Everest Dark (2025)

[bunniefuu]

[dramatic music]

[contemplative music]

[Nima] Mount Everest...

We Sherpa call her Chomolungma.

Home to a Mother Goddess.

To us, Chomolungma is a sacred

and a holy place.

My name is Nima Tsiri Sherpa.

I am getting older

and thinking more about

what is being left behind.

Things were different

in the beginning.

I was a mail runner

for Edmund Hillary and Tenzing

Norgay when they made

their first successful

summit of Mount Everest

in 1953.

There were no lodges

along the way.

We had to carry

heavy loads from Kathmandu

all the way to Base Camp.

It was very hard.

One of my sons,

Mingma Tsiri, has climbed

Chomolungma 19 times.

He was also

the very first Nepali

ever to summit K2...

the second highest

mountain in the world.

Mingma is revered

among the Sherpa.

And the Gods have blessed him.

But today

the mountain has changed.

Every year, more people come

and try to summit.

Every year,

more people die on the mountai.

And their bodies

are left behind.

Because of this disrespect,

the mountain Gods

have become angry.

[people screaming]

- Inside, inside, inside!

- Inside, inside!

- Close the door! Close the door!

- Close the door!

- It will be ok. It will be ok.

- Are we ok?

Oh my God.

[Nima] 22 people died

at Everest Base Camp.

And another 9,000 people

across Nepal.

[radio chatter]

Mingma was on the mountain

during the earthquake.

He helped evacuate

many of the injured.

[somber music]

After the earthquake,

Mingma had a dream.

God warned him.

If he ever tried to summit

Everest again,

he would die there.

So, after more than 25 years,

he walked away from climbing.

Until one day, Mingma told me

he wanted to go back.

[dramatic music]

[bell chiming]

[drum beating]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[gentle music]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] When Mingma was a boy,

I loved

teaching him how to climb.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

I am pleased

he is doing the same

for his son.

But I worry for the next

generation of Sherpa.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] I pray

my grandson will not follow

in his father's footsteps.

It's just become too dangerous.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[soft music]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] I had nine

children, including seven sons.

All of my sons

have summited Mount Everest.

My youngest,

Pasang, was

always close to Mingma.

We used to tie Pasang to Mingma

with a rope so that his brother

could watch him,

while

his mother and I were working.

Now it's Pasang's

turn to look out for Mingma.

[bird cawing]

[gentle music]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

Morning wake up fresh. Coffee.

Yeah, corn flakes.

Yeah, this one.

Okay, now we open this door.

Take from here.

Oxygen bottle.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

Ok. Thank you. See you

all tomorrow. Ok.

Okay, there now.

I should close the door.

[doors thud]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

Hello, Chhiring.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[plane alarm beeping]

[alarm] Terrain. Terrain.

Pull up. Pull up.

[plane alarm beeping]

[alarm] Terrain. Terrain.

Pull up. Pull up.

[Nima] It is rare for wives

to accompany their

husbands on any expedition.

This was Chhiring's first time

trekking to Everest Base camp.

It takes over a week

to trek from Lukla to Base Cam.

It can take longer

if your body does

not adjust to the thinning air.

[Mingma praying]

On such a long trek,

you can spend a lot of time

thinking about

what lies ahead.

[Mingma praying]

I still think about the wind

steering

the rows of prayer flags

and Kata scarves,

spreading their blessings

into the Universe.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] When Mingma was a boy,

we were very poor.

And there were no good schools

in the village.

So we had to send him far away

to Thame Monastery.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] After four years

at Thame,

Mingma was ready to leave.

So I took him on his first tre.

We went out onto a glacier.

[drum beating]

While we were there, Mingma

peered down into a crevasse.

And spotted

a body of a dead porter.

He stood there calmly

for a very long time.

Mingma looked at things

differently after that.

A Sherpa asks for safe

passage many times

along the journey.

Our prayer wheels multiply

those requests to God.

[Mingma praying]

[bright music]

[Nima] In my lifetime,

many, many people have died

on Everest.

I have heard some climbers say,

"If I die on the mountain,

leave me there."

But the Sherpa

don't want them left there.

The mountain is not a graveyar.

And we believe the missing must

be returned to their families.

Without the bodies,

the necessary ritual

cannot be performed,

preventing them

from reincarnating

and completing

the Buddhist Cycle of Life.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[bells chiming]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

- [both] Cheers!

- [Chhiring laughing]

Good job, Chhiring. Good job.

You made it.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[all praying]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Mingma] Oh, thank you.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] Before Mingma begins,

he needs God's permission.

They build an altar

we call, a Hopsu.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[mountain rumbling]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

Yeah.

[mountain rumbles]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[drum beating]

[Nima] Sherpa tradition

calls for offering of sweets,

liquor and rice.

They will know

their wishes have been granted

to climb

if bad weather is kept away.

[drum beating]

[cymbal crashing]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[helicopter whirrs]

Ok.

[Nima] From Nepal,

there is only one way

to the summit

of Chomolungma.

Climbers must risk

traveling through the Khumbu

Icefall.

A deadly glacier

that always moves.

[dramatic music]

The Sherpas

headed up first to lay ladders,

while others

got ready to ferry

loads to the higher camps.

The sun

weakened the ice.

[mountain rumbles]

[helicopter whirrs]

Only 13 bodies were found

and returned to their families.

The others remained lost.

Mingma knew some of them well.

If he can find one of these men

and bring their bodies home,

Mingma will bring peace

to the family

and appease the Mountain God.

[drone whirrs]

Mingma's search for his friends

begins here.

Oh, many cracks there.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] Every climbing season,

a brave team of Sherpa

spends weeks

securing a route

through the Khumbu Icefall.

They are known as

the Icefall Doctors.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] And they are led by

Mingma's friend,

Ang Sarki.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] They risk their lives

building the safest route

for climbers.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] It takes the

Icefall Doctors

several more days

before the route

can be opened.

Mingma and his team must wait.

[Nima] These men

started working as teenagers,

just like Mingma.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

It took them all years

working as cooks and porters

before they earned the

opportunity to summit Everest.

And a chance at the best wages.

They have guided

countless clients

to the summit. And combined

have climbed

Everest over a hundred times.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[flags thwipping]

[dramatic music]

[Nima] Later

during the night,

Ang Sarki decides

that the route through

the Khumbu

is ready.

Morning.

[Nima] Since the 2014 tragedy,

teams

avoid climbing

this route during the day.

They now depart at night

when the temperatures are cold.

And the ice is frozen, but

avalanches can still occur.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Mingma praying]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Chhiring on phone]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Chhiring on phone]

Good morning.

Good morning.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[all praying]

[Nima] My son has worked

with this team

for a very long time.

They go up the mountain

first and carry all the supplis

for setting up camps.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Mingma praying]

[Mingma praying]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Mingma praying]

[Mingma praying]

[Nima] Finding bodies

is difficult.

Avalanches bury them.

Crevasses swallow them.

Snow and wind can hide them.

Or reveal them.

The Mountain Gods decide.

[Mingma praying]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[dramatic music]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

I think you can't cross in

this rope. No. Ok.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Mingma praying]

[Nima] After three days

at camp two,

there were still no bodies to e

seen.

The weather was too poor.

When someone dies

along the trail,

sometimes other climbers

will move them out of sight.

They do this

as a sign of respect.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Mingma praying]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Mingma praying]

[radio chatter]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali

on radio]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali

on radio]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[dramatic music]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] Up here,

climbers have been known

to lose their minds

to Summit Fever.

It used to be only a few people

dreamt of climbing Everest.

But now that dream

has spread to many.

But it can be difficult

and dangerous to manage dreams

once they become obsessions.

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] Oxygen levels

in the dead zone

are about half of those at sea

level.

Many climbers

and Sherpa have collapsed

and died here.

Saving

someone is very dangerous.

So people just end up

passing by the bodies.

As morbid markers on the trail.

In 2019,

overcrowding led to the deaths

of 11 people.

If you don't keep moving,

high altitude sickness

or a brain hemorrhage

can k*ll you.

Getting stuck in a line

can be fatal.

In May 1996,

a sudden storm trapped my son

and many others in the thin

air of the dead zone.

They were caught in a whiteout

and it was unbearably cold.

But my son stayed

with his client

for over 36 hours

and got him down.

He saved his life,

but almost died doing it.

[dramatic music]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Mingma praying]

[Mingma praying]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[on radio]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali

on radio]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali

on radio]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali

on radio]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali

on radio]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali

on radio]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[bright music]

[helicopter whirrs]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali

on radio]

[Mingma praying]

[Nima] I believe the Gods saw

my son's efforts.

I hope they are happy.

I am proud of all my children.

But on this day, even more

so than ever before.

[Mingma praying]

[speaking Sherpa/Nepali]

[Nima] If Mingma guides again,

I hope he finds those

that will follow him.

But if he walks away,

hopefully

those who chose to still go

remember that the mountains

and Chomolungma

is a holy place.

[gentle music]