Sir Edmund Hillary’s family to star in new Everest documentary
Sir Edmund Hillary’s family are set to take on Mt Everest almost 70 years after their father and grandfather’s pioneering climb in a new documentary.
Everest: Legacy will follow the famous Kiwi mountaineer’s son, Peter, and his grandchildren George, Alexander, and Lily as they embark on the same expedition to the summit that Hillary made with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
‘Variety’ reports the film is currently in pre-production, and is scheduled to be completed in May 2023, which will be the 70th anniversary of Hillary’s ascent of the mountain.
Peter Hillary – who himself has made five expeditions to Everest, including two summits – said the documentary would be about the “Hillary history” on the mountain.
“To further that history, a third generation of young Hillarys will climb the mountain to reach the summit and to experience what their grandfather and their father experienced on this great mountain,” he said.
They would embark on the expedition in 2022, accompanied by Tendi Sherpa, who has reached the summit of Mt Everest 13 times.
According to Variety, the film will highlight the changes on Everest in the 70 years since it was first climbed by Hillary and Norgay, including the commercialisation of the mountain and how it has been affected by climate change.
It will also contain rarely seen archival footage of Sir Edmund and his family at Everest in the 1960s.
The film will be directed by Ben Webster, an experienced expedition leader and filmmaker who also directed the 2013 documentary March to the Top, set on Island Peak in the Himalayas, and produced and starred in the 2004 mini series Ultimate Survival: Everest.