Francis de Noyelle

Retrospective of four major summits climbed by French expeditions: Annapurna (8078m) in 1950; Makalu (8481m) in 1955; Mustagh Tower (7273m) in 1956 and Le Jannu (7710m) in 1962. A film by Lucien Berardini and Jean-Marie Perthus with the support of the Club Alpin Français and the FFME (Fédération française de la montagne et de l'escalade).

For decades, the general public's knowledge of the Annapurna adventure was limited to Maurice Herzog's book 'The First 8000 metre Peak' which sold over 10 million copies. In the last few years,though, accounts by other protagonists of the adventure - Louis Lachenal, Herzog's companion on the summit, Lionel Terray, Sherpa Tarkey, the Rebuffat notebooks - have been published. What pushed the French, who had not participated much in the great pre-war Himalayan expeditions, to commit themselves (through the Alpine federation) in the race to conquer the first 8000 metre peak? What motivated those who accomplished this extraordinary feat? What's the true story behind the legend of the conquest?

La conquête de l'inutile is a documentary about alpinism. It was produced in 1980 by Antenne 2. It is a part of the series Carnets de l'aventure. It features Maurice Herzog, Louis Lachenal, Lionel Terray, Gaston Rébuffat, Jean Couzy, Marcel Schatz and others.

Record of the French Himalayan Expedition that climbed the first 8000 ever ascended: Annapurna in 1950. The expedition, led by Maurice Herzog, was composed of some of the finest mountaineers at the time (Louis Lachenal, Gaston Rébuffat, and Lionel Terray). Lachenal and Herzog reached the summit without the use of supplementary oxygen. The film is an epic adventure filmed in difficult conditions. It also shows the dramatic way back under the monsoon with Herzog and Lachenal unable to walk because of severe frostbite in hands and feets. The documentary was released in France 1953 only 8 weeks before Tenzing and Hillary conquered Mount Everest.