Page 40 - Flathead Beacon // 6.15.16

EVENTS 42 MOVIE REVIEWS 43 SIDE DISH 46 PAWS & CLAWS 48 Arts&Entertainment
AN EPIC SUMMIT
White sh cinematographer returns from fourth expedition lming on Mount Everest
BY MOLLY PRIDDY OF THE BEACON
Roughly two-and-a-half months ago, cinematogra- pher David Rasmussen got a call. There was a job he’d be great for, one needing a professional of his wide range of skills.
The suggested focus of this National Geographic doc- umentary would be an army climbing team from the United Arab Emirates. But the real star would inevita- bly be the setting: Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world and a magnet for those seeking to prove their mettle.
And for Rasmussen, his fourth meeting with the mountain would be sooner than he expected.
“On March 21, I got a call to see if I would lm another Everest expedition,” Rasmussen said while sitting in a gliding rocking chair in his White sh-area home. “That was a Monday. The next Monday, I was in Kathmandu.”
With a mere week’s notice, Rasmussen packed up 250 pounds of gear and ew halfway around the world for a shoot that could last three months. It’s a fast-paced, adrenaline- lled lifestyle, but aside from his creative skills and excellent compositional eye, Rasmussen’s calm and even-keeled demeanor are likely what keeps companies hiring the 58-year-old cinematographer for projects all over the world.
The recent sojourn with the UAE army members began in March and didn’t wrap up until the group managed to summit Everest in late May; the trip takes months due to the time needed to actually get to the mountain and acclimate to the thin and deadly atmosphere.
Rasmussen has lmed on Everest four times and summited twice. In those two summit expeditions, he lost access to his oxygen above 26,000 feet, the eleva- tion that is considered the death zone because it cannot
David Rasmussen lming near Mount Everest. COURTESY PHOTO
support life. The summit is at 29,029 feet.
Watching climbers tackle that last section without
oxygen is excruciating – video footage from such climbs shows the lack of oxygen taking its toll, with each step requiring minutes of deliberation and willpower to muster.
“He’s always liked to travel,” Margie Rasmussen, David’s wife, said, making a salad in their kitchen. “It just always seemed like his body was made to do what he’s doing. I don’t worry too much.”
The Rasmussens’ house is decorated with photos and mementos of the family’s adventurous times. The
couple’s three sons were raised and homeschooled here, with an emphasis on the outdoors.
As a kid, Rasmussen said he was always climbing. He grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota, caving and exploring the region. Eventually he’d move on to climb- ing larger mountains, like Mount Rainier.
He knew he wanted to be a cameraman, Rasmussen said, and completed his schooling at Montana State Uni- versity in Bozeman. He was hired on to do documentary work with Boeing, and traveled all over the globe with the company.
Eventually, he moved back to Northwest Montana,
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JUNE 15, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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