Winter Movie Viewing – “180° South”

Over the first grey months of the New Year there are not a great variety of opportunities for working up a sweat. Hauling over to the YMCA to jog or dusting off the skis can make one yearn for something more…adventurous. Fair warning: This feeling may increase after watching the inspiring documentary film 180º South, a marriage of sailing, climbing, surfing, and adventure.

Not at all a typical adrenaline-pumping, nature-jock movie, 180º South is quiet and meditative. It follows surf-bum and climber Jeff Johnson who recreates a journey he saw in an old 16mm film called Mountain of Storms, which chronicled a climbing adventure in the Argentinean mountains taken in 1968 by the founders of the Patagonia and Northface clothing companies.

These two men, who are now well into their 70s, also make a major appearance in 180º South. Not only do they bring wisdom and some of the best laughs, but they still have major climbing chops! When Jeff makes it to Argentina, they will accompany him up the snowy mountain – 40 years after the original climb. But first, Jeff has to get there.

One line of the movie that sticks in memory is, “The real adventure begins when everything goes wrong.” Stretching from an intended two-month jaunt to a grand six-month immersion, the adventure really begins when the boat Jeff helps crew snaps a mainmast, stranding them on Easter Island. But there he finds peace, the companionship of a beautiful surfer girl, and waxes on the meaning of civilization. That’s only the beginning.

The other line that sticks is that the climbers describe themselves as “conquerors of the useless” – risking life to gain nothing. Nothing but the experience.

After watching this film, a craving comes. If it’s taking up an offer with a friend who sails to New Zealand every winter, or if it’s just peeling off the couch to get to the Y, an adventure always seems to be around every corner – even if everything goes wrong first.