Iñaki Ochoa de Olza

Gure Himalaya is a documentary about the mountaineering exploits of the Iñurrategi brothers between 1990 and 1998 — from climbing Pumori and Gyala Peri to tracking down the yeti. It was directed by Alberto Iñurrategi in 2005 and produced by BBK, starring Alberto Iñurrategi, Félix Iñurrategi, José Luís Zuloaga, Juanjo San Sebastián, Jon Lazkano, Iñaki Ochoa de Olza and others.

On the south face of Annapurna, at 7,400 metres, Iñaki Ochoa de Olza is dying. His rope companion sounds the alarm. And, from the other side of the world, the biggest rescue attempt in the history of the Himalayas gets underway. For four days a dozen men including some of the best mountaineers in the world, from ten countries, set out to try to rescue their stricken comrade. Even beyond his peaks Iñaki is an exceptional man. As exceptional as the rescue attempt itself and the men who risked their lives to save him. Exceptional because their one driving rule is to live. To live in the only way possible: with pure intensity and honesty.

This 2008 documentary traces the journey of mountaineer Iñaki Ochoa de Olza Seguin. Rather than recounting his death, the film focuses on his life, drawing on a wide range of archival materials: recordings of lectures made by his father, photos sent by friends, period footage, and 8mm home movies. Iñaki’s voice—culled from these materials—challenges our complacency and speaks of his connection to Navarre, his family, and the mountains. Through this relationship with the mountains, the film explores joy, pain, the contrast between a life lived intensely and a conventional, comfortable existence, as well as happiness and death. This tribute film premiered at the Baluarte Auditorium in Pamplona in 2008, during the ceremony awarding medals for sporting merit to Iñaki himself and to everyone who had taken part in his rescue.

Horia Colibasanu is a dentist, father of two boys and elite climber. In 2008, he refused to abandon, at 7400 meters on the Annapurna, his sick companion, the Basque mountaineer Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, implanted his own life in danger. His action dazzled the climbing community. Despite this tragic incident, he continued to climb in pure alpine style, without supplemental oxygen. In 2017, the 40-year-old Romanian athlete will return to Everest, after two unsuccessful attempts. For the first time, Horia is attempting a solo ascent.

For twenty years, the Beghin-Lafaille route on the South Face of Annapurna was considered one of the most difficult and dangerous in the Himalayas. In the autumn of 2013, it was climbed first by Ueli Steck solo, and then by the team of Yannick Graziani and Stéphane Benoist. It is an extraordinary route that profoundly changed the lives of those who tackled it. The film recounts the remarkable convergence of destinies surrounding this climb and explores how such an ascent can transform a life. Drawing inspiration from the experiences of astronauts returning from the moon—who suffered from "absolute achievement" syndrome—the filmmakers sought to understand how the deep-seated drives that compel mountaineers to prepare for and commit to such climbs can shatter at the very moment a lifelong goal appears to have been reached.