Let it Snow à la Documentaries

Winter weather…..Some embrace the plummeting temperatures, ice, and snow. They put on their ultra-thermal, waterproof snow pants, insulated parkas, and fleece-lined winter boots just to take a winter wonderland stroll. Some travel to warmer destinations -- maybe a winter-long trip to Florida, a couple of weeks in the Cayman Islands, or an extended weekend in Mexico. Others just muscle through the winter, knowing it will come to an end. Me? I think the snow is pretty, but I tend to enjoy the icy weather from my window, avoiding going outside at all costs.

While snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes are not one of MY favorite things, I am fascinated by other things winter, such as sports and nature, that rely on or preserve in colder climates and surroundings. The Mercer County Library System offers numerous winter-related documentaries from which to choose. From winter sports to arctic adventures to extreme weather, the library has documentaries to feed a fascination for the all things snowy. Below is a sample of what our library has to offer:


Arctic Dinosaurs (2009) Join a team of researchers as they combine engineering with fossil digging to come up with dinosaur bones in Alaska's North Slope and, using the help of CGI, uncover a world never before seen.

Chasing Ice (2013) Chronicles the efforts of nature photographer James Balog to document the receding of the Solheim glacier in Iceland, a consequence of climate change and global warming, in which strategically placed cameras would take one picture every hour for three years.

Do You Believe in Miracles? (2001) Presents the story of the U.S. Olympic hockey team's victory at the 1980 Winter Olympics and demonstrates the importance of motivation in any area of achievement.

Extreme Ice (2009) Climate change shown through time-lapse cameras set by internationally acclaimed photojournalist James Balog, who has placed equipment in more than two dozen glacial locations around the world in order to assess the impact of global warming.

First Descent (2005) Features some of the most jaw-dropping snowboard footage ever filmed and explores the rapid evolution of snowboarding from an underground American movement to a full-fledged global phenomenon.


Legend of Aahhhs: A True Fable (2013) Explore the history of the ski film and how it influenced big-mountain skiing, pop culture and even the birth of the extreme sports movement. Features Warren Miller, John Jay, Scot Schmidt, Mike Hattrup, and Lynne Wieland.

March of the Penguins (2005) In the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family. This courtship will begin with a long journey - a journey that will take the penguins hundreds of miles across the continent by foot, one by one in a single file. They will endure freezing temperatures, brittle, icy winds and deep, treacherous waters. They will risk starvation and attack by dangerous predators, under the harshest conditions on earth, all to find true love.

Snow Monkeys (2014) In the frigid valleys of Japan's Shiga Highlands, a troop of snow monkeys make their way and raise their families in a complex society of rank and privilege where each knows their place. With their confident leader to guide them and their families to shelter and care for them, this troop of snow monkeys is ready to face the world.

Storm Over Everest (2008) As darkness fell on May 10, 1996, a fast moving storm of unimaginable ferocity trapped three climbing teams high on the slopes of Mount Everest. The climbers, exhausted from their summit climb, were soon lost in darkness in a fierce blizzard, far from the safety of High Camp at 26,000 feet. World-renowned climber and filmmaker David Breashears, who aided the rescue efforts back in 1996, now returns to Everest to tell the fuller story of what really happened on that legendary climb. Through remarkably intimate interviews with the climbers and Sherpas--many who have never spoken before on American television--Breashears sheds new light on the worst climbing tragedy in Mount Everest's history.

Tigers of the Snow (1996) Venture into the dense forests of coastal Siberia to track the biggest cat on earth, the elusive Siberian Tiger. Join a team of scientists who are risking their lives to save this highly endangered and highly dangerous creature. Against incredible odds, this daring band of wildlife biologists is determined to help the Siberian Tiger fight back. National Geographic cameras are on-hand to record many never-before-seen moments in tiger conservation.

-Anna V.