A documentary by Stephen Judson. Unrated. Opens Saturday, June 28, at the Omnimax Theatre

The Alps tells the story of John Harlin III, a mountain climber determined to reach the 13,000-foot summit of the north face of the Eiger—a portion of the Alps that’s described in this IMAX film as “the tallest and most treacherous rock in Europe”. The climb is a tribute to Harlin’s father, who attempted the same feat in 1966. The elder Harlin fell to his death when his rope broke on the last third of the climb and left his son without a dad at the age of nine. Forty years later, Harlin is a husband and father, with a daughter about the same age as he was when he lost his dad. He promises his daughter he’ll stay safe, just as his own father did.

This alone should be enough to create a gripping narrative. But director Stephen Judson—best known for the IMAX film Everest—crowds the scant 40-minute running time with stilted “educational” diversions that appear to assume we’re all cramming for a Grade 7 science test. Do we really need the pear-shaped tones of narrator Michael Gambon to cut into the mounting suspense with lectures on the historical impact and geological evolution of the Alps? It would have been much more satisfying to closely examine the emotional reasons behind the younger Harlin’s climb. (All we get from his remarkably stoic wife is: “I trust that it’s important enough to risk what he has.”)

Still, there’s no denying that Judson and his crew deliver the goods when it comes to visuals. The spellbinding aerial cinematography is enough to give you vertigo. There’s even an avalanche that comes tumbling toward the audience before concluding in a moment of darkness. Lucky for us, the darkness parts to reveal a brand new day.