Michael Brown - Photo by Nader Abushhab nbma.photography

Michael Brown | Sounds from Everest

Khumbu Glacier, NE Nepal

Behind the Sounds in Brittle Geometries:

“The chanting is a Lama (Buddhist holy man) performing a puja. This ceremony asks the god(dess) permission to climb on her. The mountains are gods, so for the Sherpa asking for blessings is essential.” (Pictured)

Also included in Michael’s tapes:

Crampons and ice axes over a series of seracs on Khumbu Ice Fall as the team from blind climber Erik Weihenmayer's ascent of Everest navigate terrain early in the morning.

Photos provided by Michael Brown in conjunction with Outside Magazine.

The image “represents climbing Everest very well, as you can see a Sherpa climbing a steep serac in the Icefall. It has a slightly disturbing off-balance feel.”

Biography:

Michael Brown has excelled as an adventure athlete and filmmaker in his career. He has been to the summit of Mount Everest five times, each time with cameras rolling. His work as a director and cinematographer covering adventure sports, including caving, kayaking, and mountain climbing, spans all seven continents. His work has won many film festivals and industry awards, including three national Emmy Awards and the Giant Screen Cinema Association (IMAX) ‘Outstanding Cinematography’ Award. Michael is also a recipient of the International Alliance For Mountain Film’s Grand Prix and the Explorers Festival’s Camera Extreme. Michael’s cinematography has captured mountain climbing for giant-screen IMAX movies, ice caves for NOVA, tornadoes for Discovery, science at the South Pole for National Geographic, and avalanches for the BBC. Outside Magazine describes the cerebral filmmaker as a “swashbuckling librarian,” and Men’s Journal calls him “a master of gut-dropping action. Michael’s previous film at VIMFF, The Weight of Water, was awarded the Best Adventure Film Prize in 2020, and this year he has returned to join the jury.