Wednesday, 30 April 2014 10:31

Alastair Lee's Baffin Island reviewed

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The more I look at books of films and films of books the more I appreciate the chasm sized differences between them and nowhere is this more evident than in Alastair Lee's Baffin Island. With the Asgard Project already firmly cemented as one of the most successful mountain films of all time the chance to check out some of the amazing vistas at a more leisurely pace was both a delight and a revelation.

Watching The Asgard Project you get sucked into the storyline and the action and to some extent you neglect the stunning scenery in the land of the Norse Gods, but Baffin Island rectifies this beautifully. Whilst it makes an awesome coffee table essential along the lines of John Beatty's Wild Vision it's far more than just a stunning photo montage, but the Asgard Project in slow motion. Jaw-dropping as the pictures may be the chance to get behind the scenes through the words and thoughts of each member of the Asgard team validates Baffin Island as a complete mountain book and adds substance to the film rather than detracting from it.

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Having praised the textual content of Baffin Island there's no denying that the photographs steal the show. At 34x24cm it's an odd format for a book but one look at the double page spreads it makes total sense. The towering Mount Asgard dominates everything, viewed in all its moods, but the surrounding landscape is equally stunning and thankfully isn't neglected despite the expeditions single focus with a great section on the approach to Asgard. As the author points out this is an area changing so fast that the book is as much an archival record as an up to date description.

Subtitled "The Ascent of Mount Asgard" the book tells the story of the expedition from the long walk-in through the Autyuttuq National Park, where the meaning of the name "the land that never melts" is being seriously contradicted in reality, to the constantly in doubt conclusion as Leo Houlding and Sean Leary jumped from Asgard's summit to wingsuit to the ground. Along the way dreams of a new free route up the South West face gave way to a fight against the weather just to reach the top. While the film of the Asgard Project gives you a brief glimpse into their world on the face the book both gives an overview and simultaneously zooms in - the image of Houlding's face towards the end telling the reality the fast moving film couldn't.

 

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As a complement to the DVD Baffin Island adds a new layer to the story but it also works as a an expedition book and a pure landscape book worthy of any coffee table. At £25 for 120 pages it's not cheap, but it really is a case of you get what you pay for. The publishers, Frances Lincoln, have done it proud with paper so thick you have to check you haven't skipped a page and great edge-to-edge format that really displays the mix of single and double page panoramas at their best. It's a book that you can dip into for the fantastic views and a book you can pickup and read for its background to the film or its story. The world's fifth largest island may be isolated and little visited but thanks to Alastair Lee's book its amazing scenery will live with people for years.



Note: This article was restored from the archives. It's published creation date is inaccurate.

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