The Cast
Angnima Sherpa
Climber, Film Subject
Angnima was the leader and founding member of the "Icefall Doctors," a group of high-altitude workers who maintain the line of fixed ropes and ladders through the Khumbu Icefall to Camp II. The passage accesses the normal routes up Everest (8848m), Nuptse (7864m) and Lhotse (8516m) and is used by hundreds of climbers each year.
Angnima first went to Everest in 1975 with Chris Bonington's expedition, which ended in the first ascent of the Southwest Ridge by Doug Scott and Dougal Haston, and the death of Mick Burke. In the following 37 years, Angnima worked on several of the mountain's major routes, including the West Ridge, Southwest Face and South Pillar. Angnima had been to Everest over forty times.
Angnima was named the "Icefall Doctor" by famous mountaineer Rob Hall, who Angnima worked with for many years in Everest. Rob died tragically in 1996, and was made famous in the book, "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer, and the "Everest" movie in 2015.
A husband and father of five, Angnima died in 2013 at the age of fifty-nine.
Samdo Sherpa
Film Subject
Samdo is a mother and wife of Angnima who has lived most of her life in Dingboche, Nepal. While married, Samdo spent her days raising her children and working in the fields by her home. She bore five children (3 boys and two girls).
She went to Everest to visit her husband many years within the timeframe of the 1970s up until his death in 2013. "Every time he left for Everest and I said goodbye, I knew he may not return. I spent many a day praying for him to be safe," she said.
After the death of her husband in 2013, Samdo made a dramatic turn in her life and... you'll have to watch the documentary to find out what it was.
Meet the Filmmaker
Sean Burch
Sean Burch is a professional filmmaker, explorer and conservationist holding 8 world records spanning 6 countries and 5 continents, winner of National Geographic Channel’s Ultimate Survival Alaska TV show, 1st Virginian to summit Mt. Everest, and author of the acclaimed self-help book and program Hyperfitness®: 12 Weeks to Conquering Your Inner Everest (Penguin Random House). He has over 130 first ascents of previously unclimbed mountain peaks, of which 117 were accomplished solo.
He has spent over 20 years as a filmmaker, filming his own expeditions and befriending locals within the regions he's traveled throughout the years, such as the Icefall Doctors on Mt. Everest and in China where he lived for over a year.
He was named Goodwill Ambassador to Nepal by their country's government for his humanitarian work for their country.
Sean’s documentarian and photography work has appeared in cable and media organizations, some of which include: BBC, AP, National Geographic, Reuters, CNN, CNNi, USA Today, ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX world news outlets, Outside, Versus.