40 DAYS AT BASECAMP An intimate portrayal of a climbing season on Mount Everest

"To know a people you must spend 40 days with them." - Arabic Proverb

The film: At 18,000 feet above sea level and over the course of 40 days, the length of an average climbing season every Spring, documentary filmmaker Dianne Whelan immersed herself in the challenging and captivating world of Base Camp at Mt. Everest. With award winning spectacular footage of the Himalaya as a backdrop, 40 DAYS AT BASE CAMP is an intriguing and intimate portrayal of three climbing teams and their journey to the world's highest peak. This feature length documentary takes viewers through an entire climbing season, from the birth of base camp to its deconstruction with stories of climbers being woven with daily life at Base Camp, the history of the mountain and the devastating effect of climate change on the ecology of the area. 40 DAYS AT BASE CAMP provides a modern take on the transformation of Mt. Everest from what was once a revered, sacred space to the business enterprise it has become. When we commercialize the sacred, does it loses its meaning?

2012: 40 Days at Base Camp
Two LEO awards for Best Cinematography, Sound Design

THE FILM

Watch the Trailer and Stream on Vimeo or go to iTunes to rent or buy the film.

itunes

"I find when you are in the mountain, everything is really simple. All the problems that you come across, you just deal with. It doesn’t matter if it’s big or small. And when you go back to the real world, all the so-called big problems of life aren’t so big anymore."

JOHN FURNEAUX, CANADA WEST MOUNTAIN SCHOOL

Other Projects

  • bp
    THE BEACON PROJECT

    The Beacon Project is a series of multimedia creations in collaboration with Indigenous communities along The Great Trail. A companion piece to the feature documentary 500 Days in the Wild.

  • 500 Days
    500 DAYS IN THE WILD

    Feature film 500 Days in the Wild is an unfolding story that ebbs and flows between documentary and adventure film, along the longest trail in the world – the 24,000 km Great Trail (the Trans Canada Trail).

  • ThisLand_0001_this land 12
    THIS LAND

    An award winning documentary, book and interactive project by Dianne Whelan about a 2000 km journey in the High Arctic.
    Film and Interactive Produced by the NFB Film with soundtrack by Tanya Tagaq.

  • 40days
    40 DAYS AT BASECAMP

    Each spring, over eight hundred climbers attempt to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Some make it to the top of what is considered the world’s most majestic mountain, but others are not so lucky, and in the attempt to reach the elusive summit, many more have tragically lost their lives.

  • Arctic. Ellesmere Island. 2007
    NATURA

    This collection of photos is inspired by the earth. When you listen to her, she speaks.

  • the Scream
    WAKING EVE

    This collection of b/w photographs dates to the beginning of my journey as a visual artist in the early 1990’s.