Michael Brown with Vision of Everest high mountain camera gear. Photo by Charley Mace
 

Filming up High

We received an email from a fan who had looked through our site and was asking if the camera crew climbed as well. Yes we do. We have two cameras, one which Charley Mace and I use on the mountain and the other back up camera which Kim Johnson uses in Base Camp to cover the story from here.

We are shooting this film (video) with a large HD camera. It looks a lot like a news camera but just a little larger and heavier, about 20 lbs. Three days ago we brought it up to Camp 3 at 7,100m (23,500ft). The camera with batteries and extra tape weighs about 35 lbs. A company that makes backpacks, Mountainsmith, made us a special lightweight pack so that we could carry the camera. It takes a foam insert that we made to also fit a Pelican Case and it is interchangeable. The pack is good for carrying the camera but the case is better for protecting it from snow and the inevitable abuse that things take up here.

Luckily we have two Sherpas who work with us, one takes the camera and the other takes the tripod and accessories. Charley and I carry our personal gear as well as some of the camera gear, microphones, Etc. On some days when the Sherpas are all carrying expedition gear we carry the camera ourselves. It is not so bad but it is better to have Sherpa help. We have worked with most of the Sherpas on the team and have decided that Ang Khami and Ang Phurba are the strongest and most capable. They will be our summit team.

As we climb Charley and I move ahead of the rest of the team and look for good shooting angles. We will not appear in the final film. Once we see one we stop and set up. It is fun but sometimes tiring as we are like a jackrabbit always going fast and then stopping. The team will pass us and then we have to go really fast and pass them again. Sometimes it feels like my lungs are going to explode. One of my favorite shots is when I walk across the ladders pointing the camera down into the crevasse. The crevasses are deep pits with icy shards at the bottom. It is a little scary as I have to keep one hand free for the camera and cannot hold the ropes as well.

Our trip to Camp 3 was exciting and a little difficult. There is little snow this year so much of the route is over blue ice. On the Lhotse face there is a constant spray of rocks and ice shards coming down. The rocks are really frightening and dangerous. I wear a helmet and every impact makes a loud noise in my ears. I can only imagine how it is for the climbers who don’t wear helmets. I took a few hits in the neck and shoulders and they sting. We try to move quickly there and hope that nothing big hits us.

The view from Camp 3 is beyond description. From there we are above most clouds and it feels really high. My hope is that next time we are there we will have better weather. Last time it was hazy with ice crystals and we did not get the ideal light we would have liked. We were also a little hypoxic and completely exhausted. Finding the motivation to move the camera around in the cold was difficult. Next time we will be more acclimatized and capable.

Above Camp 3 will be our real challenge. The air is thin and every movement and even our thoughts will be slow. I am rehearsing every shot we will try to get in advance while I am down here in the thick air. Above 25,000-ft we will just be trying to survive, getting shots and telling the story will be very difficult. By planning and rehearsing the shots very carefully we can act like robots. Everything will be almost automatic. Hopefully this plan will work and we will come back with good footage from up high.

We will be using supplemental oxygen as well. We are working so we have a strong justification for doing so. It helps us stay warmer, think more clearly and move better. It is not as though it brings us down to sea level though. They say that it is worth a few thousand feet at best. We will still be in a state of quasi consciousness, spaced out, cold and not really all there. The hope is that the camera with its electronic components will not care about the altitude or the cold. As far as we know we are the first to use this format on Everest and no one knows how these cameras will perform. They worked fine at 23,500-ft and we are hoping for the best.