'Everest: The Other Side' documentary explores dangerous climb, personal loss
"Everest: The Other Side" takes viewers high above the world’s tallest mountain, following climbers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson on a journey up the rarely traveled north face of Mount Everest.
The documentary comes from the Oscar-winning filmmaking team behind "Free Solo," including filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. The film chronicles what they describe as one of the most challenging and dangerous climbs imaginable while offering audiences a view of a side of Everest few people ever see.
“This is certainly the most difficult logistically and technically complex film I have ever made,” Chin said.
Vasarhelyi compared the scale of the project to "Free Solo."
“If you think about 'Free Solo,' that's... that was a 3,000-foot cliff. This is 29,000 feet. This is... that's where airplanes fly,” she said.
Rather than observing from base camp, viewers are taken onto the mountain’s north face.
“Especially on IMAX. You get to see a place on Earth that no one's ever really seen before,” Vasarhelyi said.
The filmmakers said the documentary ultimately becomes more than climbing.
“It's a story about passion, finding your calling, and it's a story about loss,” Chin said.
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Vasarhelyi said the film shifts focus as it unfolds.
“So, the film just takes a very different turn then, and it becomes an opportunity to really look at the costs behind such kind of audacious dreams,” she said.
The documentary also explores the personal tragedies Morrison endured before completing his goal. He lost his wife and two children in a plane crash and later lost Nelson in an avalanche.
“In the beginning, I didn't want to continue. I didn't want to keep going. I didn't think I should ever go back into the mountains or take a risk. But over time, I realized this is who I am, and this is what I do. And I was really drawn to the idea of completing this goal for us and for her and for her legacy,” Morrison said.
After reaching the summit and skiing down the mountain, Morrison reflected on the achievement and on Nelson’s legacy.
“I think she'd be very proud. I think she is very proud of what we accomplished. It was my magnus opus of skiing,” he said.
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