A little while ago I was searching the Internet for a good collection of outdoor movies that I could watch on Netflix streaming, it was hard to find any real information on great examples of these movies so I decided to write my own post. I would love if any of you have recommendations to leave them in the comments so I can keep the post updated, but remember it has to be available on streaming. What I used for criteria is a documentary or movie that was shot and filmed well, was about some type of adventure and really held my attention for the entire thing. Here is my list of top movies on Netflix streaming for outdoor adventure.
Everest: Beyond the Limit (Seasons 1, 2 and 3)
This show was originally on the discovery channel for all three seasons and deals with the pinnacle of outdoor adventure for the hiker / climber, a summit of Mount Everest. The first two seasons take you to the north side of Everest and shows you what it’s like to live and then ultimately summit Everest over the course of 6 episodes. The show doesn’t cut corners either as people die, lose fingers and get sick on the mountain all in this season. The third season takes the approach from the south side, which is more dangerous in my opinion, and focuses on different groups for each episode. This show is extremely interesting to see how difficult it is to climb this mountain and is hard to stop watching. I would recommend checking it out, even though the first season has extremely annoying sound drops saying “ever…ever…rest…rest.” You will know what I am talking about when you watch it, thankfully its removed for season 2.
180º South
This documentary follows Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia. Along the way he gets shipwrecked off Easter Island, surfs the longest wave of his life – and prepares himself for a rare ascent of Cerro Corcovado. It has beautiful scenery and a great adventure story that is captured on film.
Highwater
This documentary is completely focused on the North Shore of Oahu and the surfers that ride in the big wave competition there. It is well made and features a ton of great surfing footage, as well as interviews with Kelly Slater and other greats. I especially liked how it touches on the culture of the area and how significant surfing is to the area that it focuses on. May not be your favorite if your not into surfing but as surfing movies go I thought it was great.
To the Limit
This movie is a German made production that focuses on two brothers as they attempt to break the speed climb record up the face of El Capitan in Yosemite. Since Yosemite is one of my favorite places this is a great movie showcasing the beauty and the crazy motivation for these men to try and climb something so difficult so fast. I am not a fan of heights so this was especially taxing for me but it is so beautiful and so well filmed that it really is an interesting look at these climbing attempts.
Encounters at the End of the World
This movie focuses on one mans trip to Antarctica to hang out and study the personalities and lives of the people that are doing scientific research on the continent. He meets many people doing interesting things such as a scientist studies neutrinos, which are everywhere, yet elusive; he likens them to spirits, a survival guide teaches his students to survive white-out conditions by wearing cartoon-face buckets over their heads, animal researchers that milk mother seals as part of their study and a volcanologists that offers advice on what to do when a volcano erupts. It is a truly unique story of what life is like for these people dedicated to taking their science and ideas to the snowy and lonely continent. It is a little slow though, so know that in advance.
Now its your turn, what do you recommend we try out? Leave them in the comments with why you like it and if I like them I will update this post with the movie and your link.
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