Head of the National Geographic Film Crew on Mount Everest
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The National Geographic 50th Anniversary Everest Expedition commemorates the first ascent of the world's highest mountain, by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in May 1953. It also honors the first Americans to stand on the top of the world, including Barry Bishop, in 1963.
The sons of Everest pioneers Hillary, Norgay, and Bishop—Peter Hillary, Jamling Norgay, and Brent Bishop—are helping make a documentary that will air on the National Geographic Channel in the United States and internationally in 2003.
The National Geographic 50th Anniversary Everest Expedition is made possible in part by the generous support of American International Group, Inc.
This dispatch was sent by Liesl Clark, head of the National Geographic Television & Film unit from the Everest Base Camp. It was written on May 13, 2002.
It is an ever-changing world up here. Mountains move as if deliberating in a rock and ice cathedral, warning us of the forces at play around us. We are the audience and the mountains are the spectacle; avalanches launch from the nearby Lo La, regularly dusting Base Camp; huge seracs tumble into ice avalanches in the Icefall throughout the night; and the rocks embedded in ice below our tents shift with the heat of the Himalayan sun.
Almost all of the expeditions here at Base Camp have left for Camp II, to begin the final sequence that will lead them to the summit. Weather reports have predicted light winds on the 16th of May, and we fear that nearly 80 climbers could try to summit that day. We've decided to wait out the rush, to opt for an attempt a few days later in slightly higher winds. As evidenced by the events of 1996, there is no strength in numbers on an Everest summit day.
Our challenge is not to climb, but to make a film about the climb. We are a team of climbers and filmmakers, shooting with a 16mm camera and equipment for recording sync sound all the way to the top of the world.
Michael Graber is our climbing cinematographer and his experience filming at 28,500 feet on the north side of Everest places him among the elite of high-altitude film cameramen. David Ruddick is our sound recordist, and we believe he may be the first soundman to try to record sync sound with film on the summit of Everest. Jimmy Surette is our assistant cameraman. A world-class alpinist and ice climber, Jimmy will attempt to shoot digital video on summit day in case our 16mm camera decides to stop functioning in the cold.
Our story is about Peter Hillary, son of Edmund Hillary, and Dawa Sherpa climbing Everest's Southeast Ridge as Tenzing and Hillary did nearly 50 years ago. But perhaps the real story is the effort it takes to capture these images.
There's no question the credit will go to our team of Sherpas, seven high-altitude-climbing Sherpas whose primary job on summit day will be to carry over 35 pounds of film gear, 25 pounds of sound gear and spare bottles of oxygen for our film team.
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