1924 Everest Ascent film on the way?

Oscar-winning filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, known for Free Solo, are considering a film about the 1924 ill-fated attempt to summit Mount Everest by British climbers George Mallory and Sandy Irvine. The mystery of whether they reached the top remains unresolved.

Their interest was sparked by a recent National Geographic expedition led by Chin, which uncovered Irvine’s boot, sock, and severed foot on a glacier beneath Everest—just a month ago. This discovery follows the 1999 identification of Mallory’s remains and could help answer lingering questions about their climb.

Interestingly, Chin’s expedition wasn’t initially focused on Mallory and Irvine, and a film on the subject wasn’t in their plans. “That was not the intention,” Vasarhelyi explained. “We were not making a Mallory film, but I am sure we will now have to make something.” She emphasized the significance of the boot discovery, which is likely to shape their next project.

One potential narrative thread the film might explore is the trauma experienced by the post-World War I generation. “What were the events and emotional conditions, the character-forming moments in your life that landed you at the base of Mount Everest?” Vasarhelyi mused.

She has been consulting renowned mountaineer Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air, on the subject. “Jon Krakauer is a close friend and my confidant when Jimmy is away on tricky expeditions,” she said, reflecting on how many men, traumatized after World War I, turned to Everest and other mountains to seek clarity or closure.

Vasarhelyi shared these thoughts while attending the BFI London Film Festival, where she premiered Endurance, a National Geographic documentary about Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition and the recent discovery of his shipwreck. The film was co-directed by Vasarhelyi, Chin, and Natalie Hewit.

Looking ahead, their next film is likely to be Eruption, a Sony-backed thriller based on the novel by Michael Crichton and James Patterson. They’re also wrapping up Lost In The Amazon, a documentary about four children surviving 40 days in the jungle after a plane crash. Co-directed with Juan Camilo Cruz, it too is a National Geographic production.