Epic journey on film

A FILM documenting Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel’s epic adventures traversing the Great Himalaya Trail (GHT), Lessons from the Edge, will premier at the Ultra Trail Cape Town.

The opening night is Thursday next week. The film outlines Sandes and Griesel’s epic adventures in setting a record time across the GHT earlier this year. The film, shot by Dean Leslie and Jared Paisley from Wandering Fever productions for Red Bull Media House, captures the intricate story of the duo’s successful 25-day, 1 500km journey on the GHT.

“Looking back on our GHT attempt, it is definitely one of the craziest projects I have attempted and it was really awesome to have my close friend, Dean Lesley, and Jared Paisley along to document the journey. I’m really looking forward to the movie coming out. Dean has spent many months editing and crafting this story, so I am really excited to share it with everyone,” said Sandes.

“Our Lessons from the Edge project was one wild, raw adventure. It turned out a bit crazier and way more dangerous than expected.

“It was definitely a life-changing journey through massive mountain ranges and we got to meet amazing Nepali people along the way, but there were some dark times that we had to deal with… We are excited to share this journey of our highs and lows with everyone,” said Griesel.

The film sees Sandes and Griesel traverse heavily snow-covered mountains and experience incredibly extreme weather conditions unusual for that time of year along the way. They suffered from frost-bitten fingers, serious tummy bugs, breathing difficulties and a few of near-death experiences.

Leslie said: “Logistically, this was one of the most complex shoots I have done. The simplicity of Sandes and Griesel moving through the Himalayan mountains on foot was countered by the chaos behind the scenes.”

The premiere will be screened in Cape Town at Gardens Rugby Club at 7.30pm and is open to all.