Epic Mountaineering Documentary 'Meru' - Exhilarating and Inspiring

Meru is a 2015 documentary film co-directed by Jimmy Chin and his wife Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. The awe-inspiring film examines the 2011 first ascent of a new route up a 4,000-foot wall known as the Shark's Fin located on the northeast side of Meru Peak in the Indian Himalayas. This ascent was preceded by a failed attempt in 2008 by the same climbing team of Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk – all featured in Meru. The film, which covers both the 2008 and 2011expeditions, is awesome – displaying complex and elite climbing skills, creativity, and perseverance. Jimmy Chin comments on balancing climbing and filmmaking in extreme conditions: "You know, I'm always a climber first, I'm always thinking about the safety of myself and the team. And I make that evaluation before I take the camera out." I have watched this documentary over five times, and will do so again before any major climb - very inspiring! On Jimmy Chin’s website, he describes the premise of the Meru documentary: “On Meru, a 21,000-foot