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Up Denali 3D | |
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Directed by | Thomas Riederer PE |
Written by | Thomas Riederer |
Produced by | Thomas Riederer |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Thomas Riederer |
Edited by | Thomas Riederer |
Music by | CSS Music |
Production company | tree-D films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 28 minutes 2D and 3D versions |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Up Denali 3D is a stereoscopic (3D) documentary directed and produced by Thomas Riederer PE. The film portrays an adventure trek and technical summit climb of Denali, which is also known as Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America. Denali has an altitude of 20,320 feet and is one of the Seven Summits of the World. [2] Situated in Alaska, in Denali National Park and Preserve near the Arctic Circle, a June Denali climb is spent without darkness. The sun does not set all month. [3] Due to high altitudes and lower temperatures from the mountain being closer to the North Pole, the entire climb is spent on snow. [4] [5]
Up Denali 3D is the fifth 3D mountaineering movie from tree-D Films in the series of Seven Summits in Three Dimensions. [6] Previous 3D films were shot on Cerro Aconcagua, (Aconcagua - The Top of the Western World), Mount Kilimanjaro, (Africa 3D), Russia's Mount Elbrus, (unedited), and Carstensz Pyramid, aka Puncak Jaya, (Carstensz Pyramid – 3D Adventure in Irian Jaya).
The climbers were individuals who had never met each other and came from a variety of backgrounds. Tom Riederer was on the path of the Seven Summits - this would be his fifth, all filmed in 3D. [7] Mike Smith was an athletic mechanic working for Delta Airlines in Atlanta GA. Gary D. Bacon is a former business executive-turned-adventure-traveler and mountaineer. [8] Steve Ullman was 18 years old at the time of the climb, and had participated in Outward Bound mountaineering school. His grandparents in Massachusetts coincidentally lived next door to Bradford Washburn. Phil Fleet was attempting to join the High Pointers [9] club, summiting the highest point in each of the 50 US states. Denali was his 48th, and most difficult.
Guide Kirby Spangler is from Alaska and has years of climbing experience. Rob Gowler is from Jackson, Wyoming and has guided around the world. Both men were affiliated with the Alaska Mountaineering School/Alaska-Denali Guides and highly skilled for the climb. [10]
As mountain climbing requires high amounts of physical fitness, training is started months in advance. [11]
Preparation of equipment, aside from the camera equipment, was a significant undertaking for each member of the team. A typical gear list has numerous items for climbing and camping in cold and windy weather. Attention also had to be paid to preparation of food. [12]
Thomas Riederer is a Professional Engineer [13] and inventor who developed the camera system used in the filming of Up Denali 3D, which needed to be reliable for the extreme cold weather anticipated by the climb, as well as light, self-contained and portable to allow a month's worth of shooting with no resupply. Advancements from the camera system used for Aconcagua were designed and tested prior to production. A digital video camera with a modification of the NuView [14] 3D lens, which Riederer invented, was selected. Modifications included a heating system to keep the camera operational at filming temperatures down to 35 below zero Fahrenheit, [15] Left eye/Right eye polarization balancing for taming the white glare of the snow, vertical alignment mechanisms to avoid Left eye/Right eye vertical parallax and other optical, electronic and mechanical modifications.
Based on the filming success of Up Denali 3D and with the subsequent advent of high-definition television, Thomas Riederer developed and patented [16] [17] [18] [19] advanced stereoscopic cameras for observation, entertainment, virtual reality and surgical [20] applications.
On the 3D display side, the advent and development of 3D image processing software such as Stereoscopic Player [21] and StereoMovieMaker [22] have enabled standard-definition productions like Up Denali 3D to be displayed in higher resolution on 3DHD flat-panel televisions.
The film was shot entirely on location, in Denali National Park and in and around Talkeetna, Alaska. Due to extreme crevasse danger on the glacier the climbers/guides were always roped together in teams of three or four during travel. Higher up the mountain, the steepness and sheer exposure also required roping-up of not only the climbers to each other but also to the mountain. That required snow protection in the form of snow pickets such that the ropes, and hence climbers, were tied to the mountain to prevent catastrophe should a climber fall. This aspect, though adding to filming difficulty, also gave the production an "up close and personal" feel. Some of the scenes showed the ropes, adding an interesting additional 3D depth cue [23]
To save weight and space in the otherwise 75 lb pack, [24] no tripod was used in the filming, as Thomas Riederer was formerly a competitive pistol shooter with quite steady hands for steady shots.
The chosen route was the now-ubiquitous West Buttress route first pioneered by Bradford Washburn in 1951. The route is detailed in a book by Colby Coombs and Bradford Washburn [25]
Due to the lack of suitable 3D display systems in theaters at the time, Up Denali 3D was initially released to local Santa Barbara venues on an informal basis. Portable 3D projection systems were set up by Riederer, and the film was played along with sister tree-D Films productions.
Up Denali 3D was released to a more broad audience in 2004, where it was played with excellent acceptance at the Santa Cruz Film Festival. In 2005, the film was presented at the Marjorie Luke Theater. [26] as part of the Digital Days Film Festival [27] Digital Days is an offshoot of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where in February 2004 Riederer's Aconcagua – The Top of the Western World was the first 3D film ever to be played there. [28]
Subsequent screenings were held at the National Stereoscopic Association [29] annual convention in Irving, Texas, in July 2005, Stereoscopic Displays and Applications convention in 2006, [30] West (Sonoma CA) County Film Fest in October 2008, Paso Robles Indie 3D Film Festival [31] in November 2008, and numerous other venues in subsequent years.
In 2006, Up Denali 3D was released on DVD in both 2D and Field-Sequential 3D (Active shutter 3D system) formats. The DVD is available through several 3D DVD distributors. [32] In addition, the film is available from 3D content streaming sites. A Blu-ray Disc version is planned, for better compatibility with 3D HDTV systems. Distribution was made to several overseas distributors as well.
The Stereo Club of Southern California awarded Up Denali 3D, as well as a sister previous production Alaska 3D: Flora, Fauna & Fishin’ both Honorable Mention medals at its 2005 "The 4th Ever 3D Movie/Video Competition" on July 21, 2005. [33] The judges were Ray Zone, Chris Condon and Dan Symmes, [34] [35] all legendary stalwarts in the stereoscopic film business. Thomas Riederer was present at the awards, and knew the judges well.
Friedrich Wolfgang Beckey, known as Fred Beckey, was an American rock climber, mountaineer and book author, who in seven decades of climbing achieved hundreds of first ascents of some of the tallest peaks and most important routes throughout Alaska, the Canadian Rockies and the Pacific Northwest. Among the Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, seven were established by Beckey, often climbing with some of the best known climbers of each generation.
Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base-to-peak on land, measuring 18,000 ft (5,500 m), and Earth's highest mountain north of 43°N. With a topographic prominence of 20,194 feet (6,155 m) and a topographic isolation of 4,621.1 miles (7,436.9 km), Denali is the third most prominent and third-most isolated peak on Earth, after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. Located in the Alaska Range in the interior of the U.S. state of Alaska, Denali is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.
Aconcagua is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in both the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere with a summit elevation of 6,961 metres (22,838 ft). It lies 112 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital, the city of Mendoza, about five kilometres from San Juan Province, and 15 km (9 mi) from Argentina's border with neighbouring Chile. The mountain is one of the Seven Summits of the seven continents.
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them was first done on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. Once considered a mountaineering challenge, in January 2023, Climbing said "Today, the Seven Summits are a relatively common—almost cliché—tour of each continent's highest peak", and that the real challenge was the Explorer's Grand Slam, the Seven Summits with the North and South poles.
Barbara Washburn was an American mountaineer. She became the first woman to climb Denali on June 6, 1947. She was the wife and climbing partner of mountaineer and scientist Bradford Washburn.
Stewart Alexander Lowe was an American mountaineer. He has been described as inspiring "...a whole generation of climbers and explorers with his uncontainable enthusiasm, legendary training routines, and significant ascents of rock climbs, ice climbs, and mountains all over the world...". He died in an avalanche on Shishapangma, in Tibet. The Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation honors his legacy.
Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his death served as its Honorary Director. Bradford married Barbara Polk in 1940, they honeymooned in Alaska making the first ascent of Mount Bertha together.
Zed "Zeddy" Al Refai is a Kuwaiti climber. He was the first Arab to climb Mount Everest and the 46th person to climb all seven highest summits in the seven continents of the world.
Jordan Romero is an American mountain climber who was 13 years old when he reached the summit of Mount Everest. Romero was accompanied by his father, Paul Romero, his step-mother, Karen Lundgren, and three Sherpas, Ang Pasang Sherpa, Lama Dawa Sherpa, and Lama Karma Sherpa. The previous record for youngest to climb Everest was held by Ming Kipa of Nepal who was 15 years old when she reached the summit on May 22, 2003.
Melissa Arnot Reid is an American mountaineer. She has climbed to the summit of Mount Everest six times.
Samina Khayal Baig is a Pakistani high-altitude mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest in 2013, all Seven Summits by 2014, and K2 in 2022. She is the first Pakistani woman to climb Everest, K2 and the Seven Summits. She climbed Mt. Everest at the age of 21.
Tyler Robert Armstrong is an American mountain climber who became the youngest person to climb Aconcagua in Argentina at the age of 9.
Cason Crane is an American entrepreneur and endurance athlete. In 2013, he became the first openly gay mountaineer to scale the Seven Summits. In 2023, he competed on season 1 of the USA Network competition show Race to Survive: Alaska with his sister Bella Crane, finishing in 3rd place.
Chad Kellogg was an American mountain climber, best known for his numerous speed climbing records and first ascents. He died by a falling rock after climbing Fitz Roy successfully and while descending.
Martin Walter Schmidt, known as Marty, was a New Zealand-American mountain climber, guide and adventurer.
William D. Hackett (1918–1999) was an American mountaineer.
The Indonesia Women Seven Summits Expedition was a team of Indonesian women with a stated objective to scale all Seven Summits within two years, starting on August 17, 2014. The team's mission was to promote sexual equality, following the eponymic Indonesia Seven Summits Expedition, which would not admit female mountaineers. On May 17, 2018, the two most senior female members scaled Mount Everest, the final summit of the expedition.
Vernon "Vern" Tejas is an American mountain climber and mountain guide. He is the current world record holder in the amount of time taken to summit all of the Seven Summits consecutively, having also previously held the same record. He was also the first person to solo summit several of the world's tallest peaks. Tejas was named one of the top fifty Alaskan athletes of the twentieth century by Sports Illustrated in 2002. In 2012, he was elected to the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. Tejas plays the harmonica and guitar. He currently resides in Greenwich Village, New York.
Carina Dayondon is a Filipina mountaineer, adventurer, and Philippine Coast Guard officer who was the first Filipina to reach the Seven Summits, the seven tallest mountains in every continent in the world, and the second Filipina to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
The 1967 Mount McKinley disaster occurred in July 1967 when seven climbers died on Denali while attempting to descend from the summit in a severe blizzard estimated to be the worst to occur on the mountain in 100 years. The accident is the deadliest to occur on Denali and was at the time one of the deadliest mountaineering accidents in history.
the highest mountains on the seven continents
Civil Twilight has no beginning nor ending in most of June
Q: Skis or snowshoes? A: This really comes down to personal preference. Most climbers leave their floatation at Camp 3, (11,200 feet) and put on their crampons from there. It takes a very experienced skier to descend with a pack and sled. Snow shoes do provide adequate floatation and having either is far superior to none for safety on the glacier.
Most climbers follow a "double carry" strategy, i.e. carrying a load of gear forward and dropping it off, then descending to a lower elevation camp for the night, then advancing the following day.
Reached Summit
tree-D Films™ announces its consummate 3D mountaineering movie series Seven Summits in Three Dimensions™.
Gary's Travel Journal
Keep Klimbin
My AMS trip was a complete personal success. The guides were top notch professionals, and always emphasized safety and responsibility. — David Metzler, Denali West Buttress
"SO YOU WANT TO CLIMB MCKINLEY?" A Training Program for the Prospective Mountaineering Hardman, By Stacy Taniguchi
License Search for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
The unofficial Nu-View page
At the higher camps, or when a northerly system moves in, the temperatures can dip below -35 degrees Fahrenheit.
TrueVision® 3D Surgical combines 3D visualization and guidance software applications focused on improving accuracy, efficiency, and outcomes for both surgeons and patients.
Stereoscopic Player is a full-featured 3D movie player.
StereoMovie Maker functions both as a versatile stereo movie editor and stereo movie player.
Linear perspective describes the tendency of parallel lines to appear to converge at the horizon.
On Denali, however, for a couple of days on the upper mountain in particular, our pack weights will be 75 pounds plus.
Digital Days 2005 Program Schedule
Press Release: Virtual Reality Meets 'The Matrix' at Digital Days @ Santa Barbara Film Fest, Feb. 7, 2004
The Home of 3D Photography
3D Theatre Session Content Listing - Past Years: 2006
Field Sequential 3D DVDs