Climbing Everest then skiing back down? Snow way! Everest: The Other Side trailer, pics, festival news

Much as I adore Mallory and Irving (lost on the world’s highest peak in 1924) you can’t really claim to have climbed a mountain until you’ve not just made it back down again, but descended with your feet touching the snow. So while I won’t include all those grinning dogs carried down from the UK’s peaks on mountain rescue stretchers after they got tired at the top, I think we can include people who climb up then ski back down, plus it means you can avoid all those bottleneck queues.

Everest: The Other Side, described as “an intimate portrait of two elite ski mountaineers bound by love and the pursuit of the impossible”, is directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the Oscar®-winning filmmakers behind the utterly terrifying Free Solo – though the shots just in this trailer where Jim starts to actually ski down might top that movie…

Jim Morrison climbs Everest. (credit: Jimmy Chin)

Here’s the synopsis:

Elite ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson fell deeply in love while reaching the pinnacle of their sport. Their drive sharpened into a shared dream: to climb and ski the direct North Face of Everest – the most difficult and dangerous climb on the mountain and the most coveted ski line on earth. Thousands have summited the mountain via Nepal’s southeast ridge, but only a handful have ever reached the top by this route — and no one has successfully skied down. Already known for their extraordinary feats in the mountains and no strangers to loss, Morrison and Nelson stake everything on this daunting challenge.

Watch the trailer now and scroll down for images:

The film just had its world premiere at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, and is showing at several other festivals including as part of the official line-up for the 53^rd Telluride Film Festival. It’s also showing at Toronto International Film Festival, Camden International Film Festival, and BFI London Film Festival, before opening exclusively in cinemas and IMAX worldwide October 30. Tickets will be on sale soon.

Everest: The Other Side images

World-renowned ski mountaineer Jim Morrison climbs the north face of Everest. (credit: Jimmy Chin)

Hilaree Nelson, a National Geographic Explorer and the 2018 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. For years, Jim Morrison planned to ski the Hornbein Couloir with his life partner, Hilaree Nelson. But Nelson tragically passed away in September 2022. Morrison completed that ski on October 15,...

Jim Morrison climbs Everest. (credit: Jimmy Chin)

(credit: National Geographic/Savannah Cummins)

World-renowned ski mountaineer Jim Morrison, left, and Jimmy Chin. (credit: National Geographic/Savannah Cummins)

Jim Morrison climbs Mount Everest. (credit: Jimmy Chin)

Jim Morrison, first person to successfully ski down the Hornbein Couloir on the direct north face of Mount Everest. (credit: National Geographic/Savannah Cummins)