Expedition Everest
National Geographic & Rolex
Film, Immersive, & Multimedia Storytelling Campaign
2019 - 2020
Producer
Development & Strategy
Field Producer & media team co-lead
Cinematography/second camera
Contributing photography
Story consultant
Overview
In 2019 a team of scientists, Sherpa, and storytellers embarked on a 2-month journey to study the impacts of climate change on Mt. Everest. This National Geographic and Rolex expedition was the most comprehensive climate study of Nepal's Khumbu and Gokyo regions, bringing together international and local teams of glaciologists, meteorologists, biologists, geologists, cartographers, and storytellers to better understand the rapid changes happening at the top of the world.
The storytelling elements captured on the expedition contributed towards a multi-media platform reaching over 53 million people across a TV documentary, digital documentary video series, magazine articles, scientific journals, education courses, interactive social media, museum exhibit, and VR360 immersive experiences.
This Everest expedition became the inaugural project to kick off what would become the Perpetual Planet Expeditions program, following the footsteps of National Geographic Society’s first ever 1963 documentary film - Americans on Everest - and setting the foundations for future expeditions in the Amazon and all five oceans.
As the lead producer, my contributions included:
Direct the film and photo teams for expeditions in the Peruvian Andes, Peruvian Amazon, and Brazil.
Produce, direct, and edit intimate photo essays with select Explorers.
Manage relationships with Explorers and provide guidance on synthesizing story and science across media touch points.
Media package
Awards & Recognitions
Anthem Awards (2021)
Winner - Gold
Expedition Everest Digital Series & VR360 Immersive
National Press Photographers Association (2021)
First Place - Online Visual Presentation & Innovation
Expedition Everest VR360: The Mission
Webbys (2021)
People's Choice - Best Immersive 360
Winner - Best Immersive 360
Expedition Everest VR360: The Science
Made Possible By Perpetual Planet Expeditions
A partnership between National Geographic Society and Rolex that examines and documents the impacts of environmental change in some of the world’s most extreme but fragile mountain, rainforest and ocean systems in an effort to identify solutions for protection.
Pitch Deck
Expedition Everest
2024, 45 min.
Feature Documentary
For National Geographic
Field Producer, Cinematography, Story Consultant
Photo Credit: Fisher Creative / © National Geographic Society
Expedition Everest: History is in the Mud
2019, 8 min.
Companion Documentary
For National Geographic Society
Producer, Cinematography, Series Art Direction
While on the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition, a team of geologists travel to Nepal's Gokyo Valley to collect sediment cores from a raft on a glacial lake at 15,000 feet. Their mission is to gather data on the effects of climate change in the valleys surrounding the tallest mountain on the planet and reconstruct the region’s history using the mud. See what challenges they face while collecting samples at high glacial lakes in the Himalayas.
Expedition Everest: Data is in the Clouds
2020, 8 min.
Companion Documentary
For National Geographic Society
Producer, Cinematography, Series Art Direction
In 2019, members of the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition set out to install five new weather stations on Mt. Everest, including the highest weather station on Earth. Follow along as the team climbs into the mountain’s “death zone” to complete the network of weather stations in order to improve our understanding of climate change.
Expedition Everest: Change is on the Map
2020, 8 min.
Companion Documentary
For National Geographic Society
Producer, Cinematography, Series Art Direction
A team of cartographers and technologists sets out to accomplish the groundbreaking task of creating a complete virtual reconstruction of Everest Base Camp and the surrounding Khumbu Glacier. Watch as the team maps the impacts of climate change on Mt. Everest in a way the world has never seen before to better understand the world’s highest glacier.
Expedition Everest: Change is on the Map
2024, 6 min.
Companion Documentary
For National Geographic Society
Producer, Cinematography, Series Art Direction
A team of glaciologists and Sherpa guides sets out to collect information about glacial change in the Himalayas. By extracting ice cores from the highest glacier in the world, the team has begun to uncover details about climate change that have - until now - been hidden in this hard-to-reach ice.
Expedition Everest: Change is on the Map
2024, 6 min.
Companion Documentary
For National Geographic Society
Producer, Cinematography, Series Art Direction
Even near the highest peak in the world, life manages to thrive. Follow a global team of biologists on the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition as they measure the biodiversity in Nepal’s Khumbu Valley and investigate how high alpine species are adapting to global climate change.
Photo Credit: Fisher Creative / © National Geographic Society
Expedition Everest 360: The Mission
2020, 4 min.
VR360 Immersive Experience
For National Geographic Society
Producer
Directed by Martin Edström and co-produced with IVAR Studios for National Geographic Society.
Additional filming by Fisher Creative.
Immerse yourself with a team of scientists, climbers, and Sherpa guides as they embark on an expedition that will help define our understanding of high-mountain environments. Experience the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition, which was not simply a climb of the mountain, but a perilous adventure to learn how climate change is impacting the highest place on Earth.
Expedition Everest 360: The Science
2020, 5 min.
VR360 Immersive Experience
For National Geographic Society
Producer
Directed by Martin Edström and co-produced with IVAR Studios for National Geographic Society.
Additional filming by Fisher Creative.
Embark on this virtual reality experience with an international coalition of biologists, geologists, glaciologists, meteorologists, and geographers as they study the effects of climate change in one of the most extreme environments on Earth. The National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition begins at 17,300 feet at Base Camp and ends above 27,000 feet, near the summit of Mt. Everest. Join the team as they collect ice cores, place the world’s highest weather station, and gather hundreds of samples along the way.
Photo Credit: Fisher Creative / © National Geographic Society