The Great White Whale

Five times it tried to kill them, but back they go!

Deep in the wild Southern Ocean, halfway between Australia and Africa, a snowy volcano almost three thousand metres high rears up from the sea like a mythical great white whale.

Five times that great white whale of a mountain tried to kill the first team that sought to reach its summit. Yet in 1964, back they sailed, through the worst seas in the world, to try again, this time with legendary explorer Bill Tilman as their skipper.

This is the extraordinary tale of those first attempts to climb Big Ben, the smoking glacier-ringed volcano on Heard Island told by those who were there. At times expeditioner John Crick sings the songs too, as befits such an epic saga.

Director Michael Dillon will be in attendance for a Q+A at the Lumiere...