With Mount Everest trending on social media, many people are fascinated by its somewhat dark history and lore. The lore of a mountain, you say? Well, besides Mount Everest being the Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, sitting at approximately 29,030 ft (around 8,800 m), it’s a mountain that people have tried to conquer thousands of times over the years. Some failed, and some were successful more than once.
The story of Mount Everest and its appeal has always been told. The first documented person to climb this mountain was the famous mountaineer George Mallory and his crew. Mallory’s story is also one of the most well-known and mysterious parts of Mount Everest lore. If you follow trends and feel like you need more information on this mountain, here are the eight best Mount Everest documentaries.
8
‘Everest’ (1998)
Everest from 1998 is one of the most famous documentaries about this mountain, and it was filmed specifically for IMAX theaters. This means that its visual appeal and stunning shots depict Everest for what it truly is—a force of nature. It’s narrated by Liam Neeson, but it comes at around 45 minutes, which doesn’t make it a long movie, but it is still essential for anyone curious about the world. Greg MacGillivray and David Breashears are noted as directors, while Breashears himself was at the mountain during the filming of the expedition.
Everest follows a group of climbers composed of director David Breashears, team lead Ed Viesturs, the Spanish mountaineer Araceli Segarra, and the son of the first Sherpa mountaineer on Everest, Tenzing Norgay, Jamling Tenzing Norgay. Neeson’s narration of the Mount Everest movie follows the events, from the preparation and training to the ascent, complete with the footage from the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. The production team was there when the disaster happened, and they have footage of it all, including their own team helping out the survivors. Everest encompasses the full experience of being there during the disaster, and it’s a visually incredible feat that you should, if you get the chance, absolutely see in IMAX.
7
‘Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest’ (2022)
Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest is one of the highest-rated Everest-based documentaries, and it’s about Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, the first Nepali woman to summit Mount Everest. She succeeded in this feat in April 1993 and became an influential woman among Nepalese women and aspiring climbers, despite losing her life in the process. The movie uses archival footage, interviews with the people who knew her, and additions of motion graphic segments that depict her preparation, ascent, and struggle.
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa’s story also details gender inequality and her struggle in society and the Sherpa community; she overcame the odds that were stacked against her and inspired numerous people. Pasang’s journey and struggle to overcome the male-dominated mountaineering field that was so well-established isn’t just a story women and girls will enjoy. Pasang’s motivation and inspiration are a universal message for anyone trying to achieve their dreams. Posed against the stunning shots of Mount Everest. Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest is an inspiring movie that focuses more on the woman’s journey rather than the mountain, but it revolves around the summit in a life-changing way. This movie is a wonderful memory of Pasang and her influence.
6
‘Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa’ (2024)
Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa is another documentary about a female climber, but Lhakpa Sherpa is the only woman in the world who’s climbed and descended Everest a whopping ten times. The nature-focused Netflix documentary follows her tenth summit that happened in 2022, including her life over the years; she first summited Mount Everest in 2000, and was the first woman to climb the summit and survive—considering Pasang died during her expedition’s descent—and managed to do the same thing another nine times.
The Netflix documentary was praised for its beautiful depiction of Everest, but also the involvement in Lhakpa’s story and life;it gave viewers insight into the mind of a climber: the way they face life and resurfaced trauma during a particularly difficult climb, the way they stay motivated to move forward, and how their experiences over time helped shape them into people they are today. Mount Everest becomes both a metaphorical and literal obstacle in Lhakpa Sherpa’s life, and director Lucy Walker succeeded in capturing her mentality and spirit while ensuring the story of Everest is told from a personal perspective.
5
‘Dying for Everest’ (2007)
Dying for Everest is another commonly mentioned documentary about Mount Everest, and it’s an unusual story that people often recommend as mandatory viewing for fans of climbing. Dying for Everest mainly revolves around mountaineer Mark Inglis, a double amputee who succeeded in climbing and descending Mount Everest, becoming the first person of his physical abilities to do so. Inglis became renowned and revered by the public and the press for his successful feat, but then, another thing overshadowed his achievement—it was learned that Inglis was one of the mountaineers who had left the incapacitated English climber, David Sharp, behind on the mountain.
The movie takes turns in discussing Inglis and Sharp, with Sharp’s condition most notably being remarked on. It’s a mystery of the mountain that’s still talked about to this day, and a very intriguing event, indeed. Sharp was seemingly completely unprepared—he never told anyone he was there, he climbed alone, without Sherpas, and without oxygen tanks or a radio. From an outside perspective, this was foolish, but it seems Sharp was a “purist” who had already climbed a similar mountain without all those things. Dying for Everest is a very interesting dive into the mystery of David Sharp and the rise and fall of Mark Inglis.
4
‘Everest: The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine’ (1986)
Speaking of the intriguing mysteries of Mount Everest, for those more interested in the dark history that’s been woven into the mountain over the years, the 1986 award-winning documentary/TV movie Everest: The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine is the watch for you. If you become fascinated by Mallory and Irvine after the movie, you can also read Dan Simmons‘ colossal novel, Abominable, which takes some creative liberties in filling in the gaps that were left unknown in their story.
The movie, The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine, tries to fill in the gaps of their mysterious trip to Everest, as well. However, the documentary doesn’t take creative liberties, instead following the timeline of events with historical evidence and accuracy. It was made in 1986, before the definitive discovery of Mallory’s body in 1999, but it details huge parts of their expedition by using archival footage, interviews with old expedition members, and even includes a recreation of the climb. David Breashears, the director of the IMAX film Everest, also directed this movie, together with fellow climber Andrew Harvard.
3
‘Sherpa’ (2015)
Another Mount Everest movie filmed during a natural disaster, Sherpa documents the events and the aftermath of the 2014 ice avalanche that took 16 Sherpas’ lives; it also follows the dedication of one experienced Sherpa in particular—Phurba Tashi. Tashi’s family begins pleading with him to stop climbing for money and risking his life, but he’s done it 21 times before. Australian director Jennifer Peedom intended to direct the 2014 climbing season from the perspective of the hardworking Sherpas and Tashi, but after the ice avalanche happened, the tone of the movie shifted into something more emotional and unintentionally political.
Sherpa delves into the hard work, the working conditions, and the spiritual connection of the Sherpas to the mountain. After the avalanche happens, a lot of the Sherpas in the movie decline to climb, some out of respect for the recently deceased and others because of poor working conditions. If you’re interested in the lives and motivations of the dedicated Sherpas on Mount Everest, this brilliant movie is a great watch. It also features archival footage of world-renowned climber, Edmund Hillary, and the first Sherpa to ascend the summit, Tenzing Norgay.
2
‘Farther Than the Eye Can See’ (2003)
The story of the first blind climber to reach the top of Mount Everest is a fascinating story of will, perseverance, and pushing personal boundaries. Erik Weihenmayer was the first blind person to climb Everest and descend, later moving on to the other Seven Summits; in 2008, Weihenmayer completed his eighth summit, Carstensz Pyramid in New Guinea. Farther Than the Eye Can See is an inspiring documentary that won numerous awards and accolades, helping Weihenmayer inspire and even educate other blind climbers on proper climbing techniques and approaches.
Farther Than the Eye Can See is, in a lack of more complex words, incredible. The story takes the perspective of the blind climber, showing viewers the things he’s crossing and cannot see—it’s hard to imagine the conditions he’s climbing under, but the narrative is woven with his inspiration and dream. Though it looks dangerous and wild, Weihenmayer succeeds with the help of the right people and displays humor, gentleness, and bravery that inspire his fellow climbers to adopt a similar attitude. Turning into an unexpectedly uplifting documentary, it’s a highly intimate portrayal of a man’s dream to reach a summit, and documented in a beautiful and emotional way.
1
‘Storm Over Everest’ (2008)
Storm Over Everest is another movie by climber and director David Breashears that was released on PBS as part of the investigative documentary program, Frontline. For fans and those fascinated with climbing, Mount Everest, and the infamous 1996 disaster, Storm Over Everest remains the best movie about it, no competition. The movie depicts the survivors of the blizzard, which took five lives and left around eleven people stranded in the aftermath. It also follows the director’s personal efforts to help the survivors in a rescue expedition of his own; he serves as the narrator, too.
Storm Over Everest documents the several expeditions and numerous people involved in the 1996 events, but for most viewers, a lasting impression became the human obsession to conquer often insurmountable obstacles, even if it leaves them on the verge of death. While it talks about the participants in the climb, it does so with a little more bias towards the survivors, which makes sense, considering they went through a dangerous ordeal. However, the best part about the movie is the curiosity it can awaken in people, the further research they can grant themselves to do, and the visually stunning, incredible shots of the mountain that only a director like Breashears could achieve.
Storm Over Everest
- Release Date
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May 13, 2008
- Runtime
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105 minutes
- Director
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David Breashears
Cast
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Anatoli Boukreev
Self (archive foootage)
