It’s estimated that more than 7,500 people have stood on its peak, reaching an astonishing 29,031 feet above sea level in Nepal, typically climbing up the mountain’s south side.
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people → estimate → side
But Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s documentary Everest: The Other Side shifts focus to the mountain’s north face.
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documentary → shift → face
It is here that two people, ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson, attempted to do something that no human being had done before.
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being → attempt → that
Morrison and Nelson met in 2015 on an expedition to Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest mountain, in the Mahalangur Himalayas.
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Morrison → meet → Himalayas
The pair developed a friendship before beginning a romantic relationship in 2017, bonding over their shared sense of adventure.
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pair → develop → adventure
“There’s a connection I don’t feel anywhere else…
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I → ’ → ?
I love how it makes me feel alive,” Nelson says about ski mountaineering in the new film, which hit theaters on Oct. 30 following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
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which → love → Festival
Together, Morrison and Nelson conceived a plan: They would climb to the top of Everest’s north face, and once they’d reached the summit, become the first to ski down it.
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they → conceive → it
It was the ultimate proposal for a pair of adventurous thrill-seekers, but one wrong move could result in disaster.
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move → result → disaster
They never got the chance to take the risk together, though: Disaster struck before they embarked on the journey, a tragedy the directors capture in devastating detail in the new film.
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directors → get → film
Vasarhelyi and Chin are drawn to stories of people who accomplish extraordinary things, and they set out to capture them in a manner that fully captures their feats, like in Free Solo, Meru, and The Rescue.
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that → draw → Solo
Everest: The Other Side is playing in both regular format and IMAX cinemas, the latter of which takes particular advantage of the breathtaking shots the filmmakers were able to capture, offering a sense of how epic Everest is, and how dangerous.
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Everest → play → sense
Though most people don’t participate in extreme sports, Vasarhelyi believes there’s something inherently relatable about these feats.
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Vasarhelyi → participate → feats
“I think it’s fundamental to the human paradox, which is this ability to dream audaciously, and then the mentality, psychology, mania—whatever you want to call it—to actually have the grit, determination, and diligence to get it done.
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it → think → grit
I think everyone can identify with that,” she tells TIME
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she → think → TIME
A tragedy changes everything
Vasarhelyi and Chin intended for Everest: The Other Side to capture Morrison and Nelson’s historic feat.
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Everest → change → feat
But on Sept. 26, 2022, tragedy struck.
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tragedy → strike → Sept.
Nelson and Morrison were climbing nearby Mount Manaslu in Nepal when an avalanche swept down the slope, killing Nelson.
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avalanche → climb → Nelson
It was a devastating moment captured on camera, one that had both the filmmakers and Morrison questioning whether they should continue with their journey, and the film, at all.
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they → capture → journey
“We always knew we were making a film about Jim and Hilaree and their attempt to ski and climb the direct north face, but these films for us always had to have something deeper.
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films → know → something
The part that stayed true throughout was this extraordinary love story,” says Chin.
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Chin → stay → ?
Morrison had experienced tragic loss before.
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Morrison → experience → loss
In 2011, he lost his wife Katie and their two children in a plane crash.
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he → lose → crash
“I knew about Jim’s history and the loss that he’d been through, and how he had moved through that loss and found the strength and courage to fall in love again with Hilaree.
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he → know → Hilaree
That was extremely moving to me,” says Chin.
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Chin → say → me
“When we lost Hilaree, we saw that again in real time.
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we → lose → time
We were living it with him.”
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We → live → him
Together, they decided that Chin, a longtime friend of the couple and an experienced climber, would step in as Morrison’s climbing partner, replacing Nelson.
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Chin → decide → Nelson
“Jimmy and I fundamentally see this differently," says Vasarhelyi of whether they would continue making the film.
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they → see → film
“It was such a tragedy when Hilaree passed, and real life has to be lived in that moment.
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life → pass → moment
With the decision of Jimmy stepping in as Jim’s only climbing partner, my professional interest came into direct conflict with my personal responsibilities.”
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interest → step → responsibilities
The couple divorced in 2025.
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couple → divorce → 2025
“The question was, ‘Do you want to make that film?’
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you → want → film
It was going to be heavier.
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It → go → ?
It had to be very candid, which all our films are, but this was requiring us to go one step further in this investigation.
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this → have → investigation
There was also the reality of, how do you wrangle the story that was conceived one way into something that could both honor her legacy as well as honor this incredible journey that Jim would go on?” says Vasarhelyi.
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Vasarhelyi → be → that
Ultimately, it was Morrison who made the decision to continue filming.
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who → make → decision
“In the beginning, I didn’t want to keep going to the mountains.
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I → want → mountains
I was devastated by the loss of Hilaree,” he says.
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he → devastate → Hilaree
Initially, it looked like the quest to ski mountaineer the north face of Everest was over, and there was a seven-month break in filming.
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quest → look → filming
…and 51 more, not listed.
The Aporia
