Metanoia means a transformative change of heart; a spiritual conversion. Having passed away last weekend at the age of 67, American climber Jeff Lowe has undertaken his own final transformation. He is now on what he might have called his next great adventure.
Released in 2014, the film Metanoia documents his audacious and now legendary solo climb of the North Wall of the Eiger in 1991. For Lowe, then 40 years old, this climb became a turning point. His personal and business life were falling apart. After the climb, he says, “I experienced what I think was an opening up of my consciousness to a true reality, deeper than the one I had known before.”
For the last 18 years, Lowe has suffered from a motor neuron disease, and this is what ultimately took his life last weekend. Lowe dealt with this debilitating condition with grace, humility and humour.
Narrated by author Jon Krakauer, Metanoia charts the life and times of Lowe, warts and all.
Lowe had a lasting impact on mountaineering through both his climbs and his equipment innovation. He was a visionary, an incredibly determined man, the best alpinist of his generation and an inspiration for the next line of brilliant climbers.
Off belay, climb on Jeff Lowe.
