Vertical Limit was filmed on location in Pakistan (location of K2), Queenstown, New Zealand and the United States. Bell 212 helicopters contracted from Hevilift Australia were painted in a khaki green colour to represent the Pakistani Army.
The safety team of world-class climbers howled, but "Vertical Limit" director Martin Campbell insisted: Actor Scott Glenn would climb the 13-story wall of vertical ice himself--without the mandatory protection for his head or eyes. The scene had to look real. It couldn't be faked.
The setting for the film's plot is K2, a mountain that, despite being at a lower altitude than Everest in the Himalayas, is a much more dangerous ascent. Since it would have been impossible to haul cameras and crew up K2, the producers used Mt. Cook in the southern Alps of New Zealand as a stand-in.
If you follow mountaineering at all, then you've surely heard terrible tales about HAPE and HACE. If you seen the film 'Vertical Limit' you know that all high altitude climbers are dexamethasone crazed maniacs.
The one scene where nitro is used as intended does nothing to answer the question. The rest of the time, the nitro is necessary to endanger the rescue party, to provide suspense, to shock us with unintended explosions and to dispose of minor characters so there won't be anything but speaking parts left for the climax.
Despite being nearly 800 feet shorter than Mount Everest, K2 is a more deadly mountain. Mountaineer Jake Meyer told Insider several critical factors contribute to making K2 so dangerous. On K2, mountaineers face constant 45-degree-angle climbs, no matter the route they take, he said.
Where was the opening scene of Vertical Limit filmed?
Filming took place on New Zealand's highest mountain (3,754m), Aoraki, Mt Cook. At the foot of the mountain sits the village of Mount Cook – a comfortable haven in one of the most unforgiving parts of New Zealand. On every side, the Southern Alps scrape the sky.
Rapid exposure of unacclimatized persons to high altitude causes the syndrome acute mountain sickness (AMS). Prophylactic treatment with frequent high doses of dexamethasone has been shown to prevent AMS.
High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a noncardiogenic pulmonary edema which typically occurs in lowlanders who ascend rapidly to altitudes greater than 2500-3000 m. Early symptoms of HAPE include a nonproductive cough, dyspnoea on exertion and reduced exercise performance. Later, dyspnoea occurs at rest.
Annie pleads with him to use Dexamethasone (colloquially referred to in the movie as "Dex") to save Tom and herself, but Vaughn declines, unwilling to waste it on a "lost cause". More to the fact, Vaughn doesn't want to die and believes he and Annie have the best chance of survival.
That film had me on the edge of my seat with my mouth agape at times with a story of a climbing accident and the aftermath. However Vertical Limit doesn't go for realism at any point.
In the crevasse, Annie falls asleep, and Vaughn kills McLaren with a syringe full of air to avoid having to give McLaren more dexamethasone. Wick awakens to find that Peter and Monique have left without him.
An unclimbed and unnamed peak in Pakistan is 7,780 m (25,520 ft). Muchu Chhish (center right) is the tallest peak on Earth not off limits to climbers that remains still unclimbed as of 2020. Holy mountain Mount Kailash is off limits due to religious beliefs.
It is a clinical diagnosis characterized by fatigue, dyspnea, and dry cough with exertion. If left untreated, it can progress to dyspnea at rest, rales, cyanosis, and a mortality rate of up to 50%.
Altitude sickness can become deadly if AMS turns into HAPE or HACE. HAPE can be deadly within 12 hours. HACE can be deadly within 24 hours. That's why recognizing altitude sickness of any kind is critical to preventing severe complications.
In a study done by the University of Washington and the Institute for Altitude Medicine, 43 percent of the Everest climbers surveyed used acetazolamide (Diamox) during their ascents. Another 5 percent used dexamethasone and 4 percent used sildenafil (Viagra).
However, climbers can expect to spend anywhere between $32,000 (USD) and $200,000 depending on the type of expedition, what is included in the price, and the level of luxury expected.
