Movies based on a true story are always interesting. Broad Peak, a polish film recently released on Netflix, is also based on a true story. The movie is about Maciej Berbeka, considered one of the most adventurous mountaineers in the world. To give you a short review of the film, you should watch the movie at least once. It will not just give you one of the most exciting stories in mountaineering but will also entertain you.
In addition, you should watch the movie in the way the film has been recorded; you will feel you are sitting in those situations. While watching the movie, I thought I was between the Himalayas mountains. The film is based on a true story, but what is the story behind this mountaineer? Let’s Explore.
Is Broad Peak Based On A True Story?
As I have already mentioned, the movie is based on a true story. The film is about a polish mountaineer named Maciej Berbeka, considered one of the country’s best climbers and most adventurous mountaineers. How Maciej Berbeka became a mountaineer and how his life ended on a tragic note is something you should know about.
Maciej Berbeka was born in Poland in 1954. Soon after he completed his studies, he became an aspiring mountaineer. He always dreamt of being a mountaineer as he wanted to do. When he reached age 21, he became part of the International Federation of mountain guide association and the Polish search and rescue squad. Maciej Berbeka is also a member of ice warriors. You might be wondering what ice warriors are. Ice warriors are the first winter ascent of Himalayan 8000 who were ready for the Karakoram. In winter 88’s, these ice warriors were the ones to reach the second highest summit on the earth. Among these teammates, Maciej Berbeka was the one.
The movie explores his most adventurous Climb of Broad Peak. But Broad Peak is not the only mountain this talented person has climbed. As a member of ice warriors, he climbed 14 global 8000 feet mountains during a tough season. The tricky season is explained when there is a low temperature, deep snow, low air, and storms, and breathing is difficult. In these dangerous situations, Ice warriors could climb those 8000 meters mountains.
Maciej Berbeka didn’t just stop there. In 1984 he climbed the Manaslu summit, which is Nepali Himalayas. A year after that, in 1985, he climbed the Cho Oyu mountain in the Himalayas, which is 20 km from mount Everest. In addition to this, he also climbed Mount Everest and Annapurna successfully.
On March 19 6, 1988, he reached the Karakoram with his team members. In the Karakoram, he climbed the Karakoram Rocky summit on the border of Pakistan and China.
The Climb that the movie has told about the Climb he did in 2013 with three other young members named Adam, Tomaz, and Artur. That was the Climb of ‘Broad Peak.’ Here’s the story of what happened that day:
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What Happened That Day?
Maciej Berbeka, with his fellow members, made the first attempt to climb this mountain in 1988. This time only, Maciej Berbeka and Alek were the ones who went to do it. Alek was the one who suggested the idea, and Maciej Berbekan agreed to do it. They started their journey; the weather situations were not that great. After a few hours, Alek thought they should go back as the storms were increasing rapidly. But Maciej Berbeka told him to go as he was going to climb the mountain. With worse weather situations and on the verge of dying, he connects to the radio and says he has reached the peak. Everyone is happy!
Three months later, his life changed when he received a book by courier. There was a line that mentioned that he did not reach the peak of Broad peak that day. Later he came to know that his fellow mates did not tell him this because they knew he would continue if he knew this. They wanted to save him as he was on the verge of dying.
The second attempt he made was 25 years later with three young men. That day, he recalled in an interview that it’s hard living when everyone considers you a fraud. He did not know he did not achieve the peak that day, which made him a fraud.
25 Years later, he finally achieved what he wanted to do in his career. That man climbed Broad Peak and reached the topmost part of the mountain. He could not keep calm as he felt this was it! This is what he wanted to achieve! And he did it.
He became a sensation again, but the world received two pieces of news, one happy and one heartbreaking! In 2013, Maciej Berbeka created history by climbing the mountain in the worst weather. But, when the team members descended, Maciej Berbeka and a fellow mate, Thomasz, died.
Yes, you heard it right, the legendary man died what he loved doing. On March 6, 2013, the base camp tried to connect with both but received no replies. Soon after that, a rescue team was sent for an operation. Two days after that, Maciej Berbeka and Thomasz’s body was found, and they were declared dead. The leader of the winter expedition of the Polish Mountaineering Association, Krzysztof Wielicki, called for an interview immediately. He stated, “Considering all the conditions, bad weather, high storms, mountaineering history, Himalayan history, bad weather conditions, I declare Maciej Berbeka and Thomasz dead.”
This is not the end, four months after that, four Italian mountaineers went missing and were declared dead after a few days.
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