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Netflix's latest adventure drama film Broad Peak delves into the life of Polish mountaineer Maciej Berbeka and the legacy he left behind as one of the country's finest climbers. The film also explores his tragic death in 2013 at the Broad Peak summit. Although Berbeka's body was never found, he was declared dead shortly after failing to make it to a camp along with a fellow mountaineer.
Helmed by Leszek David and written by Lukasz Ludkowski alongside producers including Dawid Janicki, Krzysztof Rzaczynski, Maciej Rzaczynsk, Broad Peak focuses on Berbeka’s second journey up the mountain 25 years later, after his first journey remained incomplete. The cast includes Maja Ostazewska, Dawid Ogrodni, Piotr Glowacki, Lukasz Simlat, and Tomasz Sapryk, among others.
The film airs on Netflix this Wednesday, September 14, 2022, at 3 am ET. The synopsis states:
"After climbing Broad Peak mountain, Maciej Berbeka learns his journey to the summit is incomplete. 25 years later, he sets out to finish what he started."
Here are five things to know about Maciej Berbeka ahead of the movie premiere.
Five key facts about Polish climber Maciej Berbeka
1) Maciej Berbeka was a significant part of the Ice Warriors
Born in Poland in 1954, Maciej Berbeka rose to prominence as a climber at a very young age. He joined the Polish search and rescue crew and the International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations and was also noted for being a representative of the Ice Warriors. Reports describe these warriors as:
"Polish specialists who dominated the winter mountaineering scene, especially in the 1980s, when they achieved the first seven winter first ascents of eight-thousanders."
2) Berbeka accomplished great heights throughout his life as a mountaineer
On his quest for winter ascents of 14 global 8,000ft mountains, Maciej Berbeka finally climbed the summit of Manaslu in the Nepalese Himalayas in 1984, and he accomplished that without requiring additional oxygen. About a year later, he also reached Cho Oyu's summit in the Himalayas, 20 kilometers from Mount Everest. He also succeeded in climbing Mount Everest and Annapurna.
Moreover, on March 6, 1988, he became the first person to ever reach the Rocky Summit, one of Karakoram's five peaks, on the Pakistan-China frontier, during the winter.
3) He went missing on his second climb of the Broad Peak summit
In 2013, 25 years after the initial ascent, Berbeka decided to climb Broad Peak again, this time alongside Adam Bielecki, Tomasz Kowalski, and Artur Maek. It was disclosed that he wanted to climb the summit again after discovering that he didn't exactly reach the actual summit during his first attempt.
The crew reached the summit on March 6, but when 58-year-old Berbeka and 27-year-old Kowalski could not reach Camp 4 at 7,400 meters on their way back down, concerns were raised about their safety. They were soon reported missing.
4) Maciej Berbeka's body was never found
A rescue team was dispatched, but after just two days, Berbeja and Kowalski were pronounced dead even though their bodies were never recovered. Krzysztof Wielicki, the coordinator of the Polish Mountaineering Association's winter ascent, issued a public statement, stating,
"Considering all the circumstances, conditions, my experience, history of Himalayan mountaineering, knowledge regarding physiology and high-altitude medicine as well as consultations with doctors and co-organizers of the expedition in Poland, I have to declare Maciej Berbeka and Tomasz Kowalski dead."
Wielicki added:
"Taking into account the time that has passed since the last contact, altitude where it took place, their condition, current weather conditions and all other factors, I have to claim openly that both climbers are dead…The expedition has come to an end."
5) A previous documentary by son Stanislaw explored Maciej Berbeka's personal life
Berbeka's son Stanislaw Berbeka produced a documentary titled Dreamland in 2018 about his father's disappearance. The film is also a detailed account of Maciej's family and his life as a remarkable mountaineer and wanderer who shared his father's love of the mountains. The documentary also talks about Maciej's father, who was killed in an accident in the Alps because of his wounds and frostbite.
Broad Peak streams on Netflix this Wednesday, September 14, 2022.
