Tom Hornbein

Tom Hornbein, one of my personal heroes and a dear friend, passed away at his home in the spring of 2023. In the the fall, we gathered in Estes Park, Colorado to celebrate the profound impact that he had on so many people he touched as a climber, doctor, mentor, friend, and more. To use a word he seldom left out of a correspondence, it was a truly "precious" opportunity to tell stories, marvel at his legacy, and make permanent the bold impressions left on us all.

As a filmmaker and storyteller, I am sometimes blessed with the opportunity to know a person to a depth I couldn't otherwise access. It's a special opportunity and the main reason I love this craft, but it is also a strange and lopsided relationship. I study their childhoods, writing, careers, etc, and they might only know how I got to their home that day, least of all that I could know more about them than do some of their closest friends. And then come the interviews - that crystalized window where I get to ask anything I want, and they are compelled to answer without pretense or the chance to demur or obfuscate. In Tom's case, I don't think there were too many times that he sat down and told the entire story of his West Ridge climb on Mt Everest, outside of writing his legendary book. It's not that he was withholding, but never liked to talk about his achievements - epic though they were - choosing instead to discuss others and bring his kindness to bear on the vagaries of modern life.

When I was asked in 2011 by Dave Morton and Jake Norton to help with a film about Tom and his Everest climb, it was early in my career and I thought that this might be the most important storytelling opportunity I'd ever get. It may well have been. I certainly approached it as such, throwing all of my weight behind it in a tenacious and probably obnoxious way. But Tom never saw it that way - he saw me as a hungry young talent that maybe shared some of his relentless devotion to goals, in spite of the obstacles or objections. I'd never compare myself to him, but the support and recognition he showed me changed my life and made me feel seen by a hero with whom I never thought I'd ever even share the same room.

After finishing the film, we set out on some tour dates around the country, with the film in tow and surviving Everest team members. Tom never went on stage without his climbing partner Willi Unsoeld's frost bitten toes preserved in a mason jar (Willi died in 1979) to share with audiences. That brought us closer still, and I'll never forget how honored and proud I felt to be included. The funny thing was, Tom always made me feel like he was the one who was honored, always tickled that we went to all this trouble to tell his story, maybe not even realizing how monumental the whole thing was for me.

After that, Tom and Jim McCarthy (another legend of climbing lore) approached me to help with their pet project: documenting the oral history of American climbing for the American Alpine Club. Over the next 12 years, we would travel the country to interview the pioneers of American climbing, starting with the oldest and most vulnerable and working our way to more than 70 interviews and counting. It was because of Jim and Tom's vision and support that this program has gotten this far and will continue into the future.

I was able to visit with Tom for a day at his home in Estes Park back in February of 2023, a couple months before he passed away. He was vivid and sharp, sharing memories and talking about the future. At a certain point, he'd had his fill and suggested it might be time to call it a day. I knew it was probably the last time we would see each other and hugged him extra tight.

Tom summited Mt Everest in May of 1963 - almost exactly 60 years before his death. On that fateful day, he and Willi climbed beyond the point of retreat, their only option to continue up and over the other side, facing the unknown in the way only a hero can. Of course, I always understood the significance of their commitment as a climber, but only now grasp how truly poignant a metaphor that is for his life - and mine. As he said, "risk is but a spice in the essential seasoning of life." Boldness never came in a more powerful little package than Tom Hornbein.

Rest in peace my friend.

Wild & Scenic Film Festival Filmmaker Feature

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City, California is one of my favorite in the country, in a place that I’ve been visiting for fifteen years. Most recently, my film An Imperfect Advocate played there and they conducted a short interview with me about my career and the process of making this unique film, which gave me the opportunity to tell the story of someone I know well and admire greatly. Here is the interview in full:

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2022 Official Selection “An Imperfect Advocate” was created by filmmaker Jim Aikman. We were grateful when Jim agreed to answer some questions for our Filmmaker Feature interview series. Continue reading to learn more about Jim and his filmmaking process:

Who are you? (where are you from, where do you live, why did you get into film, whatever you want to tell us really)

• I grew up in mid-Michigan, in a suburb of Lansing, spent my twenties in Boulder, Colorado and now live in Portland, Oregon. I became obsessed with film as a kid and my high school had a phenomenal video program, where I spent as many hours of the school day as I could, producing music videos, short films, PSAs and weekly TV broadcasts. Then I graduated from University of Michigan with degrees in English Lit and Film and thought I’d move to LA to pursue narrative filmmaking, but Planet Earth had just come out and the Banff Film Tour came through Ann Arbor and I felt inspired to chase stories of outdoor adventure. I’ve now been working in the adventure documentary space since 2008 and look forward to many more years doing this work.

How many films have you had in the festival?

• I think An Imperfect Advocate was my third or fourth film in Wild & Scenic, but maybe the first that I directed.

When was your first Wild & Scenic?

• I didn’t make it in person until 2016, when Martin’s Boat screened at the festival.

How many times have you attended?

• Once or twice.

What makes Wild & Scenic Film Festival special or unique?

• Nevada City is a very special place, and somewhere I spent a lot of time before I even heard of the festival. It’s a magical little nook in California. The lineup and ethos of Wild & Scenic are also exceptional and make it a unique lineup of films that aren’t as stoke-driven as some other festivals.

What inspires you to make films? What are your favorite stories to tell?

• People! It all comes down to the human spirit, overcoming odds, challenging one’s self and chasing weird dreams. Capturing people’s experiences and philosophies is a great privilege and I try to pay that back by creating work that is authentic and meaningful.

What inspired you to make this film?

• Every film I work on becomes a beloved object, but this one was especially important to me. It’s not every day you get to make a film about one of your best friends, somebody I know so well in my life that I could suddenly package into a story that expresses all the things I love most about him. In turn, he gave me the patience and access to tell his story in a certain way. On top of that, Graham’s message is really important and this film became a platform for his brand of advocacy, which is now the work that he is doing full time. In the end, it isn’t a film about climate change or activism, but about living an examined life and considering all the factors and vulnerabilities of the modern world. It’s all a tenuous balance, but Graham navigates it with a grace and optimism that I hope comes through in the film.

Do you have any projects you are currently working on?

• Yes! We’re very busy. Stories about evolutionary biology, wildlife conservation in Africa, and of course, climbing.

How has COVID impacted your filmmaking?

• Things are getting back to normal, but it felt like Covid just became one more challenge in an already fraught environment – we just had to adapt to new protocols and keep working.

Filmmaking is a laborious job, so what keeps you motivated?

• Cash money, baby. It’s just so lucrative! I don’t know why everyone hasn’t become a documentary filmmaker chasing impossible passion projects 😉 I’m kidding, but that’s a hard question to answer. I guess I don’t know how to do anything else at this point. Maybe some day I’ll move into the forest and hunt truffles for a living, but for now I like telling stories.

What are you currently reading/watching/listening to?

• Haha, I probably listen to three hours of podcasts a day. Everything from news to comedy to true crime. I’m re-reading White Fang and a book called The Lonely City. NYT Arts & Leisure Sunday edition. The Power of the Dog was one of the best films I’ve seen in years. Jackass Forever was good medicine.

What is on the horizon for you in 2022 and beyond?

• Growth. I’m building a new studio/coworking loft in Portland in a historic building right by the river. It’s a big space and something I plan to grow into and stay for a while.

"Gila Wild" Launches with American Rivers

I was honored to team up again with long time friend and collaborator Pete McBride for a story about inclusion, preservation and exploration: Gila Wild, a short documentary produced for American Rivers. Directed by Pete McBride, edited and produced by Jim Aikman.

This film project started out simply enough: Pete mounted a quick expedition during the early months of Covid to explore an intriguing area and promote its preservation. Few people in the country have even heard of this unique Wilderness area in New Mexico, myself included, but Pedro had heard it was one of the most beautiful and unspoiled waterways in the US. What he found exceeded all expectations.

Over the months that followed the expedition, the world was plunged into a long overdue conversation about social justice and inclusivity in the outdoors. And for Pete and me as producers, a different story emerged: one that explores the difference between conservation for conservation's sake and the needs of the locals who rely on it.

Film subjects Simon Sotelo and other Gila locals express their connection to this unique landscape, their historical reliance on it, and their vested need for its preservation - all of which certainly supercede a visit from outside recreationalists like Pete dropping in for a visit. The folks that call this place home are the ones that should be deciding it’s future, and participating in the conversations about how that takes place. The same should be considered in the conservation of all natural spaces, defering to the wishes and needs of the communities most affected by the health - or disease - of their natural surroundings. I think the film presents an important dialogue between largely unheard voices and the privilege of recreation.

As is often the case in documentary storytelling, I’m just an outsider - an interloper in someone else’s sacred space. But I hope that films like this can demonstrate the importance of listening to the voices that are left out of these conversations and give them a platform to be heard.

Rescue Dogs Nominated for Emmy Award

It’s always a pleasure working the camera for OPB, especially on this production on Mt Bachelor. Filming on skis brings its own challenges, but chasing dogs around the snow was a new one - they’re so much faster and more nimble. So it was an incredible honor to learn that the news segment we produced for Oregon Public Broadcasting was nominated for a 2021 Emmy Award for cinematography. It’s my third nomination in this field. This shoot was also an education in avalanche safety, a subject of which I am a lifelong student. Enjoy this short film about Avalanche Rescue Dogs and look for it on network television.

The Power of Story

I spend a lot of time thinking about storytelling. I’m typically reading at least 3-6 books at any given time, and I’ll often watch two movies back to back on a weeknight. In fact, I’ve built a career around sharing the stories that I find in the world, through films, photos and podcasts. So I started wondering - where does this lifelong fascination with stories come from?

Human beings are just another earth-bound animal making the most of our short lives. Eating, sleeping, playing. There are reminders every day of how intricately we are woven into the fabric of the natural world, like ants on an anthill. But of course, there are some things that set us apart - things that make us unique and distinct from all other animals.

Our humanity is defined by our sentience: awareness of self.. recognition of the singular blessing of being alive. And this sentience is really just awareness of a narrative - a story at which we are each individually at the center.

That sense of story is innate - we are born with it. We dream in stories; we experience that longing for resolution to the conflicts in our mind, to get back to sleep so we can complete some goal; we know deep down what a proper story resolution is; we construct our sense of the world around us in stories, each little event carried by a beginning, middle and end. Stories allow us to make sense of the world around us, so our brain has a thread on which to attach the events of our daily lives and the world around us.

Stories are the most effective vehicle for meaning, often the only way to get people to care about something. A person in Nebraska might not care about climate change, but show them a film about a polar brown starving on a shrinking iceberg and they will care about the bear. Hopefully.

These stories that we tell have power - the power to inform, and the power to misinform; to communicate values subliminally in ways that data never can, couching it in the human experience so it resonates and gets internalized in our brains. But that pendulum swings both ways, as stories can also be used against us - weaponized in propaganda and manipulated with disinformation, spinning whatever narrative will sell the most ad space, regardless of how nuanced the situation actually is.

It is the responsibility of storytellers to tread lightly, bring integrity to the process, and tell the truth. Not Truth with a capital “T”, but the truth of the subjects within the story. It is our responsibility to wield this power gracefully, and to understand it’s nuances. Because we, as a species, are defined by the sum total of the story that we tell.

So let’s make it a good one.