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Book and Film Projects

Celebrating the life and times of Woodrow Wilson Sayre
An educator certainly touches many lives. Woody Sayre was more than an educator; he lived the daily messages he conveyed, both in the classroom and in his everyday life.

When he passed away 2 years ago September after 83 years on the cutting edge of nearly every activity he undertook, he left behind many memories. Sayre was a dreamer and inspiration for both philosophy students and superalpinists. He managed to defy the odds, and become that rare combination of both old and bold mountaineer. We believe the life he lived can be an inspiration for many more people the world over, people he never touched, and never was able to inspire.

Sayre, by the Revival Team
A new book, reflecting on the era in which Sayre launched his many assaults on history, will we hope weave together elements of the history of mountaineering, the Chinese occupation of Tibet, the Cold War, and John F. Kennedy's China policy.

Personalizing history, particularly through a man who traveled so far afield, can bring a fresh and lively perspective to a critical era in the survival of human civilization. That we lived through The Cold War was every bit as uncertain as Sayre's return from the north side of Everest. His feared capture by Communist Chinese troops in Tibet more than he feared the Rongbuk Glacier's yawning crevasses. His was a time of superpower struggle and many near-misses. He was on Everest during the buildup to the Cuban Missile Crisis. This was an era when all of humanity was living on the edge; Sayre just chose a less metaphorical one.

Four Against Everest
Sayre's book, Four Against Everest, has been out of print since the late 1960s. View a longer discussion of his text here, but in short we are seeking a publisher willing to bring his original story back to life, with the addition of a new introduction, appendices with the individual recollections of each of the other three climbers, and improved graphics. We are meanwhile trying to write the afterword to the book in our expedition reenactment.

Rand climbing with video
camera at the ready

Producing a documentary...
As a means to gain the most attention and publicity for Sayre's accomplishments, a high definition film documentary of his life and adventures will take advantage of his own 16mm film collection, including Four Against Everest, to bring his life back to life. We will also open up government archives and family photo albums to bring this man to life for the screen. Perhaps a short eulogy or maybe a longer celebratory event, this film will try to present an honest view of the man behind and beyond his most famous adventure.

...a short adventure film...
In addition, the attempt to repeat the 1962 Sayre expedition, in all manner of detail still considered safe, will provide a storyline for a short film produced in high definition for film festivals worldwide. The theme will be a reenactment with four mountaineers attempting to retrace the exact steps taken in 1962 (without the falls). We will be suited up in newer duds and trade the Bolex film cameras for the Sony HDR-FX1, but we will face the same terrain, and seek as they did to climb Everest's North Face. Despite better maps and the knowledge of what the 1962 team did, we know we'll be hard-pressed even to reach Everest, let alone their high-point or the summit. This film will document just how hard it will be to get just how far. We desire that to be 8850 meters, but most of all we all hope to come home, as they did, with all our fingers and toes.

..and an adventure blockbuster.
The story has drama. We are writing a compelling drama, adapted from this story, that adds an historical connection to the Cold War events playing out around it, in particular the CIA's efforts to arm the Tibetan resistance to Chinese occupation. Sayre and company walked right through this clandestine battle for the future of the Tibetan people and its culture.

Contacts and Connections
Send e-mail to Rand McNeely or call him in the USA at 617-417-9020 or in Canada at 604-617-8624. You may also contact 1962 expedition team member Hans-Peter Duttle.