Kawagarbo Sacred Snow Mountain

Description

This is a story of “man and snow-capped mountain” imbued with an Eastern mysticism.

Kawagebo is the foremost of the eight sacred mountains in Tibetan Buddhism, a holy pilgrimage site for Tibetan Buddhists. In local culture, the mountain possesses its own life and an inviolable sanctity.

However, to outsiders, especially mountaineers, “Kawagebo” is merely a 6740-meter peak, almost never considered a top-tier climber’s destination. Yet, in the pursuit of this height, on January 3, 1991, a Sino-Japanese mountaineering team encountered an avalanche while climbing Kawagebo Peak. All 17 team members perished, a tragedy that shocked the world and became the second greatest mountaineering disaster in history. In November 1996, a joint Sino-Japanese mountaineering team attempted to climb Meili Snow Mountain again, but ultimately failed for mysterious reasons.

This film, through interviews with mountain disaster survivors and precious footage taken at the time, tells the thrilling story of the two ascents of Kawagebo Peak by the joint Sino-Japanese mountaineering team, as well as the cultural differences and conflicts between the mountaineers and the local Tibetan people. The story is authentic and moving.