What began as efforts to begin production on the live Discovery Channel special Everest Jump Live — which would have seen climber Joby Ogwyn attempt to make the first wing suit flight off the summit of Mount Everest — turned into tragedy on April 18 when an avalanche struck the Khumbu Icefall, the area just above Mount Everest base camp. The disaster killed 13 Sherpas, and left three missing.
The NBC News team that was at base camp intending to produce the live event, instead found themselves witnessing the avalanche, which will be chronicled in the 90-minute documentary Everest Avalanche Tragedy, airing May 4 at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel (it will also air worldwide in 224 countries, according to a Discovery release).
“In light of the overwhelming tragedy at Mt Everest and respect for the families of the fallen, Discovery Channel will not be going forward with Everest Jump Live. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the whole Sherpa community,” a Discovery statement read, in calling off the live event shortly following the avalanche.
In looking back at the avalanche, Everest Avalanche Tragedy includes unprecedented access and eyewitness accounts from the rescue and recovery efforts that took place. The program will also document the weeks leading up to the climb, through the moment the avalanche struck, and its aftermath. Cameras were rolling immediately following, as blocks of ice plummeted down the mountain — the deadliest single-day avalanche in history on Mount Everest.
The documentary features real-time footage, and sit-down interviews with Joby Ogwyn; expedition leader Garrett Madison; Todd Burleson, president of Alpine Ascents International, who lost five Sherpas; and other key members of the expedition and production teams.
I had a chance to interview Joby Ogwyn a few months back, ahead of his planned live event, where he told me a bit about the climate on Mount Everest; ironically, this time of year, according to Ogwyn, possibly would have been among the more stable for his jump attempt.
“Mount Everest is the only mountain in the world that actually pierces the jet stream” Ogwyn told me. “It’s quite high up there at over 29,000 feet, so the one thing about Everest and the region that it’s in is that the weather there is very stable. We have really consistent, good weather windows of three or four days each during the month of May when the monsoon starts to arrive in that area of the world. It goes across the Bay of Bengal and pushes the jet stream north into China. It makes the wind speed at the summit go way down to, some days, almost quite nothing. So it allows these little guys like me and some of my buddies to go up there and pull these things off. … I’ll be landing in the base camp area. We’re still looking at locations in that area but essentially at base camp, next to base camp, in a safe area.”
But his attempt was not to be. According to Discovery: “[Everest Avalanche Tragedy] will serve as a tribute to all the Sherpas and their families affected by the tragedy. Discovery will be contributing to the American Himalayan Foundation Sherpa Family Fund, which gives 100% of all donations to help families of the deceased.”
Everest Avalanche Tragedy premieres May 4 at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery Channel.
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Photo credit Discovery Channel
