The Alps: Climb of Your Life at the Omni Theater in Fort Worth brings the death-defying thrill back to IMAX

by John P. Meyer

I got an advance look at The Alps: Climb of Your Life this week (the movie opens to the Omni Theater-going public on Saturday, Aug. 8), and it's a real thrill. Seeing the rock-and-ice verticality of the spectacular Swiss Alps looming above and below you on the wraparound (and wrapover/under) IMAX screen is enough to make anyone catch their breath and check their protection.

(That's a climbing reference, O.K.?)

The moviemakers (MacGillivray Freeman) somehow managed to get their ginormous 70mm film cameras onto ledges and perched on mountaintops in close proximity to climbers who had enough trouble hauling their own scrawny, terror-wracked frames up there -- the better to share the terror-wracking with you, the thrill-seeking film viewer.

One of the co-presenters of the film is Switzerland Tourism, and you can see why that outfit would want to get in on the sponsorship action, because the scenery on display is some of the most beautiful and spectacular in the world. The film does triple duty as a natural history primer (with background on the geology of the region), a shared ecosystem how-to (humans are shown to be getting along swimmingly with the mountains, as the presence of 20 million Swiss citizens proves), and -- primarily -- a nail-biting adventure tale, as John Harlin III pulls out all the stops (well, most of 'em, anyway) to put to bed once and for all the family tragedy that has haunted him for forty years.

See, in 1966 John's father -- John Harlin II -- died while attempting a first ascent of a difficult direct route up the treacherous north face of the Eiger, one of the most audacious mountaineering feats ever attempted. I'll never forget reading the book describing the harrowing adventure when I was a kid. (One of Harlin's fellow 1966 climbers, Dougal Haston, continued up the face to successfully complete the climb.) Now, John Harlin III has returned to the Nordwand to climb the mountain that took away his dad.

And he's returned with his wife and daughter, who decide to allow him to proceed since he's teaming up with two local guides who are experts on the mountain, and have made the climb themselves on numerous prior occasions. But with its combination of loose rock, unpredictable weather, and predictably-dangerous avalanche chutes, nothing's for certain when it comes to climbing the Eiger.

[Matterhorn lovers will also get a close-up-and-personal with their favorite peak, along with a bit of the history of its first ascent by Edward Whymper and team.]

You can purchase tickets now for this breathtaking hour-long film event by going to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History's online box office, here. You'll want to note before arriving, however, that the museum grounds (which encompass the Omni Theater) are currently under construction, and thus parking should be accessed from the Gendy Street side of the building.

(See the appended photo gallery for a look at the renovations going on at the Museum.)