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Downloaded from
YTS.MX
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MALE VOICE 1: Sound is rolling.
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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MALE VOICE 2:
We're interviewing Alex at base camp.
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ALEX: Right on.
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(LAUGHS) Here we go. Start talking.
Say interesting things.
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(LAUGHS) I love these things.
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(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
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NEWSCASTER 1:
There are great mountain climbers,
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-and then there is Alex Lowe.
-NEWSCASTER 2: Alex Lowe,
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who many of his peers think
has no equal in the mountains.
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NEWSCASTER 3:
The best mountain climber around.
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NEWSCASTER 4: Probably the best
ever known around the world
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as the ultimate American hero.
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ALEX: You know, I don't really
quite agree with your statement,
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"World's best climber."
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Mostly there's just, sort of,
persistent climbers,
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you know, they just can't give it up.
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ALEX: There's no doubt that something
in my chemistry...
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is attracted to risk.
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But I don't see myself as a risk-taker.
I see myself as a risk-controller.
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INTERVIEWER: So, the last question
is something that all of us
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are really impressed by
because you're also a family man.
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What's it like juggling
those two big things in one's life?
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It's the hardest thing I do,
and it's the most rewarding thing I do.
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-INTERVIEWER: Wife and three kids.
-ALEX: Yeah.
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Yeah, my wife's name is Jennifer,
and I have three boys.
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Max is my oldest, he's ten.
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Max, and Sam, and Isaac,
they go everywhere with me.
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(ALEX WHOOPING)
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Gotta love this stuff.
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Yeah.
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(SIGHS) Oh, I love it.
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(GRUNTS, HOWLS)
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(BIRDS CHIRPING)
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MAX: Most of these slides probably
haven't been looked at in, like, 20 years.
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ISAAC: Yeah.
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Never really had a need to go digging
through all these memories.
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Till your kid comes along and decides
to make a documentary about...
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your family. (CHUCKLES)
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Definitely feel conflicted,
bringing everything
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back up to the surface
for all of you guys.
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What is that?
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MAX: Alex's last entry.
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"6:00 a.m. leave for Tibet."
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(GENTLE ACOUSTIC MUSIC PLAYING)
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MAX: Oh, man.
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Is that on there? Or not quite?
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Oh!
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-JENNIFER: And there's Max.
-MAX: Oh, my God.
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That's me. That's a climb I did.
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Dang, I haven't seen these,
I completely forgot.
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You didn't brush your hair. (CHUCKLES)
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-MAX: Yeah. This is my... this is my look.
-This is the way you brush your hair?
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Oh, cute. That's Sammy.
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I don't even remember ever looking
at these pictures.
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(EXHALES HEAVILY)
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-Okay.
-MAX: Are you ready?
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Are you excited?
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No.
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MAX: Why not?
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'Cause I'm anxious.
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(ALL LAUGHING)
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We still make that same face
when you take a picture of us.
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(LAUGHS)
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MAX: Why are you anxious?
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Feel like it's probably
just gonna bring things out in the open.
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And then we'll just see
if we can recover from that.
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MAX: That is a nice outfit.
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-He was just a little baby.
-(LAUGHS)
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ISAAC: I guess, I'm curious as to why
you wanna make this film.
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Considering it's something
that we haven't really explored with...
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just ourselves, very much at all.
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Oh, there's Alex.
That's the first shot of Alex.
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Look at him.
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MAX: I was ten years old...
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on October 5th, 1999.
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I just remember Mom was just a mess...
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and couldn't even contain herself.
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Just said that Dad's gone.
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I mean, he was a superhero to me
when he was alive.
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But his body was never recovered.
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(PROJECTOR CLICKING)
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It was like an astronaut lost in space.
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I mean, I don't think you could
ever question his love for our family.
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But...
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he also chose to be there, so...
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I guess, we might as well
start at the very beginning.
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Where did you first meet Alex?
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JENNIFER: I was working in a little shop.
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Alex came in, he was this young,
exuberant guy.
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I can remember just watching him
and thinking,
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"Who is this kid? My God, look
at the energy this kid has."
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With his shaggy, long hair,
kind of a dirt bag.
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I was like, "Oh, my God, this guy
is like...
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"out of a dream." (LAUGHS)
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I was so smitten with him.
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But he was a climber.
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So, I didn't think for a minute
that I'd end up with him.
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I'm like, "Hey, this'll be kind
of a fun fling.
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"I'll get to have some adventures
with this guy."
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And we lived that life for a few years.
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But when he asked me to marry him,
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I kind of turned into a big,
old pile of Jell-O
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and just said yes right away.
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(CHUCKLES) 'Cause I was like,
"I can't ever see life without you."
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-ALEX: Bring it on.
-(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
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MAX: What did you think of him
when you first met him?
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ALICE: I've never known anybody
like Alex.
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I have a lot of specific memories
of ice climbing with Jenni
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'cause we were...
It was always terrifying.
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MALE VOICE: Thank you, bro. Look alive.
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(ALEX GRUNTING)
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(MAN LAUGHING)
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ALEX: That's fun.
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-(GRUNTS)
-ALICE: His energy just seemed limitless.
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Just an amazing amount of energy.
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(WHIMSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
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You know, he just had the need
to get his ya-ya's out.
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Okay, now I want it bad.
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BILL: We would live in mortal fear
of the phone calls
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from Alex wanting to get out
in the morning.
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I remember picking up the phone
once, and it was just like
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I hadn't even... I just said, "Hello?"
And then it was like,
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"Hey, Bill, this is Alex.
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"Why don't you be at my place
at 4:00 a.m.?
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"4:00 a.m.?" "Yeah, see you then." Click.
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ANDREW: We became really good friends.
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I think it was just because I'd just say,
"Yes" a lot of times. (CHUCKLES )Yeah.
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But I was just a moderate climber.
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ALEX: Well, what do you say?
Shall we roll?
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It's not getting any smaller.
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But it was Alex, though, he was like,
"Ah, don't worry about it, it'll be fine."
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-ANDREW: Happy!
-ALEX: I know. (LAUGHING)
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(LAUGHS)
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ALEX: I could pull the bag away for you,
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but it'll probably make better film
if I don't.
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-Okay.
-ALEX: You having fun?
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MAX: So, his life back then seem
a little reckless maybe?
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-Well, so...
-Did you...
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-And well...
-(CHUCKLING) Did you see him as that?
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Yeah, kinda.
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Yeah, we did.
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But I think if you looked
at how hard Alex practiced,
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the danger for him is a lot less
than maybe it would appear.
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MAX: What about starting a family?
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JENNIFER: You know, Alex was afraid
of losing his freedom
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to go climbing as much.
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So, we were together seven years
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before we decided to bring you
into the world.
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(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
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JENNIFER: But like any new father
if you're there during the birth,
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it kinda blows your mind.
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He had you all nestled in his giant,
long arms.
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His hands were so big that when he put
his hand to mine like that,
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that his fingers wrapped like that
around mine.
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You were a towheaded terror.
We just referred to you as Mad Max.
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JENNIFER: Mister Trouble.
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You were pretty precocious.
You talked practically before you walked.
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And so, we'd made all these big,
grown up decisions.
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He was gonna work
for this oil well services company.
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And we had just bought this house,
and we thought we were staying put there.
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But then...
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he got a job on Everest.
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It was pretty unnerving because he wanted
to quit his job.
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But he was gonna earn a ton of money.
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And so, you know, I'm like,
"Yeah, go for it."
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-MAX: You encouraged him?
-JENNIFER: Yeah.
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He was kind of a wild thing.
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You know? There was just
no reigning him in.
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And I kinda liked that about him.
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(MILD-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYING)
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And I can remember getting
a phone call from NBC News,
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"Your husband just became
the 40th American
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"to summit Mount Everest, you know,
what do you think of that?"
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And you turned two the same week.
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ALEX: I was really lucky on Everest
to be up there by myself.
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It was just gorgeous and...
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My gosh, it was just a really peaceful,
wonderful feeling.
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MAX: Do you think that climbing was first
for him?
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Boy, I don't... I don't...
Boy, I don't know.
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I would say that he had
an unstoppable need
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for that physical activity.
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And he just had to do that.
So, does that make you guys second?
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Doesn't mean he wouldn't love you
like crazy, but he couldn't not do that.
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ALEX: I think one thing
that really served me well
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is a boldness tempered
with enough experience...
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to know my limits.
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(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
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(EXHALES DEEPLY) Oh, yeah, let's do this.
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(CHUCKLES)
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MAX: Can you remember the first time
you met Alex?
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Yeah. (LAUGHS)
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Yep.
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We knew of each other by reputation.
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But Alex had more acclaim than I did.
And so, when he moved to town...
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00:13:05,117 --> 00:13:09,330
I wasn't the king anymore. (LAUGHS)
But that was cool.
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00:13:09,580 --> 00:13:11,290
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
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CONRAD: We both would wake up
in the morning,
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and it was, "Let's go climbing."
It's sort of like a dog that wakes up,
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and it's like, "We've gotta go
play fetch now.
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00:13:20,508 --> 00:13:24,136
"Not in 15 minutes, now." (CHUCKLES)
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BILL: If you're gonna climb with Alex,
you need to be up to the task.
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00:13:31,393 --> 00:13:34,522
And Conrad was one of the few people
that were.
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Sweet...
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00:13:36,565 --> 00:13:39,109
CONRAD: How fast and how difficult
of a route could we do?
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00:13:39,401 --> 00:13:41,737
...emotion...
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00:13:41,862 --> 00:13:43,656
And how badass are you really?
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00:13:45,741 --> 00:13:47,159
Yeah!
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00:13:47,243 --> 00:13:51,789
-(HEAVY METAL MUSIC PLAYING)
-(MEN CHEERING)
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00:13:51,872 --> 00:13:53,082
BILL: Conrad and Alex...
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00:13:54,333 --> 00:13:55,584
hooked up as partners.
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00:13:55,918 --> 00:13:57,962
Some sweat hog mama
With a face like a gent
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00:13:58,045 --> 00:13:59,839
ALEX: All right, Conrad. Send it.
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00:13:59,922 --> 00:14:06,470
But Conrad became the strong, you know,
backup singer or second man to the man.
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00:14:07,137 --> 00:14:09,473
CONRAD: Our fearless leader, Alex Lowe.
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00:14:10,558 --> 00:14:12,309
(PLANE ENGINE WHIRS)
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00:14:12,768 --> 00:14:13,686
ALEX: It's going down!
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00:14:14,186 --> 00:14:15,187
Power glide!
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JIMMY: You couldn't not hear about Conrad
and Alex if you were into climbing.
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00:14:20,484 --> 00:14:25,281
They were the dynamic duo,
iconic figures that in many ways...
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00:14:26,448 --> 00:14:29,326
how you think about, you know,
superheroes.
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00:14:29,493 --> 00:14:31,620
Sweet...
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00:14:32,162 --> 00:14:35,457
JIMMY: Like, how did they get there?
How did they do that?
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00:14:35,916 --> 00:14:40,337
They were doing things so extraordinary
that people outside of climbing
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00:14:40,421 --> 00:14:41,672
know who these people are.
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00:14:41,797 --> 00:14:44,550
Sweet emotion
228
00:14:44,633 --> 00:14:47,136
ANDREW: Suddenly, climbing caught on.
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00:14:48,220 --> 00:14:49,847
Companies started figuring out
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00:14:49,930 --> 00:14:53,767
how to use the athletes
for advertisements.
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00:14:54,476 --> 00:14:56,729
The North Face had actual real contracts,
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00:14:56,937 --> 00:14:59,398
and, you know, suddenly, it was like,
"Really?
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00:15:00,608 --> 00:15:01,734
"Really? Contract?"
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00:15:05,237 --> 00:15:09,408
All of a sudden, you're a professional.
As a professional, you want to...
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00:15:13,037 --> 00:15:14,121
push it.
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00:15:16,373 --> 00:15:17,625
(CHEERS)
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00:15:20,419 --> 00:15:22,212
(SNOWMOBILES REVVING)
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00:15:23,213 --> 00:15:25,341
CONRAD: Although
we weren't biological brothers...
239
00:15:26,467 --> 00:15:29,386
we were certainly brothers
of the same passion.
240
00:15:30,179 --> 00:15:32,473
We both wanted to do more.
241
00:15:35,809 --> 00:15:37,728
INTERVIEWER: Now, you keep doing this,
you're a father.
242
00:15:38,020 --> 00:15:40,356
Do you ever wonder
if it's slightly selfish
243
00:15:40,439 --> 00:15:43,025
-to go off on these adventures?
-I struggle with that some.
244
00:15:43,108 --> 00:15:46,487
-INTERVIEWER: Mm-hmm.
-But, you know, a lot of people associate
245
00:15:46,570 --> 00:15:48,948
that question with the inherent risk,
and to me,
246
00:15:49,031 --> 00:15:52,034
it's um... There's risk involved
in everything we do in life...
247
00:15:52,117 --> 00:15:53,744
-INTERVIEWER: Mm-hmm.
-...and you just choose your risk.
248
00:15:55,913 --> 00:15:59,166
MAX: At the time, was he kinda one
of the few dudes who had a family?
249
00:15:59,541 --> 00:16:01,710
ANDREW: Oh, for sure.
Within the climbing community,
250
00:16:01,794 --> 00:16:04,004
it was very unusual. It was like,
"Hey, you have kids?
251
00:16:04,088 --> 00:16:05,881
"You're... How can you have kids?
That's...
252
00:16:05,965 --> 00:16:08,550
"You have to be a responsible adult
to have kids."
253
00:16:08,842 --> 00:16:09,927
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
254
00:16:10,010 --> 00:16:11,845
Happy birthday to Sam
255
00:16:12,012 --> 00:16:15,849
Happy Birthday, dear Sam
256
00:16:15,933 --> 00:16:19,561
Happy Birthday to you
257
00:16:20,104 --> 00:16:22,773
JENNIFER: It was challenging
to be raising kids...
258
00:16:25,275 --> 00:16:27,069
a lot of the time by myself.
259
00:16:27,695 --> 00:16:28,737
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
260
00:16:28,821 --> 00:16:31,991
JENNIFER: I would get angry at him.
I'd be like, "You're away too much.
261
00:16:32,616 --> 00:16:35,995
"We've got these kids,
and they need a father.
262
00:16:38,122 --> 00:16:41,458
"They love you.
I want you to be here more."
263
00:16:42,084 --> 00:16:46,255
When Isaac arrived on the scene,
that was even harder.
264
00:16:48,257 --> 00:16:50,050
INTERVIEWER: How much time
on a 12-month period
265
00:16:50,134 --> 00:16:51,719
would you say that you're away?
266
00:16:52,678 --> 00:16:54,972
Oh, you should ask Jennifer that question.
(LAUGHS)
267
00:16:56,098 --> 00:16:57,141
INTERVIEWER: And what does she do?
268
00:16:57,224 --> 00:16:59,393
She's an artist. She paints,
sells her work.
269
00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,354
INTERVIEWER: Is it taxing somewhat?
Or has it been such an evolutionary thing,
270
00:17:02,438 --> 00:17:03,522
it works out pretty well?
271
00:17:03,772 --> 00:17:06,817
Oh, no, it's definitely taxing. Yeah.
I mean, we make a lot of compromises.
272
00:17:09,445 --> 00:17:13,741
JENNIFER: It was hard sometimes
juggling my career as an artist
273
00:17:13,824 --> 00:17:15,200
with being a good mom.
274
00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:18,996
ANDREW: You know, Alex would call your mom
St. Jennifer.
275
00:17:19,496 --> 00:17:22,624
I mean, she knew the outdoor lifestyle,
but more than anything she was...
276
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,419
you know, put up with Alex's travel.
277
00:17:26,587 --> 00:17:28,839
JENNIFER: Alex was a little jealous
of Conrad.
278
00:17:29,506 --> 00:17:33,677
Because Conrad was footloose
and fancy-free. He didn't have a wife,
279
00:17:33,969 --> 00:17:37,598
and so, he could go off on an expedition
at the drop of a hat.
280
00:17:40,934 --> 00:17:42,978
BILL: If he didn't get his fix...
281
00:17:44,271 --> 00:17:46,732
he could be kind of unbearable.
282
00:17:49,401 --> 00:17:53,614
Especially if he was feeling like
that caged animal.
283
00:17:55,032 --> 00:17:57,576
JENNIFER: He'd get frustrated.
He was impatient.
284
00:17:57,743 --> 00:18:00,621
And had his moments of explosiveness.
285
00:18:00,913 --> 00:18:03,582
He'd yell at you,
and you would get scared.
286
00:18:04,416 --> 00:18:06,502
Alex wasn't a perfect character.
287
00:18:09,088 --> 00:18:11,090
He wasn't a perfect character.
288
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:18,722
MAX: Did you ever talk to him about doubts
that he could balance having a family
289
00:18:19,056 --> 00:18:20,432
and be a climber?
290
00:18:22,684 --> 00:18:23,685
JENNIFER: Oh, yeah.
291
00:18:24,436 --> 00:18:25,687
He was struggling.
292
00:18:27,106 --> 00:18:29,149
He wrote me pages of letters.
293
00:18:30,109 --> 00:18:32,945
Always looking within himself.
294
00:18:33,529 --> 00:18:37,449
He was feeling like, you know,
are we better off if he leaves,
295
00:18:37,533 --> 00:18:41,954
and we find somebody else
to, you know, take his place?
296
00:18:42,079 --> 00:18:47,126
(SOFT MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)
297
00:18:51,839 --> 00:18:56,218
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
298
00:18:56,468 --> 00:19:00,222
Silent night...
299
00:19:00,305 --> 00:19:02,891
JENNIFER: I mean, you were the oldest,
and you knew him
300
00:19:02,975 --> 00:19:04,434
better than your brothers.
301
00:19:08,063 --> 00:19:11,900
JENNIFER: You know, when Alex went away,
you were the most cognizant...
302
00:19:13,443 --> 00:19:16,572
and you were the most cognizant
of what death meant.
303
00:19:19,324 --> 00:19:24,580
Christ the Savior is born
304
00:19:25,956 --> 00:19:32,588
(WIND HOWLING)
305
00:19:41,096 --> 00:19:45,309
It's beginning
To look a lot like Christmas
306
00:19:46,018 --> 00:19:49,104
Everywhere I go
307
00:19:49,897 --> 00:19:51,690
That's the only line I know.
308
00:19:53,233 --> 00:19:56,653
(INDISTINCT SONG PLAYING OVER RADIO)
309
00:19:59,239 --> 00:20:02,242
"Merry Christmas, Dad, we're all thinking
of you on this special day.
310
00:20:02,326 --> 00:20:04,453
"We're missing you.
We send our love with this card.
311
00:20:05,871 --> 00:20:09,041
"Each of us boys has written you a letter
you'll find enclosed."
312
00:20:09,416 --> 00:20:10,542
See what they say.
313
00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:13,003
Max said...
314
00:20:13,712 --> 00:20:17,841
"Merry Christmas, Dad. I miss you.
Come home, son."
315
00:20:18,842 --> 00:20:21,511
I think translates to "soon."
"And let's play the 'fitl'...
316
00:20:23,138 --> 00:20:27,100
"together. And go shoot some pool.
Love, Max. To Dad."
317
00:20:28,185 --> 00:20:29,519
All right. Thanks, Max.
318
00:20:30,771 --> 00:20:32,314
Pretty crazy place to spend Christmas.
319
00:20:33,690 --> 00:20:35,067
Long ways from these guys.
320
00:20:40,989 --> 00:20:43,700
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
321
00:20:44,660 --> 00:20:46,078
INTERVIEWER: We're interviewing Alex.
322
00:20:46,703 --> 00:20:48,372
And the first question is to tell us
323
00:20:48,455 --> 00:20:51,708
why it's special while climbing
in Antarctica.
324
00:20:55,128 --> 00:20:57,297
ALEX: Antarctica, in my opinion,
is the last true wilderness left
325
00:20:57,381 --> 00:20:59,466
on the planet. You know you're alone.
326
00:21:00,842 --> 00:21:03,220
It's as close as I'll probably come
in my lifetime
327
00:21:03,303 --> 00:21:04,680
to being on a foreign planet.
328
00:21:07,891 --> 00:21:10,894
But it gets harder and harder
as the years go by.
329
00:21:12,688 --> 00:21:14,356
I think a lot of it is
because of my family.
330
00:21:14,481 --> 00:21:16,191
And I think the biggest struggle...
331
00:21:16,817 --> 00:21:18,735
I mean, I've spent...
I spent many, many years
332
00:21:18,860 --> 00:21:20,112
stuck in tents before I had a family.
333
00:21:20,195 --> 00:21:23,615
It was no big deal. I mean, we just
had infinite number of books to read,
334
00:21:23,699 --> 00:21:25,200
and time was easy to kill.
335
00:21:25,409 --> 00:21:27,327
Time's not quite as easy to kill
for me anymore.
336
00:21:27,452 --> 00:21:31,039
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
337
00:21:35,711 --> 00:21:38,630
If I'm not moving steadily
toward the goal...
338
00:21:41,425 --> 00:21:43,552
in finishing this trip and getting back
with my kids.
339
00:21:44,011 --> 00:21:46,305
It starts to get a little hard
because I wish I was with 'em.
340
00:21:46,513 --> 00:21:52,185
(DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)
341
00:22:05,657 --> 00:22:07,159
ALEX: Okay, now, Max, let's talk
about this.
342
00:22:08,243 --> 00:22:09,870
-What are you thinking?
-(ISAAC BLABBERING)
343
00:22:09,953 --> 00:22:10,954
Nothing.
344
00:22:13,623 --> 00:22:15,292
ALEX: All right. Well, then what
are we gonna do today?
345
00:22:15,834 --> 00:22:16,877
Um...
346
00:22:18,211 --> 00:22:20,964
-Go skiing.
-ALEX: Okay. What are you eating, Isaac?
347
00:22:22,674 --> 00:22:24,051
(ALEX GRUNTING)
348
00:22:24,551 --> 00:22:26,845
Is that what skiers eat for breakfast?
Now, Sam.
349
00:22:27,888 --> 00:22:29,723
Tell me, do you like to ski?
350
00:22:30,098 --> 00:22:31,099
-Ski!
-Yeah.
351
00:22:31,183 --> 00:22:32,559
ALEX: Like, how much do you like to ski?
352
00:22:33,602 --> 00:22:35,145
A million days.
353
00:22:36,563 --> 00:22:38,273
ALEX: Well, that's too long, isn't it?
354
00:22:41,693 --> 00:22:43,445
Do you like being in the movie?
355
00:22:44,112 --> 00:22:45,238
(MEOWS)
356
00:22:46,448 --> 00:22:48,825
-(MAX CHUCKLES)
-(MEOWS)
357
00:22:49,326 --> 00:22:51,828
(IMITATES CAT) We do.
358
00:22:51,912 --> 00:22:55,707
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
359
00:23:11,723 --> 00:23:13,600
-ALEX: Do you ski fast?
-MAX: Yeah.
360
00:23:14,059 --> 00:23:15,894
ALEX: Do you ski really fast?
361
00:23:16,311 --> 00:23:17,687
-Yeah.
-ALEX: Do you go over big bumps?
362
00:23:18,605 --> 00:23:19,648
-No.
-ALEX: No.
363
00:23:20,565 --> 00:23:21,691
Cool.
364
00:23:22,234 --> 00:23:27,030
MAX: And if you had to describe to someone
who he was, how would you do that?
365
00:23:27,406 --> 00:23:28,615
Um...
366
00:23:30,450 --> 00:23:32,869
I don't... honestly...
(INHALES SHARPLY)
367
00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:37,457
...all that I have to describe him
as is basically what he did. I don't...
368
00:23:38,500 --> 00:23:40,168
have any solid memories of him.
369
00:23:42,129 --> 00:23:44,297
ALEX: Come on, bud. That's it.
370
00:23:45,340 --> 00:23:46,550
You're doing great.
371
00:23:47,092 --> 00:23:48,718
-MALE VOICE: One of your boys up there?
-ALEX: Yeah.
372
00:23:48,802 --> 00:23:50,595
Just getting a little ski footage,
373
00:23:50,679 --> 00:23:53,014
you know, just to embarrass 'em
when they're older.
374
00:23:54,683 --> 00:23:57,477
(ALEX IMITATES CAR)
What do you call this, Max?
375
00:23:58,145 --> 00:23:59,896
Butt slide!
376
00:24:00,897 --> 00:24:02,274
(SHRIEKS)
377
00:24:03,859 --> 00:24:06,486
-ALEX: Well, that's pretty exciting.
-Yeah.
378
00:24:07,070 --> 00:24:10,407
MAX: Do you have any memories of Alex?
379
00:24:11,366 --> 00:24:13,118
ISAAC: Not really. No.
380
00:24:14,661 --> 00:24:16,830
Kind of at this point feels like...
381
00:24:19,458 --> 00:24:20,625
some sort of...
382
00:24:23,086 --> 00:24:24,504
dream or something.
383
00:24:25,130 --> 00:24:26,256
ALEX: Are you glad to see Dad?
384
00:24:27,132 --> 00:24:29,009
-Yeah.
-ALEX: Can you come give me a big hug?
385
00:24:30,135 --> 00:24:32,596
MAX: Do you think our lives
would be entirely different?
386
00:24:33,305 --> 00:24:34,723
ISAAC: If Alex hadn't have died?
387
00:24:38,477 --> 00:24:39,811
I think about that a lot.
388
00:24:42,230 --> 00:24:47,319
We all have a glorified idea
of who Alex was.
389
00:24:48,862 --> 00:24:50,989
And that he was kind of like Superman.
390
00:24:53,283 --> 00:24:55,744
It's just sometimes easy
to imagine that...
391
00:24:57,037 --> 00:25:01,708
like, I could be a better person
in another life somewhere or...
392
00:25:02,876 --> 00:25:03,960
I don't know.
393
00:25:05,170 --> 00:25:08,006
(UPBEAT SONG PLAYING OVER STEREO)
394
00:25:09,466 --> 00:25:11,593
ALEX: The trip home. How about that?
395
00:25:12,677 --> 00:25:14,221
Bunch of weary skiers.
396
00:25:16,723 --> 00:25:18,683
-You tired, Max?
-Yeah.
397
00:25:18,892 --> 00:25:20,018
-ALEX: Huh?
-Yeah.
398
00:25:20,268 --> 00:25:21,645
ALEX: Yeah? Did you ski hard?
399
00:25:21,937 --> 00:25:24,022
-Yeah.
-ALEX: Gnarly. How about this guy?
400
00:25:24,773 --> 00:25:26,024
Do you think he's wasted?
401
00:25:27,526 --> 00:25:29,694
Hey, Sam. Are you wasted?
402
00:25:32,531 --> 00:25:34,449
Nice work, you guys.
403
00:25:36,159 --> 00:25:38,036
I got some pretty great ski friends.
404
00:25:41,206 --> 00:25:42,290
Yeah.
405
00:25:46,419 --> 00:25:49,506
JENNIFER: Do you remember the last time
he had come home?
406
00:25:50,882 --> 00:25:51,883
MAX: Vaguely.
407
00:25:55,178 --> 00:25:56,638
-ALEX: Blow!
-JENNIFER: Blow!
408
00:25:56,721 --> 00:25:58,223
-ALEX: Go, buddy!
-(JENNIFER CHEERING)
409
00:25:58,390 --> 00:26:00,642
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
410
00:26:00,725 --> 00:26:03,645
JENNIFER: North Face
were planning the trip...
411
00:26:05,814 --> 00:26:07,857
to Shishapangma in Tibet.
412
00:26:09,442 --> 00:26:11,903
But he did have some doubts
and he was like,
413
00:26:12,696 --> 00:26:15,991
"Oh, God, I feel like I just got home.
414
00:26:16,908 --> 00:26:19,160
"Maybe I should back out on this trip."
415
00:26:22,205 --> 00:26:25,333
And so, you guys went rock climbing
together.
416
00:26:25,584 --> 00:26:26,918
"We're gonna climb the Grand."
417
00:26:28,128 --> 00:26:32,465
You were so excited about it.
And it was on that trip...
418
00:26:33,717 --> 00:26:36,469
you guys became really close friends.
419
00:26:41,891 --> 00:26:43,476
Do you remember that?
420
00:26:43,977 --> 00:26:45,687
-MAX: A little bit.
-Little bit?
421
00:26:46,229 --> 00:26:49,774
You must remember some of those
'cause you're tearing up a little bit.
422
00:26:51,109 --> 00:26:52,777
-Yeah.
-MAX: Yeah. That's when he asked me
423
00:26:52,861 --> 00:26:55,363
if he should go to Shishapangma or not.
424
00:26:56,656 --> 00:26:57,657
I know.
425
00:27:00,035 --> 00:27:01,244
And what did you say?
426
00:27:02,329 --> 00:27:03,538
I think I told him that...
427
00:27:05,832 --> 00:27:09,002
I understand. I understood that he had to.
428
00:27:09,836 --> 00:27:11,588
That's what I... that's what he did.
429
00:27:11,671 --> 00:27:13,465
-JENNIFER: It was his work.
-Yeah.
430
00:27:15,550 --> 00:27:16,551
Yeah.
431
00:27:17,552 --> 00:27:21,181
MAX: It's this story that I've told myself
so many times over the years.
432
00:27:23,475 --> 00:27:24,768
I know, those are...
433
00:27:26,895 --> 00:27:31,107
(EXHALES DEEPLY) ...those
are hard memories to hold, aren't they?
434
00:27:34,527 --> 00:27:35,528
Well...
435
00:27:38,156 --> 00:27:39,491
I have my own.
436
00:27:45,330 --> 00:27:48,667
(WIND RUSTLING)
437
00:27:48,875 --> 00:27:50,919
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
438
00:27:53,755 --> 00:27:55,882
(CLATTERING)
439
00:27:58,093 --> 00:28:00,345
MIKE: You know what you were looking for,
right, Max?
440
00:28:00,428 --> 00:28:01,554
MAX: Yeah.
441
00:28:03,181 --> 00:28:06,601
Stuff that says Shishapangma.
Or we called it Shish.
442
00:28:08,895 --> 00:28:10,188
MIKE: Ooh. That looks familiar.
443
00:28:11,398 --> 00:28:14,901
-MIKE: This is it. Right here.
-MAX: Yeah, this is the stuff, buddy.
444
00:28:18,154 --> 00:28:20,323
MAX: So, this is brutal, but this is...
445
00:28:21,157 --> 00:28:23,868
Conrad's interview. This one's intense.
446
00:28:28,456 --> 00:28:31,376
Yeah, I'm curious to see
if there's anything else beyond what...
447
00:28:32,001 --> 00:28:33,962
MIKE: Yeah, what's in that...
what we already know.
448
00:28:34,045 --> 00:28:35,296
(MAN CLEARING THROAT)
449
00:28:40,301 --> 00:28:42,345
Yeah. You know,
this isn't gonna be very fun, Max.
450
00:28:42,554 --> 00:28:44,055
(VIDEO PLAYING IN BACKGROUND)
451
00:28:47,183 --> 00:28:49,352
-(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
-MIKE: Prepared?
452
00:28:49,436 --> 00:28:51,104
-MALE VOICE: Mm-hmm.
-MIKE: Sound is rolling.
453
00:28:51,229 --> 00:28:52,439
-MALE VOICE: And begin.
-MIKE: Here we go.
454
00:28:52,856 --> 00:28:54,023
Okay.
455
00:29:06,453 --> 00:29:07,996
What happened? (CHUCKLES)
456
00:29:08,079 --> 00:29:09,414
-MALE VOICE: I got no idea.
-ALEX: Yeah.
457
00:29:09,539 --> 00:29:10,832
-Looked like birds.
-Yeah.
458
00:29:15,170 --> 00:29:19,090
CONRAD: To ski the south side
of Shishapangma, that was the goal.
459
00:29:21,509 --> 00:29:23,136
A pretty wild and...
460
00:29:25,638 --> 00:29:28,641
crazy ambitious type of goal to go do.
461
00:29:28,725 --> 00:29:33,605
(DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)
462
00:29:36,441 --> 00:29:38,693
CONRAD: There's a lot of these risks
that we don't know.
463
00:29:38,943 --> 00:29:42,906
We always have the weather,
and the weather rules the mountains.
464
00:29:42,989 --> 00:29:46,451
Is it putting more snow in that couloir?
Is that snow in there unstable?
465
00:29:46,534 --> 00:29:47,702
Is there a weak layer?
466
00:29:49,245 --> 00:29:51,873
Are we exposing ourself
to unnecessary risk?
467
00:30:01,049 --> 00:30:03,635
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-(BELLS RINGING)
468
00:30:07,138 --> 00:30:08,765
ALEX: Oh, yeah!
469
00:30:13,102 --> 00:30:14,270
MALE VOICE: What is this place?
470
00:30:14,437 --> 00:30:18,066
Oh, man, this is BC.
This is nirvana is what this is.
471
00:30:18,566 --> 00:30:19,943
It's where we're gonna hang out...
472
00:30:21,069 --> 00:30:22,362
and just enjoy the mountains.
473
00:30:22,946 --> 00:30:24,447
(BOTH CHEERING)
474
00:30:24,531 --> 00:30:26,241
Bastard. It's so good to be here with you.
475
00:30:27,575 --> 00:30:30,119
This is, like, this is where I... thrive.
476
00:30:30,245 --> 00:30:31,454
-ALEX: Yeah.
-I always feel good going up
477
00:30:31,538 --> 00:30:32,872
-to this altitude. It's like...
-Yup.
478
00:30:32,956 --> 00:30:34,040
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
479
00:30:34,582 --> 00:30:36,042
(RAZOR BUZZING)
480
00:30:37,669 --> 00:30:41,172
Yes, I actually do have facial hair.
Not much, but a little bit.
481
00:30:47,637 --> 00:30:49,597
MAX: Did he confide in you a lot
of things?
482
00:30:52,016 --> 00:30:53,935
CONRAD: He and I were tent mates
on that trip.
483
00:30:56,521 --> 00:30:58,898
He realized that he was one trip too many.
484
00:31:01,109 --> 00:31:04,571
And that constant expeditions
was taking a toll on his family.
485
00:31:04,654 --> 00:31:07,740
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
486
00:31:10,076 --> 00:31:11,744
He wanted to be there for you.
487
00:31:13,288 --> 00:31:15,373
He said you wanted to go to Disneyland.
488
00:31:16,207 --> 00:31:19,377
And that rather than it being
like climbing or something like that,
489
00:31:19,460 --> 00:31:21,421
it was like,
"Oh, this is something that...
490
00:31:21,504 --> 00:31:24,132
"that the kids wanted to do,
I need to listen to the kids."
491
00:31:24,215 --> 00:31:25,675
And he wanted to go do that.
492
00:31:32,265 --> 00:31:33,433
Did you have much snow?
493
00:31:33,683 --> 00:31:35,852
Yes, there's a lot of snow
in the south space.
494
00:31:35,935 --> 00:31:38,187
-ALEX: Yeah?
-There coming a lot of avalanches down.
495
00:31:38,271 --> 00:31:41,232
ALEX: Oh, yeah? It's just powder
or flat...
496
00:31:41,316 --> 00:31:43,067
A little powder now from this night.
497
00:31:43,151 --> 00:31:45,695
-ANDREW: Yeah?
-Yesterday evening they are coming...
498
00:31:45,820 --> 00:31:47,030
-Yeah.
-...they're coming, some...
499
00:31:47,196 --> 00:31:48,281
-some avalanches.
-ALEX: Awesome.
500
00:31:49,032 --> 00:31:50,825
-So, late in the day?
-ANDREW: Where?
501
00:31:51,451 --> 00:31:54,746
Information gathered,
it could be bad in the afternoons up here.
502
00:31:54,996 --> 00:31:56,623
ANDREW: Mm-hmm. Go early.
503
00:31:57,165 --> 00:31:58,583
So, early is better.
504
00:32:00,376 --> 00:32:02,295
-Usually is.
-(ALL LAUGHING)
505
00:32:05,798 --> 00:32:06,799
Okay.
506
00:32:08,509 --> 00:32:12,180
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
507
00:32:30,031 --> 00:32:31,032
Yo!
508
00:32:32,450 --> 00:32:33,910
Looks like we're gonna have a powder day.
509
00:32:40,583 --> 00:32:42,794
ALEX: And on this snowy morning,
God gave us latte.
510
00:32:42,961 --> 00:32:44,128
CONRAD: Oh, yes.
511
00:32:45,380 --> 00:32:49,217
MAX: Can you just describe
in as much detail as you can that day?
512
00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:54,847
MALE VOICE: All right.
513
00:32:55,390 --> 00:32:57,517
CONRAD: We'd talked about it being
a rest day.
514
00:32:57,850 --> 00:32:59,560
ALEX: Okay, lattes, Andrew.
515
00:32:59,686 --> 00:33:02,188
CONRAD: But there was, like, this energy
to go do something.
516
00:33:02,605 --> 00:33:05,316
-ANDREW: Grazie, grazie.
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
517
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,736
Very nice thing on a snowy morning.
It's a very nice thing on a nice morning.
518
00:33:15,410 --> 00:33:17,328
(MAN PANTING)
519
00:33:17,996 --> 00:33:24,460
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
520
00:33:33,803 --> 00:33:34,804
And...
521
00:33:35,304 --> 00:33:37,807
we looked up and we saw
that there was a...
522
00:33:38,850 --> 00:33:40,643
an avalanche that had triggered.
523
00:33:40,977 --> 00:33:44,647
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
524
00:33:47,150 --> 00:33:51,154
At that moment, we went
to the most ancient part of your brain
525
00:33:51,237 --> 00:33:53,823
telling you what to do in survival.
526
00:33:54,073 --> 00:33:59,579
And David and Alex went one direction,
and I went to another direction.
527
00:34:02,540 --> 00:34:04,333
The snow picked me up.
528
00:34:06,878 --> 00:34:09,422
I thought, "I'm going to die today.
529
00:34:11,049 --> 00:34:12,425
"Death is happening."
530
00:34:15,219 --> 00:34:16,262
(MUSIC STOPS)
531
00:34:19,932 --> 00:34:21,392
(CAMERA TURNING ON)
532
00:34:28,483 --> 00:34:31,277
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
533
00:34:46,584 --> 00:34:47,835
(TENT ZIPPING)
534
00:34:54,634 --> 00:34:55,676
MALE VOICE 1: Here.
535
00:34:57,929 --> 00:35:00,098
MALE VOICE 2: So, Conrad,
maybe you could tell us about the...
536
00:35:00,264 --> 00:35:02,350
how you got the cuts on your head.
537
00:35:04,227 --> 00:35:05,228
MALE VOICE 1: There you go.
538
00:35:06,104 --> 00:35:08,231
-MALE VOICE: Yeah.
-CONRAD: Outran an avalanche.
539
00:35:10,233 --> 00:35:11,359
(MAN EXHALES)
540
00:35:13,319 --> 00:35:14,779
But two people didn't.
541
00:35:15,905 --> 00:35:17,865
-David Bridges and Alex Lowe.
-MALE VOICE: Is that the guys?
542
00:35:22,411 --> 00:35:25,873
MALE VOICE 1: There's a one
in a bazillion chance that those guys
543
00:35:25,957 --> 00:35:31,087
somehow crawled out from under a crevasse.
But you never know.
544
00:35:31,212 --> 00:35:32,338
MALE VOICE 2: Yeah.
545
00:35:34,048 --> 00:35:35,049
MALE VOICE 1: And, uh...
546
00:35:35,675 --> 00:35:36,926
I mean, without beacons,
547
00:35:37,426 --> 00:35:40,721
all you can hope for is a glove
or a foot sticking up.
548
00:35:40,805 --> 00:35:41,848
MALE VOICE 2: Yeah.
549
00:35:42,932 --> 00:35:43,975
-I don't know.
-MALE VOICE: Yeah.
550
00:35:47,645 --> 00:35:50,648
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
551
00:35:54,152 --> 00:35:55,820
MALE VOICE: Those... Where those chunks
are right there,
552
00:35:55,903 --> 00:35:56,946
is that where they were running?
553
00:35:57,029 --> 00:35:58,573
-Is that where you guys were?
-CONRAD: They were, yeah.
554
00:35:58,656 --> 00:35:59,991
They were right about
where those chunks are.
555
00:36:13,921 --> 00:36:15,047
Hear that?
556
00:36:18,384 --> 00:36:19,427
(SNOW AND ROCK TUMBLING)
557
00:36:19,552 --> 00:36:20,887
MALE VOICE: See it coming
down right there?
558
00:36:21,470 --> 00:36:23,890
-MALE VOICE 1: More fluctuation, guys.
-MALE VOICE 2: Oh, my God.
559
00:36:24,765 --> 00:36:27,185
Hey, what are we doing up here?
This is stupid.
560
00:36:28,978 --> 00:36:31,439
Things are just sliding
all over the place.
561
00:36:32,398 --> 00:36:35,151
MALE VOICE: Just hope that it
was over really quick for those guys.
562
00:36:36,986 --> 00:36:40,072
Just knowing Alex, you just always
expect him to, you know...
563
00:36:41,115 --> 00:36:42,658
throw a hand up or something.
564
00:36:46,287 --> 00:36:47,788
It's just so eerie to...
565
00:36:48,456 --> 00:36:51,042
to think of two friends buried
out there somewhere.
566
00:36:55,713 --> 00:36:58,966
A real sense of helplessness, you know,
after it happened.
567
00:36:59,133 --> 00:37:02,803
It was just standing here,
just kind of like, "Alex! Alex!"
568
00:37:03,471 --> 00:37:07,141
And, you know,
this total eerie silence, clear...
569
00:37:09,477 --> 00:37:11,187
(EXHALES HEAVILY) Well, that's, um...
570
00:37:12,813 --> 00:37:13,940
(EXHALES)
571
00:37:21,989 --> 00:37:23,241
What else is on that one?
572
00:37:24,659 --> 00:37:26,619
It's just more stuff like that.
573
00:37:34,335 --> 00:37:35,711
Well, thanks for shooting it.
574
00:37:37,380 --> 00:37:38,798
(EXHALES HEAVILY) I'm sorry.
575
00:37:43,844 --> 00:37:44,887
(MAX SNIFFLES)
576
00:37:45,554 --> 00:37:51,060
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
577
00:37:58,776 --> 00:37:59,986
JENNIFER: It was morning.
578
00:38:04,156 --> 00:38:06,993
I had just taken you and Sam to school.
579
00:38:08,744 --> 00:38:11,789
I'd come home with Isaac.
Maybe he was in the stroller.
580
00:38:18,170 --> 00:38:19,714
And the phone rang.
581
00:38:20,256 --> 00:38:22,967
You know, at first, you know,
it didn't come through that well
582
00:38:23,050 --> 00:38:24,468
and I thought it was Alex.
583
00:38:24,552 --> 00:38:27,138
You know, I'm like, "Alex? Alex?"
You know?
584
00:38:27,221 --> 00:38:30,516
So, then finally, you know,
it came through and I could hear
585
00:38:30,599 --> 00:38:35,354
Andrew's voice,
and it was totally quavering, you know?
586
00:38:35,438 --> 00:38:36,480
And...
587
00:38:37,648 --> 00:38:41,485
he told me there's been an avalanche,
and...
588
00:38:42,903 --> 00:38:45,656
"I'm really sorry, Alex is buried."
589
00:38:47,825 --> 00:38:51,537
And I spoke to Jennifer,
and it was... and there's...
590
00:38:53,956 --> 00:38:55,124
"They're gone."
591
00:38:57,126 --> 00:39:00,046
I still remember the way Conrad kept
saying, "Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer,"
592
00:39:00,129 --> 00:39:01,213
because she was like...
593
00:39:02,340 --> 00:39:05,217
"You go up there, and you get him.
You find him."
594
00:39:09,889 --> 00:39:13,726
(SNOW AND ROCK FALLING)
595
00:39:16,020 --> 00:39:21,400
ANNOUNCER: KTVM Station 42,
The News Leader, this is the News at Six.
596
00:39:22,860 --> 00:39:26,197
Well, the search for mountain climber,
Alex Lowe, has been called off.
597
00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:28,908
The body of the legendary mountain climber
will remain buried
598
00:39:28,991 --> 00:39:32,161
beneath a Himalayan avalanche.
The 40-year-old Bozeman resident
599
00:39:32,244 --> 00:39:34,497
and cameraman David Bridges
are presumed dead.
600
00:39:36,749 --> 00:39:38,751
CONRAD: All of us here
on the Shishapangma expedition
601
00:39:38,834 --> 00:39:40,836
are deeply at a loss.
602
00:39:41,629 --> 00:39:43,172
Two great people are gone.
603
00:39:43,547 --> 00:39:48,052
And from my own standpoint,
Alex being one of the closest friends,
604
00:39:48,177 --> 00:39:54,308
and the sympathy we extend to Jennifer,
his wife,
605
00:39:55,017 --> 00:39:56,227
and their three sons...
606
00:39:57,395 --> 00:40:00,398
Max, Sam, and Isaac.
607
00:40:01,065 --> 00:40:03,401
This is Conrad signing off. Thank you.
608
00:40:04,527 --> 00:40:05,528
(MAN SIGHS)
609
00:40:09,281 --> 00:40:10,324
(SIGHS)
610
00:40:28,592 --> 00:40:29,760
MAX: Did you know they were dead?
611
00:40:33,597 --> 00:40:35,099
Yeah. Yeah.
612
00:40:36,142 --> 00:40:37,226
Yeah, there was...
613
00:40:38,060 --> 00:40:39,311
there was a finality to it.
614
00:40:39,437 --> 00:40:43,441
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
615
00:40:55,953 --> 00:40:59,999
JENNIFER: For the first couple days,
I kept clinging to the hope
616
00:41:00,207 --> 00:41:04,003
that he was just in a crevasse,
and he was gonna dig his way out of there.
617
00:41:07,214 --> 00:41:08,841
'Cause he was Superman.
618
00:41:15,598 --> 00:41:20,853
I can remember just how horrible it was
to walk out on the porch...
619
00:41:22,646 --> 00:41:24,982
and have it be the headlines
of the paper.
620
00:41:25,900 --> 00:41:27,359
"Alex Lowe Dead."
621
00:41:28,569 --> 00:41:30,738
Because that makes it more real.
622
00:41:34,241 --> 00:41:36,243
Isaac was only three.
623
00:41:37,203 --> 00:41:41,165
I cried more around him
because I thought he was more oblivious.
624
00:41:41,957 --> 00:41:47,838
And so, when he came to me, and he's like,
"Mom, you don't have to cry anymore.
625
00:41:48,047 --> 00:41:54,345
"You can quit crying, Mom. Mommy,
it's okay." You know, and he was three.
626
00:41:58,516 --> 00:42:02,436
So, that was the hardest...
that was probably the hardest part of it,
627
00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:06,857
you know? And I would try not to cry
in front of you kids, and I would go
628
00:42:07,358 --> 00:42:08,734
cry in the shower.
629
00:42:09,985 --> 00:42:11,237
I was down in his office
630
00:42:11,320 --> 00:42:14,615
before we'd cleaned out any of his stuff,
and I was just looking around that,
631
00:42:14,698 --> 00:42:16,450
and I was like,
"Oh, I'm never gonna see...
632
00:42:17,368 --> 00:42:18,369
"my dad again."
633
00:42:19,537 --> 00:42:21,080
And I think that might have been
the first time
634
00:42:21,163 --> 00:42:23,541
that I actually started crying about it.
635
00:42:25,334 --> 00:42:26,585
MAX: Do you remember how you felt?
636
00:42:27,878 --> 00:42:29,171
Yeah. Scared.
637
00:42:31,590 --> 00:42:33,592
Sad. Confused.
638
00:42:36,053 --> 00:42:38,138
JENNIFER: You know,
I can remember Sammy saying...
639
00:42:39,056 --> 00:42:42,059
"Maybe we can find his body,
and clone him...
640
00:42:43,519 --> 00:42:44,812
"and bring him back."
641
00:42:47,690 --> 00:42:53,362
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
642
00:43:17,219 --> 00:43:19,722
JENNIFER: Our service was very soon
after the accident.
643
00:43:19,847 --> 00:43:22,683
-A little... a yak bell... from...
-(BELL TOLLING)
644
00:43:22,766 --> 00:43:24,268
...our recent exhibition.
645
00:43:24,685 --> 00:43:26,312
JENNIFER: You know, about a week later.
646
00:43:28,439 --> 00:43:31,400
And in part, you know,
I just didn't wanna wait.
647
00:43:33,027 --> 00:43:35,404
He was so proud of his sons.
648
00:43:36,655 --> 00:43:38,073
And loved them fiercely.
649
00:43:39,116 --> 00:43:42,411
Even though he struggled
with how to be a father
650
00:43:42,536 --> 00:43:44,580
and a mountaineer at the same time.
651
00:43:45,706 --> 00:43:48,584
He always told me that his love
for his family
652
00:43:48,667 --> 00:43:51,920
was the greatest thing in his life,
and I believe that.
653
00:43:57,009 --> 00:43:59,094
-MAX: I don't even remember.
-Thank you.
654
00:43:59,553 --> 00:44:02,139
MAX: Feel like maybe I just, like,
blacked it out.
655
00:44:05,684 --> 00:44:07,436
Did it seem like I was different?
656
00:44:09,730 --> 00:44:12,024
You used to go sit out on the roof.
657
00:44:12,483 --> 00:44:16,403
I think you went out there, and sat,
and cried, and thought about things.
658
00:44:20,824 --> 00:44:25,454
But you felt that you had to maybe
be little man of the house.
659
00:44:26,205 --> 00:44:29,124
-JENNIFER: Holy cow. Got one.
-MAX: Mom, I'll reel him in.
660
00:44:32,878 --> 00:44:35,547
JENNIFER: So, you got
a little bit protective of me...
661
00:44:36,590 --> 00:44:38,467
and protective of your brothers.
662
00:44:41,428 --> 00:44:44,390
And I think you still thought
he could come back.
663
00:44:45,349 --> 00:44:47,893
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
664
00:44:47,976 --> 00:44:49,812
JENNIFER: You hung on to that hope.
665
00:45:01,323 --> 00:45:02,533
Yeah, here's this...
666
00:45:04,243 --> 00:45:06,370
painting that Alex made for me...
667
00:45:07,996 --> 00:45:10,666
while he was on Shishapangma
for my birthday.
668
00:45:11,792 --> 00:45:13,836
And he had shipped it from the base camp.
669
00:45:14,044 --> 00:45:17,506
So, I got it in the mail
after the avalanche.
670
00:45:18,799 --> 00:45:21,802
So I think that when I got the...
671
00:45:23,303 --> 00:45:26,890
letter from him, I assumed
that he had sent it
672
00:45:27,015 --> 00:45:29,435
after he had supposedly died.
673
00:45:29,518 --> 00:45:31,520
So, it must have meant
that he was still alive.
674
00:45:34,773 --> 00:45:37,151
And it was like I was frozen...
675
00:45:38,652 --> 00:45:39,695
with Alex.
676
00:45:45,784 --> 00:45:48,370
NEWSCASTER 1: Avalanche, burying
and apparently killing
677
00:45:48,454 --> 00:45:51,582
one of the world's best,
40-year-old Alex Lowe.
678
00:45:51,665 --> 00:45:54,960
A celebrity among mountain climbers,
the brightest star.
679
00:45:55,169 --> 00:45:57,755
NEWSCASTER 2: A photograph
captures Alex working his way
680
00:45:57,838 --> 00:46:01,717
up the mountain with a frozen,
injured climber on his back.
681
00:46:02,009 --> 00:46:04,720
In another era, he might
have been Marco Polo.
682
00:46:04,845 --> 00:46:07,347
MALE VOICE: You know, he's the guy
who comes along once every 100 years.
683
00:46:07,514 --> 00:46:09,683
NEWSCASTER 3: Lowe was married
and a father of three boys.
684
00:46:15,481 --> 00:46:16,648
CONRAD: It should have been me.
685
00:46:18,734 --> 00:46:20,527
Survivor's guilt is a bear.
686
00:46:22,154 --> 00:46:24,281
The worst part of it is,
you have a lot of...
687
00:46:26,116 --> 00:46:27,117
very...
688
00:46:28,452 --> 00:46:30,496
unhealthy thoughts that...
689
00:46:32,164 --> 00:46:33,248
-I think that...
-MAX: Like what?
690
00:46:34,416 --> 00:46:38,128
You wanna take your life.
And that's just...
691
00:46:39,713 --> 00:46:41,882
You look at yourself as not... as being...
692
00:46:43,175 --> 00:46:45,886
of less value than what the other...
693
00:46:47,971 --> 00:46:49,056
the other...
694
00:46:50,432 --> 00:46:52,226
this... the person that died.
695
00:46:56,897 --> 00:47:01,360
I just felt so sad,
because what he would do for you
696
00:47:01,443 --> 00:47:03,362
as a father, it was never gonna happen.
697
00:47:07,741 --> 00:47:10,035
I mean, what can I...
what could I do for Alex?
698
00:47:10,118 --> 00:47:12,871
What could I do to take care of him,
and what would it be?
699
00:47:14,832 --> 00:47:20,921
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
700
00:47:21,964 --> 00:47:23,090
Packed up the...
701
00:47:27,803 --> 00:47:29,346
Toyota Tercel...
702
00:47:30,264 --> 00:47:32,516
and drove out to Montana for Christmas.
703
00:47:33,642 --> 00:47:35,686
And I was with all of you for Christmas.
704
00:47:45,237 --> 00:47:46,530
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
705
00:47:52,786 --> 00:47:56,790
JENNIFER: I can remember Conrad arriving
on my doorstep.
706
00:48:00,335 --> 00:48:04,172
I just looked at him,
and he could barely hold it together.
707
00:48:04,590 --> 00:48:08,594
From the moment that I saw him,
you know, and gave him a hug,
708
00:48:08,677 --> 00:48:11,221
he's like, "I'm going to Disneyland
with you guys.
709
00:48:12,514 --> 00:48:15,684
"It's what Alex wanted to do
and I wanna be there with you."
710
00:48:15,976 --> 00:48:19,354
(SOFT MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)
711
00:48:20,606 --> 00:48:23,358
(CHEERS, LAUGHS)
712
00:48:28,864 --> 00:48:30,616
(CHEERS, SCREAMS)
713
00:48:35,704 --> 00:48:36,830
That was awesome!
714
00:48:36,914 --> 00:48:39,708
(CONRAD LAUGHING)
You get spun around on that one.
715
00:48:45,047 --> 00:48:48,967
JENNIFER: Being with him felt like
being close to Alex.
716
00:48:50,677 --> 00:48:53,972
It really just felt like a comfortable,
old shoe.
717
00:48:57,059 --> 00:48:58,352
MAX: What’s your memory of that?
718
00:49:00,020 --> 00:49:01,480
SAM: I just remember that it was...
719
00:49:05,275 --> 00:49:09,446
pretty comforting to have him there,
feeling like you have two parents again.
720
00:49:15,494 --> 00:49:17,245
CONRAD: Sam came up, and he was like,
721
00:49:18,080 --> 00:49:19,456
"Will you be our dad?
722
00:49:21,208 --> 00:49:23,585
"This would be great."
And Jenni was completely like...
723
00:49:24,336 --> 00:49:25,379
(CHUCKLES)
724
00:49:26,254 --> 00:49:28,173
But, um, yeah, that was...
725
00:49:31,176 --> 00:49:33,136
I mean, Jenni and I probably...
726
00:49:35,013 --> 00:49:36,682
were thinking about it, but we hadn't...
727
00:49:37,349 --> 00:49:40,018
neither of us had spoken
about it at that...
728
00:49:42,938 --> 00:49:43,939
at that moment.
729
00:49:54,032 --> 00:49:58,954
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
730
00:49:59,830 --> 00:50:02,082
You never know what's around the corner.
731
00:50:09,006 --> 00:50:14,177
MAX: When did you first start thinking
about Mom as more than just a friend?
732
00:50:17,681 --> 00:50:18,682
Yeah.
733
00:50:20,684 --> 00:50:25,022
MAX: Do you remember the first time
you thought about him in a romantic sense?
734
00:50:26,398 --> 00:50:27,399
Yeah.
735
00:50:31,028 --> 00:50:33,280
When he would come to visit here...
736
00:50:34,322 --> 00:50:39,202
I knew that there was feelings developing
on both sides.
737
00:50:43,123 --> 00:50:45,292
But we'd never talked about it.
738
00:50:49,171 --> 00:50:50,547
MAX: Were you surprised?
739
00:50:53,633 --> 00:50:54,634
Not...
740
00:50:55,343 --> 00:50:57,345
I think we both knew it was happening.
741
00:50:58,221 --> 00:50:59,639
We just went with it.
742
00:51:02,768 --> 00:51:05,687
I guess, the tension was building
and... we...
743
00:51:07,189 --> 00:51:09,399
let the tension sweep us away.
744
00:51:14,738 --> 00:51:16,948
Three months after the avalanche...
745
00:51:19,242 --> 00:51:20,994
our love began to blossom.
746
00:51:26,249 --> 00:51:29,920
INTERVIEWER: Had to be disbelief
for you, right? Anger, grief, everything?
747
00:51:30,045 --> 00:51:32,964
I think it's everything
everyone always feels, you know?
748
00:51:33,507 --> 00:51:35,175
When you lose somebody you love.
749
00:51:36,426 --> 00:51:38,136
Shock, horror, you know?
750
00:51:39,304 --> 00:51:40,639
Not wanting to believe it.
751
00:51:43,183 --> 00:51:44,935
CONRAD: There's an unwritten thing there
that...
752
00:51:46,144 --> 00:51:47,813
should one of the others...
753
00:51:48,688 --> 00:51:51,817
make it through something... um,
you would be there to help out.
754
00:51:51,900 --> 00:51:53,777
And you wouldn't have any hesitation
about picking up the phone
755
00:51:53,860 --> 00:51:56,822
and saying, "Conrad. I need your help"?
756
00:51:57,239 --> 00:52:00,909
I have already picked it up
a lot of times.
757
00:52:01,868 --> 00:52:02,911
He's been there.
758
00:52:04,621 --> 00:52:08,291
INTERVIEWER: This is a letter from Alex
when he's on the wall. "Dearest Jenni,
759
00:52:08,375 --> 00:52:11,419
"the little alpine forget-me-nots
are blooming each day.
760
00:52:11,503 --> 00:52:14,297
"Do you think that you could come up
with an idea for a painting
761
00:52:14,381 --> 00:52:17,717
"that ties together the idea
of these flowers
762
00:52:17,926 --> 00:52:19,469
"and our love for each other?"
763
00:52:20,887 --> 00:52:25,058
-He signs this one, "Infinite love, Alex."
-I know.
764
00:52:26,351 --> 00:52:28,019
I can still feel that love.
765
00:52:31,439 --> 00:52:32,566
MAX: Did you think about...
766
00:52:35,402 --> 00:52:37,112
the gravity of the situation?
767
00:52:37,195 --> 00:52:40,574
Oh, no, that was love.
It was... We were in love, and...
768
00:52:44,119 --> 00:52:45,370
I mean, you don't...
769
00:52:46,580 --> 00:52:49,249
break out the spreadsheet,
and look at the balances,
770
00:52:49,332 --> 00:52:51,835
and the pros and cons,
and we were in love.
771
00:52:51,960 --> 00:52:53,920
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
772
00:52:54,004 --> 00:52:56,214
MAX: I remember catching you guys
kissing once.
773
00:52:57,507 --> 00:52:58,633
JENNIFER: I do remember that.
774
00:52:59,634 --> 00:53:04,556
You were upset with me at first, like,
"Mom, how can you love somebody else?"
775
00:53:06,099 --> 00:53:09,352
You didn't take to Conrad
like your brothers.
776
00:53:10,103 --> 00:53:12,105
You were, like, "Well,
what does this mean?
777
00:53:12,189 --> 00:53:14,482
"You know, what if dad comes back?"
778
00:53:16,860 --> 00:53:19,696
You were adamant that he wasn't dead yet.
779
00:53:22,032 --> 00:53:27,621
But, in part, Max, it was a validation
of my love for Alex.
780
00:53:27,829 --> 00:53:32,792
I'm not going to let the painful end
to those years with him...
781
00:53:35,045 --> 00:53:40,133
be the end of me opening my heart
to love someone else.
782
00:53:42,135 --> 00:53:43,220
It's worth it.
783
00:53:44,512 --> 00:53:45,513
Why?
784
00:53:45,972 --> 00:53:47,182
Why?
785
00:53:47,265 --> 00:53:50,644
-Why is it worth it to love someone?
-MAX: I mean, I just can't...
786
00:53:52,979 --> 00:53:54,773
I can't imagine... (EXHALES DEEPLY)
787
00:53:55,815 --> 00:53:59,486
...in the wake of something
so crushing to...
788
00:54:00,946 --> 00:54:03,782
come out of it so quickly in the way
that you did.
789
00:54:04,491 --> 00:54:07,202
JENNIFER: I had these three kids, and...
790
00:54:08,245 --> 00:54:11,122
it felt like life was going really fast.
791
00:54:12,040 --> 00:54:14,209
And so, it felt like making a decision,
792
00:54:14,292 --> 00:54:16,878
and just doing something
needed to be done.
793
00:54:18,046 --> 00:54:20,465
It felt like you don't have time
to wait around.
794
00:54:21,925 --> 00:54:24,386
There wasn't time to overthink it, Max.
795
00:54:25,220 --> 00:54:26,596
I just acted.
796
00:54:28,890 --> 00:54:32,978
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
797
00:54:38,984 --> 00:54:41,319
And I said to him, "It isn't just me,
798
00:54:41,403 --> 00:54:44,322
"these three little boys were gonna fall
in love with him, too."
799
00:54:45,824 --> 00:54:47,200
And he said, "I'm all in."
800
00:54:50,036 --> 00:54:54,124
And he moved up here to Bozeman
one year after Alex's death.
801
00:54:57,961 --> 00:55:00,714
MAX: What was it like filling
the physical space in the house
802
00:55:00,797 --> 00:55:03,174
that used to be Alex's?
803
00:55:07,846 --> 00:55:09,014
Yeah, well...
804
00:55:10,015 --> 00:55:13,310
it felt right, it didn't...
It wasn't forced, it was...
805
00:55:14,269 --> 00:55:15,270
a...
806
00:55:18,106 --> 00:55:19,149
natural...
807
00:55:20,442 --> 00:55:21,985
progression.
808
00:55:26,197 --> 00:55:29,492
SAM: It was almost kind of like
a seamless transition in my memory.
809
00:55:30,243 --> 00:55:32,954
And then, yeah, I mean,
there was like a brief period
810
00:55:33,038 --> 00:55:37,208
of accepting Conrad as a dad figure and...
811
00:55:38,335 --> 00:55:39,627
but...
812
00:55:40,628 --> 00:55:42,380
feel like we got
through that pretty quickly.
813
00:55:46,384 --> 00:55:48,428
MAX: Why do you think we took him in
so quickly?
814
00:55:50,597 --> 00:55:53,683
In my memory, it just seems
like it was just,
815
00:55:53,767 --> 00:55:57,562
like one light switched off
and one switched on.
816
00:55:58,480 --> 00:56:00,190
-You know what I mean?
-Yeah.
817
00:56:02,692 --> 00:56:06,738
You know, I don't know.
That's weird to think about.
818
00:56:14,913 --> 00:56:17,665
MAX: Did you ever think about what Alex
would have thought?
819
00:56:19,959 --> 00:56:21,002
Oh, yeah.
820
00:56:21,878 --> 00:56:25,757
Plenty of times.
I had lots of dreams that Alex...
821
00:56:26,883 --> 00:56:29,386
you know, came back. (CHUCKLES) You know?
822
00:56:29,719 --> 00:56:32,972
That Alex actually showed up,
and I was like,
823
00:56:33,390 --> 00:56:37,185
"What the hell?" You know?
"Conrad's just here."
824
00:56:37,394 --> 00:56:39,354
And Conrad had dreams like that, too.
825
00:56:40,230 --> 00:56:41,689
Yeah.
826
00:56:41,940 --> 00:56:43,942
(BELL TOLLING)
827
00:56:44,359 --> 00:56:46,361
(GENTLE EMOTIONAL MUSIC PLAYING)
828
00:56:46,653 --> 00:56:47,654
BOY: I wanna film.
829
00:56:47,779 --> 00:56:48,905
-CONRAD: You do?
-Yeah.
830
00:56:48,988 --> 00:56:49,989
CONRAD: Where are we at?
831
00:56:51,616 --> 00:56:53,159
-Italy.
-And what are we doing?
832
00:56:53,618 --> 00:56:55,537
-Having a wedding.
-Whose wedding?
833
00:56:56,287 --> 00:56:58,081
-You and Mom's.
-Wow.
834
00:56:59,249 --> 00:57:01,960
JENNIFER: I don't think of it as just mine
and Conrad's wedding,
835
00:57:02,043 --> 00:57:04,003
I think of it as our wedding...
836
00:57:05,004 --> 00:57:06,506
with you boys, too.
837
00:57:08,258 --> 00:57:12,887
We're gathered here for a joyous occasion
to witness the celebration
838
00:57:13,388 --> 00:57:17,559
and coming together of these two lives
of Jennifer Lowe and Conrad Anker.
839
00:57:17,976 --> 00:57:19,644
MAX: What were the detractors saying?
840
00:57:20,603 --> 00:57:25,150
JENNIFER: I mean, there was people
who were nasty and said mean things.
841
00:57:26,067 --> 00:57:28,361
PRIEST: Here in this place,
which Jenni and Conrad
842
00:57:28,486 --> 00:57:31,406
have chosen as the site
of their marriage...
843
00:57:31,489 --> 00:57:35,743
"It was too soon,
and it was too immediate, and it was...
844
00:57:36,828 --> 00:57:40,498
-"it's just... it's not gonna last."
-Conrad...
845
00:57:42,459 --> 00:57:47,213
you came into my life at a time
when I was in the most desperate need,
846
00:57:47,881 --> 00:57:49,841
to know that I could love again.
847
00:57:50,467 --> 00:57:53,553
CONRAD: "It's a fling,
why is he inflicting that pain onto...
848
00:57:54,721 --> 00:57:57,640
"to them, and the kids,
because he's gonna leave them again."
849
00:57:59,726 --> 00:58:01,227
Today, I join with you...
850
00:58:02,395 --> 00:58:03,438
as your husband...
851
00:58:04,397 --> 00:58:08,902
father to your sons, a father
to Alex's wonderful sons...
852
00:58:10,111 --> 00:58:12,447
and your friendship,
and your love everlasting.
853
00:58:14,991 --> 00:58:17,702
"Were they having an affair
before Alex died?"
854
00:58:17,785 --> 00:58:20,580
You know, there was that kind
of nastiness, but...
855
00:58:22,290 --> 00:58:23,583
whatever.
856
00:58:24,584 --> 00:58:28,046
PRIEST: By the power of your own love,
I pronounce you married.
857
00:58:28,296 --> 00:58:32,759
(GENTLE EMOTIONAL MUSIC CONTINUES)
858
00:58:37,680 --> 00:58:39,057
JENNIFER: It felt good.
859
00:58:40,850 --> 00:58:43,019
Better than good, it felt like a miracle.
860
00:58:43,102 --> 00:58:44,103
Smile!
861
00:58:44,187 --> 00:58:46,356
JENNIFER: Look
at those facial expressions.
862
00:58:48,566 --> 00:58:50,068
We looked out at the ocean...
863
00:58:52,362 --> 00:58:53,905
and started life anew.
864
00:58:54,489 --> 00:58:56,908
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
865
00:58:56,991 --> 00:58:58,368
CONRAD: Good job, Sam.
866
00:58:59,327 --> 00:59:02,830
Alex built this foundation,
and we're gonna raise it up.
867
00:59:05,458 --> 00:59:06,417
(GRUNTS)
868
00:59:06,501 --> 00:59:07,877
CONRAD: All right, be careful.
869
00:59:08,419 --> 00:59:11,089
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-CONRAD: Jenni!
870
00:59:11,714 --> 00:59:13,591
How's the dam looking, Max?
871
00:59:13,758 --> 00:59:16,302
-Is this the best mud you've ever had?
-(LAUGHS)
872
00:59:16,386 --> 00:59:17,595
(BOY EXCLAIMING)
873
00:59:19,264 --> 00:59:20,515
CONRAD: Did you guys sleep well?
874
00:59:24,727 --> 00:59:27,313
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
875
00:59:32,277 --> 00:59:34,988
JENNIFER: In some respects,
it's a fairytale ending.
876
00:59:36,322 --> 00:59:38,741
That's the kind of endings
that people like.
877
00:59:40,076 --> 00:59:41,744
That's the kind of endings I like.
878
00:59:42,704 --> 00:59:45,999
Although, I do kinda like the idea
of climbing on the back of a dragon
879
00:59:46,082 --> 00:59:49,085
and flying away, too. (LAUGHS)
880
00:59:57,302 --> 00:59:59,762
JENNIFER: First thing's first,
I'm gonna make one apple pie
881
00:59:59,846 --> 01:00:01,139
and two pumpkins.
882
01:00:01,598 --> 01:00:03,641
-So...
-MAX: We can make a cooking show
883
01:00:03,725 --> 01:00:08,813
-out of this B-roll, Mom.
-(JENNIFER CHUCKLING)
884
01:00:11,107 --> 01:00:14,444
-You can hold my hair back, honey.
-CONRAD: Yes. You've got it down.
885
01:00:14,527 --> 01:00:15,903
I sort of forgot about it.
886
01:00:16,487 --> 01:00:18,072
-You can tilt your head back.
-Okay.
887
01:00:18,239 --> 01:00:21,409
There you go. And there,
that's just about right.
888
01:00:27,915 --> 01:00:29,083
(LAUGHS)
889
01:00:34,505 --> 01:00:36,382
JENNIFER: And initially, he was like,
890
01:00:36,466 --> 01:00:39,469
"I'm through with the big mountains,
I'm not gonna go back.
891
01:00:40,011 --> 01:00:41,971
-"It isn't worth it.
-(DOG PANTING)
892
01:00:43,890 --> 01:00:48,561
JENNIFER: "The pain that this caused
in your life and in your family's life."
893
01:00:51,356 --> 01:00:54,150
So, you know, he had that moment.
894
01:00:55,360 --> 01:00:56,903
But, of course, after...
895
01:00:58,071 --> 01:01:02,158
not too long, you know, the mountains
were calling his name again.
896
01:01:02,450 --> 01:01:08,915
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
897
01:01:10,833 --> 01:01:13,086
JENNIFER: That's what feeds his soul.
898
01:01:14,629 --> 01:01:16,297
I can understand that.
899
01:01:19,634 --> 01:01:21,010
(MAN CHUCKLING)
900
01:01:23,638 --> 01:01:24,931
CONRAD: That is cool, man.
901
01:01:25,556 --> 01:01:28,810
MAX: How did you feel when Conrad
kept climbing?
902
01:01:30,853 --> 01:01:35,400
Thinking it's just similar to Alex
in a lot of ways. Just...
903
01:01:38,945 --> 01:01:42,281
couldn't give up his passion for doing
what he loved.
904
01:01:49,163 --> 01:01:51,207
MAX: Were you scared that he might die,
too?
905
01:01:53,000 --> 01:01:54,544
SAM: Yeah, definitely.
906
01:01:55,920 --> 01:01:58,673
Had some moments thinking
about what would it be like
907
01:01:58,840 --> 01:02:02,343
if he died on an expedition as well,
and...
908
01:02:03,845 --> 01:02:06,013
Yeah, it's not a fun thing to think about.
909
01:02:15,898 --> 01:02:17,442
MAX: Do you remember when he adopted us?
910
01:02:18,651 --> 01:02:19,694
SAM: Yeah.
911
01:02:20,111 --> 01:02:22,447
Isaac and I got our names changed,
and Mom.
912
01:02:23,197 --> 01:02:26,367
But you just kept your last name as Lowe.
913
01:02:29,704 --> 01:02:32,415
But, yeah, I don't know why,
that's just what happened.
914
01:02:35,293 --> 01:02:36,294
MAX: Yeah.
915
01:02:37,420 --> 01:02:39,547
I don't really understand
why I did that either.
916
01:02:48,556 --> 01:02:51,350
Should we flip-flop some of these
from the hot side?
917
01:02:52,226 --> 01:02:54,520
-CONRAD: Yeah.
-Are those juiciest?
918
01:02:55,438 --> 01:02:57,607
MAX: Do you call Alex or Conrad "Dad"?
919
01:03:00,610 --> 01:03:02,320
SAM: I call Conrad "Dad."
920
01:03:04,614 --> 01:03:06,824
When I talk about Alex,
I just call him Alex.
921
01:03:08,618 --> 01:03:10,620
Conrad's the only dad I've ever known.
922
01:03:12,246 --> 01:03:13,915
-Oh, look at Sammy.
-Yeah.
923
01:03:14,499 --> 01:03:17,335
Sammy, like, lived in a hat
for about four years.
924
01:03:17,418 --> 01:03:20,379
He never took his hat off. (CHUCKLES)
Look at this little note.
925
01:03:20,630 --> 01:03:25,051
CONRAD: "I love you. I think
you're special, 'cause you love us all."
926
01:03:25,176 --> 01:03:26,886
-(JENNIFER CHUCKLING) "Love, Sam."
-ISAAC: Aw.
927
01:03:27,637 --> 01:03:30,556
SAM: For all intents and purposes,
Conrad is our dad.
928
01:03:31,015 --> 01:03:32,725
-CONRAD: Oh, this is great.
-ISAAC: I'll get it for ya.
929
01:03:32,809 --> 01:03:35,269
SAM: Maybe less so for you
since you had four more years
930
01:03:35,353 --> 01:03:36,437
of knowing Alex.
931
01:03:36,896 --> 01:03:38,105
There's Max.
932
01:03:38,815 --> 01:03:41,651
MAX: Do you think Conrad was aware
of that comparison?
933
01:03:43,736 --> 01:03:44,737
Yeah.
934
01:03:45,613 --> 01:03:48,533
I know he's aware of it.
We've talked about it a lot.
935
01:03:49,283 --> 01:03:52,620
"Dearest Conrad, I am ever grateful
that you chose to be our...
936
01:03:52,703 --> 01:03:54,372
"to be a dad for our boys.
937
01:03:54,872 --> 01:03:56,582
"All of our wonderful memories together
938
01:03:56,666 --> 01:03:59,585
"create the fabric of our family
and the love we share.
939
01:04:00,086 --> 01:04:02,588
"Thanks, and happy Father's Day." Heart,
"Jenni."
940
01:04:03,381 --> 01:04:04,924
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
941
01:04:08,678 --> 01:04:09,887
You're the best.
942
01:04:10,012 --> 01:04:15,226
It's just living in his house,
marrying his widow, raising his boys.
943
01:04:16,352 --> 01:04:18,437
People coming up to me
and calling me Alex.
944
01:04:18,521 --> 01:04:21,566
Me, living in that shadow, and just...
945
01:04:23,568 --> 01:04:26,237
living in that shadow, and doing the best
I can.
946
01:04:31,409 --> 01:04:37,623
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
947
01:04:39,625 --> 01:04:40,751
CONRAD: You are my son.
948
01:04:42,169 --> 01:04:44,797
I have no other family. This is my family.
949
01:04:49,844 --> 01:04:51,053
And Alex died.
950
01:04:52,513 --> 01:04:56,434
And he is gone. And I know that,
because I went through it.
951
01:05:00,021 --> 01:05:01,564
We became one family...
952
01:05:05,026 --> 01:05:06,527
because of that finality.
953
01:05:16,370 --> 01:05:18,080
And Alex wasn't coming back.
954
01:05:35,765 --> 01:05:40,019
DAVID: In 2016, I was on the south face
of Shishapangma.
955
01:05:41,395 --> 01:05:45,024
It was a beautiful day, like, blue sky.
956
01:05:45,232 --> 01:05:50,029
In the distance, you see kind
of the next seven, 6000-meter peaks,
957
01:05:50,112 --> 01:05:56,118
kind of, lining up. And then,
all the colors you see are natural colors.
958
01:05:56,202 --> 01:06:02,541
So, it's all painted white, black, brown,
rock colors.
959
01:06:02,917 --> 01:06:06,379
(WIND RUSTLING)
960
01:06:06,587 --> 01:06:09,840
And there are these kind
of colored dots...
961
01:06:11,926 --> 01:06:13,219
coming out of the snow.
962
01:06:13,386 --> 01:06:17,807
Like things which immediately,
if you move a lot in this environment,
963
01:06:17,890 --> 01:06:22,687
kind of catch your attention
because they don't belong there.
964
01:06:24,605 --> 01:06:28,067
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
965
01:06:28,150 --> 01:06:32,780
JENNIFER: Conrad and I had just celebrated
our anniversary.
966
01:06:35,783 --> 01:06:36,784
And...
967
01:06:38,077 --> 01:06:40,788
Conrad got a phone call,
and it was David Goettler.
968
01:06:42,915 --> 01:06:47,420
And I could tell by the look on his face
that it was something heavy.
969
01:06:49,547 --> 01:06:52,883
But, you know, he got off the phone
and he told me...
970
01:06:54,010 --> 01:06:58,973
"David Goettler found their bodies.
It has to be them."
971
01:07:02,852 --> 01:07:05,688
NEWSCASTER: Sixteen years
after they were buried by an avalanche,
972
01:07:05,771 --> 01:07:10,026
the bodies of American mountain climber,
Alex Lowe, and cameraman, David Bridges,
973
01:07:10,234 --> 01:07:12,278
have been found on a mountain in Tibet.
974
01:07:18,534 --> 01:07:23,122
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
975
01:07:32,798 --> 01:07:34,759
MAX: What went through your mind
at that moment?
976
01:07:37,678 --> 01:07:41,974
JENNIFER: It was like he came back
to life. He showed up, you know?
977
01:07:43,100 --> 01:07:44,143
MAX: Yeah.
978
01:07:48,481 --> 01:07:50,941
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-(LAUGHS)
979
01:07:56,572 --> 01:08:00,993
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
980
01:08:04,413 --> 01:08:06,332
JENNIFER: Feelings of trepidation, like...
981
01:08:07,291 --> 01:08:09,126
"What will it be like to see him...
982
01:08:10,127 --> 01:08:11,629
"after 17 years?"
983
01:08:19,386 --> 01:08:23,724
(MEN SPEAKING LHASA)
984
01:08:23,808 --> 01:08:24,975
(LAUGHS)
985
01:08:25,059 --> 01:08:29,105
ISAAC: Surrounded
by the most breathtaking vistas.
986
01:08:30,940 --> 01:08:33,234
But it's also tainted by...
987
01:08:35,319 --> 01:08:36,529
the reason you're there.
988
01:08:40,741 --> 01:08:44,161
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
989
01:08:57,049 --> 01:08:58,759
JENNIFER: I had kind of hated Tibet.
990
01:09:00,052 --> 01:09:01,762
But to see it up close...
991
01:09:05,182 --> 01:09:07,768
I could see why Alex loved it up there.
992
01:09:10,563 --> 01:09:11,689
I wasn't...
993
01:09:13,399 --> 01:09:15,818
angry at the mountain anymore.
994
01:09:18,612 --> 01:09:21,949
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
995
01:09:48,976 --> 01:09:52,313
(BELLS JANGLING)
996
01:10:10,039 --> 01:10:11,373
MALE VOICE: Yeah, I think going up that...
997
01:10:13,125 --> 01:10:16,879
So, do you remember, um, dropping down
on either side?
998
01:10:16,962 --> 01:10:19,590
Or did you just stay on the...
on the high part of the terrain?
999
01:10:19,798 --> 01:10:21,467
-MALE VOICE: If we drop into it...
-CONRAD: I was wrought
1000
01:10:21,550 --> 01:10:22,593
with that whole thing.
1001
01:10:25,221 --> 01:10:28,432
The weight of survivor's guilt...
1002
01:10:30,100 --> 01:10:32,269
the self-questioning, the self-doubt.
1003
01:10:34,104 --> 01:10:36,190
Why someone else and why not yourself?
1004
01:10:39,318 --> 01:10:41,028
And all those questions came back.
1005
01:10:41,111 --> 01:10:45,074
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
1006
01:11:33,998 --> 01:11:35,416
CONRAD: How far to them?
1007
01:11:37,209 --> 01:11:38,877
-MALE VOICE 1: 5.22 k.
-MALE VOICE 2: We should go.
1008
01:11:39,712 --> 01:11:40,921
CONRAD: Man, something's not...
1009
01:11:42,006 --> 01:11:44,008
I mean, that's like on the other side
of that mountain.
1010
01:11:44,091 --> 01:11:45,175
Yes.
1011
01:11:46,135 --> 01:11:47,761
All right, we gotta keep moving.
1012
01:11:48,846 --> 01:11:50,347
MAX: I fell behind just 'cause...
1013
01:11:52,933 --> 01:11:55,978
I just didn't know... I just didn't know
if I could go up and...
1014
01:11:59,273 --> 01:12:01,734
see... see him yet.
1015
01:12:06,822 --> 01:12:08,782
(WATER BABBLING)
1016
01:12:09,783 --> 01:12:10,909
(EXHALES DEEPLY)
1017
01:12:24,882 --> 01:12:26,800
MAX: They were coming down
with the stretchers.
1018
01:12:27,634 --> 01:12:30,262
-You could see them coming down.
-MAX: Yeah.
1019
01:12:30,929 --> 01:12:32,348
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
1020
01:12:45,110 --> 01:12:46,779
-MALE VOICE: Hey, Max.
-MAX: Hey.
1021
01:12:53,494 --> 01:12:59,666
(WATER BABBLING)
1022
01:13:35,619 --> 01:13:42,126
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
1023
01:14:09,653 --> 01:14:11,113
MALE VOICE: Let's go, steady.
1024
01:14:22,833 --> 01:14:27,212
JENNIFER: Just knowing that he was inside
that bag after all those years.
1025
01:14:34,052 --> 01:14:38,807
Because, even after 17 years,
their bodies were not decomposed.
1026
01:14:41,351 --> 01:14:42,853
His vest got ripped.
1027
01:14:44,188 --> 01:14:45,689
-All right.
-CONRAD: Check the chest marks.
1028
01:14:46,940 --> 01:14:49,526
His head was just like this, down.
1029
01:14:50,736 --> 01:14:55,073
And, you know, I knew,
from having taken avalanche courses
1030
01:14:55,157 --> 01:14:59,536
that that was the avalanche position.
And so, I had the realization that,
1031
01:14:59,745 --> 01:15:04,625
you know, he probably was alive,
and buried under that avalanche,
1032
01:15:04,708 --> 01:15:06,543
and suffocated.
1033
01:15:08,086 --> 01:15:09,838
It probably wasn't instant.
1034
01:15:10,797 --> 01:15:13,050
But more like a few minutes.
1035
01:15:22,059 --> 01:15:27,648
But his wedding ring was pressed
against his heart.
1036
01:15:37,616 --> 01:15:39,493
And I pulled this arm out.
1037
01:15:42,037 --> 01:15:44,998
And I pulled his wedding ring
off of his finger.
1038
01:15:47,834 --> 01:15:48,961
(CLICKS TONGUE)
1039
01:15:49,294 --> 01:15:53,090
The same ring that I had put
on that finger years before.
1040
01:15:53,840 --> 01:15:56,134
And that was the hardest thing.
1041
01:15:58,804 --> 01:16:00,847
But I wanted to keep that ring.
1042
01:16:03,350 --> 01:16:07,896
And so, I slipped it onto my own hand,
and then I put my hand to his.
1043
01:16:09,106 --> 01:16:11,608
His fingers would wrap around mine
like this.
1044
01:16:11,692 --> 01:16:15,028
But over those 17 years,
his hand had shrunk
1045
01:16:15,821 --> 01:16:18,156
to being the same size as my own.
1046
01:16:21,368 --> 01:16:26,498
But it was still his hand, and I was able
to press...
1047
01:16:27,583 --> 01:16:31,753
my hand to his like we had in life,
and say goodbye.
1048
01:16:34,214 --> 01:16:40,470
(JENNIFER CRYING)
1049
01:16:44,516 --> 01:16:48,020
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-(BELL RINGING)
1050
01:16:48,103 --> 01:16:53,275
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
1051
01:16:53,442 --> 01:16:58,780
(BELL RINGING)
1052
01:17:15,714 --> 01:17:18,884
ISAAC: You never think you're gonna
have to confront the...
1053
01:17:20,552 --> 01:17:21,887
body of your hero...
1054
01:17:26,391 --> 01:17:27,392
in that state.
1055
01:17:28,977 --> 01:17:30,020
(FIRE CRACKLING)
1056
01:17:30,312 --> 01:17:31,647
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
1057
01:17:38,403 --> 01:17:42,658
ISAAC: The idea
of this glorified Superman figure
1058
01:17:43,116 --> 01:17:44,534
somewhat crumbled away.
1059
01:17:47,120 --> 01:17:48,664
It's just, like, a guy.
1060
01:17:56,338 --> 01:18:00,967
(SOMBER MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)
1061
01:18:02,886 --> 01:18:07,182
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
1062
01:18:19,903 --> 01:18:23,031
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
1063
01:18:36,169 --> 01:18:38,714
JENNIFER: There's probably nothing
in there, my guess is.
1064
01:18:38,797 --> 01:18:40,590
MAX: I don't know, it's got a CF card.
1065
01:18:42,968 --> 01:18:44,761
Have you tried cleaning it off
a little bit?
1066
01:18:45,220 --> 01:18:46,221
Yeah.
1067
01:18:50,684 --> 01:18:52,686
JENNIFER: He put his name
and address on everything.
1068
01:18:53,186 --> 01:18:55,939
-SAM: Yeah.
-JENNIFER: Yeah, Conrad does that, too.
1069
01:18:57,149 --> 01:18:58,150
Well, when you travel,
1070
01:18:58,233 --> 01:18:59,860
you've gotta make sure
it gets back to you.
1071
01:18:59,943 --> 01:19:00,944
JENNIFER: Yeah.
1072
01:19:01,820 --> 01:19:03,822
Well, the moment of truth.
1073
01:19:04,448 --> 01:19:05,866
-MAX: There it is.
-CONRAD: Wow.
1074
01:19:07,117 --> 01:19:08,243
MAX: It loaded.
1075
01:19:13,123 --> 01:19:15,333
JENNIFER: Oh, Max.
1076
01:19:17,127 --> 01:19:20,130
CONRAD: Yeah, the birthday card.
I remember he did that.
1077
01:19:21,423 --> 01:19:23,508
JENNIFER: Wow, that was the last thing.
1078
01:19:33,226 --> 01:19:34,644
Isn't this pretty out here?
1079
01:19:35,145 --> 01:19:36,354
MAX: "Good morning, Max.
1080
01:19:38,064 --> 01:19:41,359
"I'm up having my breakfast
in a Sherpa teahouse,
1081
01:19:41,443 --> 01:19:43,779
"but I'm thinking about you
waking up at home.
1082
01:19:45,906 --> 01:19:48,366
"And maybe having pancakes or waffles
with Mom.
1083
01:19:51,077 --> 01:19:53,914
"There are lots of boys your age here
in the village I'm in,
1084
01:19:53,997 --> 01:19:55,373
"called Namche Bazaar.
1085
01:19:57,501 --> 01:19:59,628
"They go sledding on plastic boxes.
1086
01:20:01,171 --> 01:20:03,924
"I'll go for a hike towards Everest
after my breakfast.
1087
01:20:06,426 --> 01:20:07,469
"What will you do?
1088
01:20:10,889 --> 01:20:11,890
"I miss you.
1089
01:20:13,391 --> 01:20:16,144
"I love you very much.
I'll be very happy to come home
1090
01:20:16,228 --> 01:20:18,271
"to be with you. Have fun today.
1091
01:20:19,231 --> 01:20:23,026
-"Love, Dad."
-JENNIFER: Here's a letter from 1993.
1092
01:20:23,276 --> 01:20:25,403
"Last night, the moon was full
and so bright
1093
01:20:25,487 --> 01:20:27,739
"that I thought about how very much
I love you
1094
01:20:27,906 --> 01:20:29,491
"when I looked at the moon.
1095
01:20:30,033 --> 01:20:34,871
"And I hope you can see it,
so you will know that I love you."
1096
01:20:35,914 --> 01:20:38,667
He used to sing this little song,
do you remember that?
1097
01:20:38,750 --> 01:20:40,460
-MAX: Yeah.
-Can you sing it?
1098
01:20:40,836 --> 01:20:45,173
I see the moon, and the moon sees me
The moon sees someone I'd like to see
1099
01:20:47,509 --> 01:20:50,178
It's been, like, one of the craziest parts
about this whole thing for me
1100
01:20:50,262 --> 01:20:52,222
is, like, having all of this.
1101
01:20:53,056 --> 01:20:54,808
JENNIFER: But, you know, it was Conrad
that wanted
1102
01:20:54,891 --> 01:20:57,060
to save every bit of Alex's stuff.
1103
01:20:57,686 --> 01:21:01,398
Conrad has been really hanging onto him
1104
01:21:01,982 --> 01:21:05,735
in a way, a lot more than I have
all these years.
1105
01:21:07,320 --> 01:21:08,697
MAX: This is from Conrad.
1106
01:21:12,993 --> 01:21:13,994
JENNIFER: Let's see.
1107
01:21:16,413 --> 01:21:19,165
"Dear Jenni, may this letter find you
in good spirits.
1108
01:21:19,374 --> 01:21:20,542
"There is hardly a moment...
1109
01:21:22,335 --> 01:21:25,297
"that the four of you
are not in my thoughts.
1110
01:21:26,047 --> 01:21:28,216
"At times, it is difficult for me.
1111
01:21:28,592 --> 01:21:32,220
"I cry myself to sleep,
waking up grinding my teeth
1112
01:21:32,304 --> 01:21:33,930
"with very dark thoughts.
1113
01:21:34,848 --> 01:21:37,517
"I gather strength knowing
that you are there.
1114
01:21:37,642 --> 01:21:40,979
"You and the boys are the ones
I wanna help and care for.
1115
01:21:41,396 --> 01:21:45,942
"To be there for the boys as they mature
into little men...
1116
01:21:47,444 --> 01:21:50,947
"and become men, is something
I hope to do."
1117
01:21:53,033 --> 01:21:54,034
And this was...
1118
01:21:55,118 --> 01:21:57,996
this was just, like, a month
after Alex died.
1119
01:22:03,793 --> 01:22:05,295
And he's done that.
1120
01:22:18,266 --> 01:22:19,434
(MAX SNIFFLES)
1121
01:22:24,564 --> 01:22:26,107
Helps me understand.
1122
01:22:31,780 --> 01:22:34,199
It also just makes me wanna show him
how much...
1123
01:22:35,283 --> 01:22:36,493
we love him back.
1124
01:22:37,160 --> 01:22:38,370
JENNIFER: Mm-hmm.
1125
01:22:41,748 --> 01:22:42,958
MAX: And you, too, Mom.
1126
01:22:44,918 --> 01:22:48,588
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
1127
01:22:48,672 --> 01:22:50,840
JENNIFER: Wait, this hand, it's this way.
1128
01:22:51,716 --> 01:22:54,552
Yep, and your hands are just the way
his were, long.
1129
01:22:55,804 --> 01:22:57,013
(MAX SNIFFLING)
1130
01:23:05,772 --> 01:23:10,110
JENNIFER: And I hope
that it'll help you accept
1131
01:23:10,652 --> 01:23:13,238
that you can lose someone...
1132
01:23:14,489 --> 01:23:16,408
and still love someone else.
1133
01:23:21,287 --> 01:23:22,998
Alex is a lucky guy...
1134
01:23:24,708 --> 01:23:27,293
-Oh, yeah.
-...in that his best friend...
1135
01:23:27,377 --> 01:23:28,461
Build that strength.
1136
01:23:28,586 --> 01:23:30,255
-...who loved him...
-MALE VOICE: ...this onto you.
1137
01:23:32,173 --> 01:23:33,550
...fell in love with me...
1138
01:23:36,052 --> 01:23:37,554
and each of you.
1139
01:23:39,014 --> 01:23:40,181
Nice, Sam.
1140
01:23:45,353 --> 01:23:47,313
JENNIFER: He's a really lucky guy.
1141
01:23:49,315 --> 01:23:53,028
We've had an incredibly adventurous life
with Conrad.
1142
01:23:53,987 --> 01:23:55,321
That's pretty special.
1143
01:23:58,283 --> 01:23:59,409
MAX: I feel like...
1144
01:24:00,452 --> 01:24:02,245
there's always kind of been this, like...
1145
01:24:07,083 --> 01:24:08,710
wall between us a little bit.
1146
01:24:10,086 --> 01:24:12,464
Like, I couldn't talk to you
about some stuff
1147
01:24:12,547 --> 01:24:15,592
'cause it just seemed like
it was too scary to bring up.
1148
01:24:18,803 --> 01:24:21,765
Stuff with our family,
and stuff with Alex.
1149
01:24:23,224 --> 01:24:28,063
Yeah, it's, uh... Not a day that goes by
that we don't think of Alex,
1150
01:24:28,146 --> 01:24:31,399
and remember who he is,
and what it's like, and...
1151
01:24:32,650 --> 01:24:34,235
-and he...
-MAX: Is that hard in some ways?
1152
01:24:34,652 --> 01:24:35,820
Sometimes, it's...
1153
01:24:37,489 --> 01:24:38,865
it's... Yeah.
1154
01:24:39,783 --> 01:24:44,120
Having to be compared to him
or living in his shadow, it can weigh.
1155
01:24:44,245 --> 01:24:46,456
He was a great person,
but he wasn't perfect.
1156
01:24:46,956 --> 01:24:51,419
But oftentimes, with people's passing,
those people are lionized,
1157
01:24:51,503 --> 01:24:55,090
and, you know, turned into heroes,
and put up on a pedestal.
1158
01:24:56,049 --> 01:24:58,468
And they're... But, yeah, every time...
1159
01:24:58,551 --> 01:25:01,888
MAX: Does that make you wish
that you had died like that sometimes?
1160
01:25:01,971 --> 01:25:04,390
Yeah, and that's why... that's the...
1161
01:25:07,268 --> 01:25:11,439
the bear I keep in the cave,
and I keep the wolf at the door.
1162
01:25:14,025 --> 01:25:15,026
But, uh...
1163
01:25:15,235 --> 01:25:18,404
MAX: People see you as a hero
for what you did though in our family.
1164
01:25:19,614 --> 01:25:20,990
How do you feel like you did?
1165
01:25:22,325 --> 01:25:23,535
Oh...
1166
01:25:26,079 --> 01:25:29,624
I'm not the right person to ask
'cause I'm not easy on myself.
1167
01:25:30,125 --> 01:25:33,545
-So... (CHUCKLES) ...yeah.
-MAX: Yeah.
1168
01:25:35,421 --> 01:25:38,842
I think I could have done better
at it and other things. But, you know...
1169
01:25:40,343 --> 01:25:43,555
MAX: You know, we have this shadow of Alex
that hangs over all of us. But...
1170
01:25:44,430 --> 01:25:46,349
I mean, for all of us, like, you're...
1171
01:25:49,644 --> 01:25:50,854
you're our dad.
1172
01:25:51,312 --> 01:25:54,816
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
1173
01:25:55,775 --> 01:25:59,737
You've done as good a job
as I could have ever imagined.
1174
01:26:02,365 --> 01:26:04,075
We all really love you for it.
1175
01:26:15,295 --> 01:26:16,379
(CHUCKLES)
1176
01:26:16,462 --> 01:26:18,089
-MAX: I love you, Dad.
-I love you, Max.
1177
01:26:18,173 --> 01:26:21,509
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)
1178
01:27:20,860 --> 01:27:22,028
JENNIFER: So, guys...
1179
01:27:22,820 --> 01:27:27,575
they're not exactly ashes,
but they're parts of his bones. So...
1180
01:27:28,660 --> 01:27:30,954
if everybody wants to take a handful...
1181
01:27:31,788 --> 01:27:33,039
(EXHALES HEAVILY)
1182
01:27:37,126 --> 01:27:40,129
-ALEX: Hey buddy, did you have a good day?
-Yeah.
1183
01:27:41,214 --> 01:27:42,924
All the way from Tibet...
1184
01:27:44,467 --> 01:27:46,928
-we brought you home, buddy.
-CONRAD: Here you go, Sam.
1185
01:27:48,721 --> 01:27:50,098
ALEX: What's the funnest part of skiing?
1186
01:27:50,640 --> 01:27:52,475
-Going down.
-ALEX: Well, cool.
1187
01:27:53,851 --> 01:27:55,395
JENNIFER: And we'll carry him...
1188
01:27:56,145 --> 01:27:58,439
-(CONRAD SOBBING)
-...all the way to our own graves.
1189
01:27:59,649 --> 01:28:01,401
'Cause he's part of all of us.
1190
01:28:02,068 --> 01:28:03,194
-CONRAD: You're my man!
-ALEX: Conrad!
1191
01:28:03,278 --> 01:28:04,779
CONRAD: Good to see you, man.
1192
01:28:07,282 --> 01:28:08,866
Love you, Alex Lowe.
1193
01:28:12,870 --> 01:28:18,459
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
1194
01:28:25,174 --> 01:28:26,384
(EXHALES DEEPLY)
1195
01:29:26,569 --> 01:29:30,740
I wrote me a book, I hid the last page
1196
01:29:30,823 --> 01:29:34,160
I didn't even look
I think I locked it in a cage
1197
01:29:34,243 --> 01:29:35,870
Wrote a novel
1198
01:29:36,788 --> 01:29:40,041
'Cause everybody likes to read a novel...
1199
01:29:40,124 --> 01:29:42,835
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-That's pretty amazing.
1200
01:29:42,919 --> 01:29:46,422
It started with a word
And it started pretty well
1201
01:29:46,506 --> 01:29:51,677
About a rare and fragile bird
That I couldn't even spell on the table
1202
01:29:53,054 --> 01:29:56,057
I think I left it on the table...
1203
01:29:56,349 --> 01:29:58,393
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
1204
01:29:59,644 --> 01:30:01,687
JENNIFER: Thanks to everyone here today
1205
01:30:02,313 --> 01:30:06,818
who has contributed to building
this extraordinary facility
1206
01:30:06,901 --> 01:30:10,571
to keep the people who climb
in these mountains safe.
1207
01:30:11,197 --> 01:30:15,076
(CROWD CHEERING, APPLAUDING)
1208
01:30:15,159 --> 01:30:17,036
JENNIFER: We have built our dream.
1209
01:30:17,328 --> 01:30:19,997
Hello, will you be mine?
1210
01:30:21,416 --> 01:30:24,794
Haven't felt this alive in a long time
1211
01:30:25,962 --> 01:30:29,674
All the streets are warm today
1212
01:30:33,219 --> 01:30:35,388
I read the signs
1213
01:30:35,930 --> 01:30:39,851
I haven't felt this love in a long time
1214
01:30:40,268 --> 01:30:43,521
The sun is up, the sun will stay
1215
01:30:44,647 --> 01:30:47,733
All for the new day
1216
01:30:51,404 --> 01:30:55,324
The very last breath of the hero
Of our tale
1217
01:30:55,408 --> 01:31:00,913
Will leave you only to guess
Did he truly prevail in the sequel?
1218
01:31:02,039 --> 01:31:04,750
I guess, I'll have to write a sequel
1219
01:31:08,171 --> 01:31:13,217
My favorite part's when I die
1220
01:31:14,302 --> 01:31:17,722
In your arms like a movie
1221
01:31:18,347 --> 01:31:22,435
It's tragic, but now the story
Has its proper end