The Making of Left for Dead: Miracle on Everest
Jennifer Peedom - Essential Viewing Group
When I bumped into fellow Australian climber Lincoln Hall at Advance Base Camp on Everest in 2006, we were both on the mountain for different film projects. Neither of us could have imagined that soon they would be working on a film about Lincoln himself, based on an unimaginable set of circumstances that occurred that season on Everest.
It was one of the deadliest seasons on record on Mt Everest. Eleven people died, and Lincoln Hall very nearly made the death count twelve. As my team made our way up the mountain on our final summit push, I ran into Lincoln again. We stopped and chatted for a while, then climbed together briefly, between camps one and two. It was the last time I saw him on the mountain.
Following the expedition, I was exhausted and emotionally drained. On the way home to Australia, my husband and I having both lost about 10kg, decided to stop over in Thailand for a week to rest and recuperate. It was there that I received and email from a mutual friend of Lincoln's and mine with the shattering news that he had died. As I sat in the tiny internet café, I really wondered what the point of it all had been. The final, pointless death in a horrendous season. I vowed never to return. Later than night at dinner, I received a phone call from the same friend, with the news that Lincoln may still be alive. Only a couple of weeks later, we were both in Sydney, sitting in a café, looking at the blackened frostbitten tips of Lincoln's fingers.
It was decided that we would re-create much of Lincoln's ordeal, as no one had been filming. We would intercut this footage with actual footage from the mountain, including the extraordinary real radio transmissions made on the mountain at the time.
Knowing the dangers and difficulties of filming at altitude only too well, I decided to shoot the recreations in New Zealand Alps. I assembled a crew of climbing experts, two of which had summited Everest in 2006. Five times Everest summiteer, New Zealander Mark Whetu who acted as advisor and 2nd Unit cameraman, and fellow New Zealander Wayne Alexander who was cast to play Lincoln Hall in the re-creations.
I felt it was important we cast Lincoln with someone who understood the physical and emotional demands of climbing the world's biggest mountain. They needed to understand the pain. Wayne not only had the right sensibility to play Lincoln, but knew what it took to climb the mountain in a physical and emotional sense.
Having Mark Whetu on the crew was always part of the plan. I climbed with Mark on Everest in 2004 and 2006, and there are very few people that know Everest from the North side as well as he does. He is also one of the few other people that has spent the night out on Everest and survived. He was an invaluable part of the team in terms of his ability as a cameraman, but also matching New Zealand locations with the North side of Everest.
In addition to the local experts, I cast real Sherpa people in the 2 main Sherpa roles. Because the Sherpas played such a crucial role in Lincoln's rescue, I felt it was important to cast real Sherpas in those roles. They lent a level of authenticity to the shoot that was very important. Their accents, the way they move in the mountains, their facial expressions all needed to be the real deal.
It was an incredible privilege to have the Sherpas there. They performed a traditional 'Puja' ceremony at the start of the shoot / expedition, as they do on all Everest expeditions to ask the mountain gods for safe passage on the mountain. The shoot was incredibly blessed, with no bad weather in 10 days. Unheard of in New Zealand!
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15 Comments
I just saw the show and enjoyed it, but I could not understand how there could be live film of such an event. I guessed that this must have been a dramatic recreation, and reading this blog is the first confirmation of this.
I think the barrier between real, actual footage and recreations such as this is too blurred. We need to know when we are watching dramatic recreations; not making this clear diminishes the value of live footage. Knowing that some of the scenes are fake makes you wonder if any of the scenes are real, and from what I am reading here, none of this show contained real footage, other than a few very isolated scenes.
Nat Geo is not the only channel doing this; so much of what you see on TV now is a recreation, but presented in a documentary format and thus suggesting 'real'. Personally, I feel 'cheated' watching such shows. I think there should be an overlay stating 'dramatization'.
National Geographic, where's the video for sale?
This is one video that hits home personally and I'd love to get a copy of it!
Everesh is so cool
best tv this year
Dear Lincoln,
What a brave, brave man you are. Climbing Mt.Everest would be a thing that I would never ever do. Only people with real persistence, courage and determenation would do it. You have all of them.
I can't even start to imagine how scared you would have felt at times and how your family must have felt when you were out there risking your life. Well done on your success. You make alot people proud and inspired. Cheers Emma Benbow Heywood and District Secondary College
Dear Lincoln
You are the the luckiest person in the world to survive on Everest with no oxygen. When we watched the movie at school we thought you were going to die. BUT you didn't.YOU ARE SO LUCKY!!!!!!!!
The thing that I admired about you was that you reached the summit, suffered from Cerebral Oedema and survived.
By Rhys Patterson
Heywood and District Secondry College
Hi Lincoln,
My name is Kelsey Rowland and I was very inspired for what you did I thought it was amazing. It would of been a real acheivment. I dont think I would ever be able to climb Mt Everest, it would be to scary. I think you are a very brave person and you are a great role model. You persist in what you do you keep doing the things you love and thats what makes you a hero. Well done on your success.
Cheers Kelsey Rowland at Heywood and Distric Secondary College.
Dear Lincoln,
I am very touched by your amazing story and life changing experince. You have made me want to climb a mountian. Maybe not as big as Mt.Everest though. You're a great role model and you're a real hero.
By Nathan surrey.
HDSC
Dear Lincoln,
Our class watched your video about 2 weeks ago. It was so cool. I was so amazed how you kept going and didn't give up. It must of felt really good just to stand on the summit. I was so happy when I saw you stand on the ground for the first time in along time. Brilliant effort well done.
Tori Haines
Heywood and District Secondary College
dear lincon?
i dont no haw u
surive that i watcht the movie and i fought you were gawing to die but u didnt u are so so lucky
Dear Lincoln,
Our class recently watched your movie, it was a great acheivment to reach the top of Mt Everest you did a fantastic job. The thing that i admired most about you was that you never gave up no matter what went wrong, you showed a lot of persistence ecspecialy with your dificulties heading down. Congradulations on your acheivments so far, I hope you continue to climb more mountains.
Dear Lincoln,
I watched your film when you were on Mount Everest. It was amazing that you were persistent and you never gave up climbing to the top of the mountain. Your effort was excellent and you showed people that they can do it no matter how hard it looks. It was a great achievement that you got to the top. You were also encouraging other people to do it. It was just great. I don't mind watching it again. Tino Nyamunduru
Heywood and District Secondary College
Dear Lincoln,
I was really touched when I found out that you climbed Everest and you never gave up. I was so happy when I saw the movie because every one was saying how great it was and I agree it was so amazing. I thought
you were going to fall off the mountain when you were at the death zone hanging off the side MOnique Hollis Heywood and district secondary colleg
Dear Lncoln,
Your the bravest man to climb Mt Everest
lucky that you survived overnight in the death zone by yourself and didn't fall off the 10,000 foot drop.I have climbed a couple of mountains but they were smaller than
Mount Everest.
From Travis cameron
Dear Lincolon,
I saw your show and I liked it. How did you do it? I really liked it, when you came a live and you start to climb down Mt Everest. Your a good role model.
from Angelique Dobbe Heywood and District Secondary College
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