“PERIL IN THE MOUNTAINS“ 1930s JAPANESE EXPEDITION TO THE ALPS SILENT FILM ARITSUNE MAKI XD60854

Join this channel to get access to perks: Want to learn more about Periscope Film and get access to exclusive swag? Join us on Patreon. Visit Released by the Asahi Shinbun newspaper company, this silent, tinted film’s title translates roughly as “Peril in the Alps“, “Peril in the Mountains“ or “Danger in the Mountains“. (Note: this film in two reels, Reel One actually begins at 6:49.) The film includes a title card with a quote by Kuzou Fujiki, who brought modern alpinism to Japan, and who worked for the aforementioned newspaper. One of the climbers shown in the film is probably Aritsune Maki aka Maki Yūkō (1894 - 1989), a distinguished alpinist and skier. Maki was from Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture and is generally credited with helping introduce modern alpinism to Japan. He also served as the founder and chairman of the Japan Alpine Club. Maki led the Japanese expedition to the summit of Manaslu , the 8,000m peak in the Himalayas. In 1926, Kuzou Fujiki and Maki Yūkō skied in winter and climbed the Matterhorn and the Alps in summer with Imperial Prince Chichibunomiya Yonhito. All of the climbs were a success. (Yonhito was the second son of Emperor Taishō [Yoshihito] and Empress Teimei [Sadako], a younger brother of Emperor Shōwa [Hirohito] and a general in the Imperial Japanese Army.) Aritsune Maki’s climbing career was interrupted by World War II, preventing him from leading a Japanese expedition to the Himalayas, but members of his team managed to make a summit of Manaslu in 1956. This film is in two reels. The first reel actually begins at 6:49, with the second reel of the film appearing at :13 seconds. It’s not clear if this was the entire film “Peril in the Alps“, or just two reels of a longer feature. At 6:49, Part One of the film begins with a title card featuring a poetic description of the majestic solemnity of the Alps. At 7:04, a statue of Christ on the cross marks the bottom of the trail. It’s not exactly clear what the narrative shows in this part of the film -- but it appears to show climbers ascending the mountain while a group of mountaineers monitor their progress from a small building (8:38). The alpinists use ropes in their ascent but have to be assisted by the mountaineers after one of the party is injured (9:00). At (10:14) the party is shown on top of a high ridge, and then testing the ice with poles for crevasses. At (10:33) a crevasse opens and a climber falls inside and has to be rescued with ropes. At (12:09) a member of the group skis downward for help. At (12:39) he is caught in an avalanche. He is rescued at (13:40). At (:13), Part Two of the film begins with title cards that mention both the danger of the task of climbing, and the innovative techniques that have been developed to make it possible. Climbers are shown at (:45) with ice axes and crampon shoes. “When going on a steep slope,“ says a title card at (:52), “Don’t lean too far forward.“ At (1:15), climbers with poles and ropes ascend to the top of a ridge. At (1:43) climbers pull another member of their team with a rope. At (2:43), in what must be a re-enactment, a climber falls down the snowy slope. At (3:05) a climber uses ice axes to move across an ice sheet. At (3:29) the stricken climber is spotted by the ski patrol, who mobilize to rescue him. At (4:00) the climber is rescued. At (4:47), skiers in the expedition are shown encountering heavy fog and arctic type conditions in the Alps, and a title card explains “We still advanced“ and at (5:00) “We can’t turn back.“ At (5:51) an emergency ice or snow cave is prepared for the night. At (6:37) the ski patrol rescues the group from the ice cave. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit