, maybe I did overdo it just a bit.
Four years ago, I came here with a dream to climb K2.
The toughest mountain in the world.
As most of you know, that attempt ended in tragedy.
On Wednesday, with the help of Tom McLaren...
...I intend to fulfill that dream.
And while I'm at it, take care of some business, Texas style.
At 0900 hours, Greenwich Mean Time...
...the inaugural flight of Majestic Air will fly over the summit...
...and we'll be there to wave them on!
To the other teams climbing, I'd like to say be safe...
...and good luck.
Kick up your heels and enjoy the barbecue!
What about the weather, Mr. Vaughn?
We hope for the best. You know something we don't?
The weather closes in and people die up there.
Or don't you have to worry about that?
Anybody who doesn't worry about that is a fool.
Brian Maki did a high-atmosphere analysis of the last 4 decades.
Most years there's a 9-to-12-day lull before the fall storms.
On August 2nd, we calculate an 82% chance of fine weather.
Give me odds like that in the oil business, I' d be rich.
Who's the leader, Mr. Vaughn?
Who makes decisions that mean other people live or die?
Who plays God, so to speak?
There can be only one leader. It's always the best climber.
I've made it clear to everyone that Tom McLaren is that man.
Even the Pakistanis agree. They're giving you a 21 -gun salute.
Okay, let's party!
Thanks for that, Elliot.
You climb as good as you talk, we'll get you there.
You know that old guy who was asking questions?
Montgomery Wick.
Remember Dad used to talk about him?
They were in the service together...
Of course, I remember.
I miss him, Annie. I miss him just as much as...
I can't talk about it.
You never have.
There's nothing to say. He's gone, Peter.
Look, you can blame me all you want...
...but that last cam would've failed.
It held the two of us.
You want to do this? Okay, fine, let's do it.
You didn't give it a chance.
- He knew it wouldn't hold either. - Of course he didn't.
We were his life.
He would've died rather than take a chance anything might happen to us.
I think we owed him the same.
But I did what I thought was right.
If you're so right, why haven't you climbed? Or been to his grave?
I'm not going up there for a TV show. I'm going up there for him.
I want to be the person he always wanted me to be.
When I' m up there, I feel close to him.
I touch his soul.
Take care up there.
This is it.
Wish you were going with me.
Not this time. Take care up there. It'll be a great day for Texas.
And Scotland.
What is it?
Spindrift coming off the top.
That's local. If something was coming in, it'd show on the other peaks.
Your sister's fine, man. You look after yourself.
You too. Thanks for everything.
Understood, Tom. You guys take good care up there.
Thanks, base. Out.
Well, you heard it.
Computer model shows it's building.
That's a concern.
We're about an hour from the bottleneck, right?
Let's kick it and get up there.
Gets any worse, we'll shelter under the ice cliffs.
If it comes in fast, we're totally exposed out here.
It's not fast. He said it's slow-moving.
There's a 70% chance it'll turn east and miss us.
I'm not gonna risk a storm. Not at 26,000.
We're not suggesting anything stupid. The weather could turn.
The odds are with us. We're five hours from the summit.
We turn back now, that's it. We've lost our window.
I know. Elliot, I' m aware of that. It's my responsibility.
I won't let a marketing campaign compromise our safety.
You think this is about a marketing campaign?
Come on, Tom. This is about getting to the top.
I don't give a shit about the publicity.
This is a life statement for me.
We're only 500 feet from the bottleneck. Let's keep going.
Okay.
Let's go.
980 hecto-Pascals and falling.
Lenticular cloud to the southeast. Winds at 80 knots, rising.
Tom says he's going on. What's base camp pressure?
Pressure's dropped two points in four hours.
You made your case. We listened. We decided.
It's too high a risk. Why am I here if you don't listen to me?
I'll assess the risk. As to why you're here, I wonder myself.
I'm Annie's brother. McLaren's pulling them back, right?
We're on target. They're going on.
The wind's hit to the south. What's your satellite show?
We've assessed the data. We're going up.
It shows bad air coming in from India.
What the hell are you doing?
- How high are they? - 26,000.
- What are you doing?! - Warning my sister!
Leave it! That's enough!
Tom McLaren, come in.
Tom McLaren, this is base camp. Do you copy?
Tom McLaren, do you read?
Come in, base.
You've got a major storm coming in. You've gotta start down.
Who is this?
Peter Garrett. You copy about the storm?
Where's Frank Williams? Put Frank Williams on.
Skip here. We're looking at the weather screens.
If this doesn't turn, you'll be in big trouble. Turn back immediately.
Do you copy?
Yeah, I copy that. Thanks, Skip. Out.
How we doing?
I'm pulling the plug. We're going down.
- Just hold on. - I' m sorry, Elliot.
You pay me to make these decisions.
I'm paying you to get me to the top.
Jesus! Elliot, you told me I was in charge up here.
You are! Why are you vacillating?
Because some second-rate guide got on the radio?
Nobody knows this mountain better than Skip.
Skip Taylor's a hustler. He was jockeying me to be in your boots.
Don't crap out on me now.
Come on, what did you think?
She'd just lift up her skirt and pull her panties down for us?
Is this how you got up Everest twice?
I'm going down.
Fine. Fine.
Go down. Go on. Sit it out.
The storm will turn and you'll spend the rest of your life living it down.
That should do wonders for your business.
I'm sorry, can I Please.
We're going back!
We don't have a choice! We are dead on the ridge! Let's go!