Hacker Cinema
The Last Mountain
2022 · Film · documentary · 89 min
Directed by Christopher Terrill
The compelling story of 30-year-old climber Tom Ballard who disappeared on one of the Himalayas' most deadly mountains, Nanga Parbat, in February 2019. Tom was the son of mountaineer Alison Hargreaves, who perished on K2 in 1995. Mother and son, two of the greatest climbers of all time, died at almost the same age in neighbouring mountain ranges, both doing what they loved best. They now lie forever encased in the ice of two of the world’s highest mountains. Left behind to cope with the enduring tragedy are Tom’s sister, Kate, and their father, Jim.
1 positivefrom 1 commenter
Where to watch
No streaming data for this title.
1 comment on Hacker News
Native West Virginian here. We have kind of a strange situation in that we are rather right-leaning politically and so many people are employed by coal and energy companies that anything that comes across as "environmentalist" is met with hostility by the general public, even though we are too often the victims of horrendous incidents such as this, as well as highly questionable business practices like fracking, mountain top removal, etc. Just Massey Energy's track record alone is pretty disturbing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massey_Energy#Environmental_record
And in recent memory, the Chesapeake incidents:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/82EF516757FCD5DD85257C4600814C2B
I think a lot of people have essentially accepted things the way they are now and aren't willing to rock the boat. There are a handful of documentaries that come to mind- namely The Last Mountain, Coal Country, and Coal Rush- that are pretty difficult to watch, but I think if more people in our area saw the effects of our beloved industry they might see things differently. However, I think most end up turning a blind eye to it out of fear of unemployment.