Everest Dark (2025) Movie Script
1
[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 kill 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]
[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 kill 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]