‘Everest’ Depicts True Story of Climbers’ Caught in Deadly Blizzard

Sandra Miska

The remarkable true story of a journey to the summit of the earth’s highest mountain is now a movie.  “Everest” is a British disaster adventure film about the ill-fated 1996 Mount Everest expedition that resulted in the deaths of several climbers.

“Everest” will focus on the survival attempts of two expedition groups led by Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Rob Hall (Jason Clarke), respectively.  Rob is a confident New Zealander who, through his company Adventures Consultants, guides thrill seekers to the top of Everest for $65,000 a pop.  Hippie American Scott of the Seattle-based Mountain Madness and a fellow guide, Russian Anatoli Boukreev (Ingvar Sigurðsson), take issue with Rob, believing he is cheapening the Everest experience by guiding anyone who can pay his steep price.

After some nudging from Rob, Scott and Anatooli agree to cooperate with him on an expedition.  Everything goes well until the teams are faced with disaster in the form of a freak snowstorm that leaves them stranded on the mountain.

To prepare for his role as Rob Hall, Clarke spent months training, climbing mountains in Scotland and New Zealand.  He recently recalled the experience to Yahoo! Movies and how it helped him understand Rob.

“To stay on top of a mountain, to be the last man to come off a rope – for Rob – at the top of the world, the last man down.  To kind of simulate something so that when I come to shoot it, I had some idea.”

The all-star cast of “Everest” also includes Keira Knightley as Rob’s pregnant wife Jan, Josh Brolin as Dr. Beck Weathers, as well as Robin Wright and Sam Worthington. Emily Watson plays camp “Mom” Helen, with whom the climbers communicate with via radio.

“Everest” was directed by Icelandic director, actor and producer Baltasar Kormákur.  William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy’s source for their screenplay was the best-selling book Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer, a journalist who is played by Michael Kelly in the film.

While on location on Mount Everest in Nepal, the second unit crew found themselves in the midst of an avalanche that killed 16 Sherpa guides.  No one from the “Everest” crew was injured.

“Everest” opens Sept. 18 in IMAX 3D.  It opens everywhere Sept. 25.