1996 Everest Disaster Documentaries on YouTube – Updated

February 16, 2018 · by Catherine Wexcomb · in Books & Movies, Documentaries, Everest, History, Mount Everest Disasters, Mountaineering Disasters, Mountaineering History, Movies. ·

The 1996 Everest Disaster has gone down in history as one of the worst mountaineering disasters to ever have occurred on the mountain, killing eight climbers. The conditions of the weather and fatal mistakes that were made heightened the tragedy tenfold.

If you’re looking to learn more about the 1996 Everest Disaster, you can watch these great documentaries. For an entire account of the 1996 Everest Disaster, references and further reading, read our article, “The 1996 Everest Disaster – The Whole Story.” Also, view our articles:

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1996 Everest Disaster Documentaries to Watch on YouTube

Frontline: Storm Over Everest

Storm Over Everest was a documentary that aired in 2008 on Frontline for PBS. The episode covered the 1996 Everest Disaster in a journalistic fashion and featured commentary by David Breashears. Breashears is a mountaineer and director, who was present during that year’s tragic season. He saw the death of one of his close friends, Rob Hall. Watch below or on YouTube.

Important Links:

Storm Over Everest PBS | Storm Over Everest IMDB | Storm Over Everest Amazon

Seconds From Disaster: Into the Death Zone

Seconds From Disaster is a television series that details the events leading up to and during disastrous and catastrophic events. The episode Into the Death Zone aired in 2012 as the fifth episode of the sixth season of the series, and it detailed the 1996 Everest Disaster. Watch below or on YouTube.

Important Links:

Into the Death Zone IMDB

The Dark Side Of Everest

The Dark Side Of Everest was a testimony-filled documentary that aired on National Geographic. It featured the story of Seaborn Beck Weathers, a climber who was left for dead three times during the 1996 Everest Disaster. The film details his ordeal before being saved by an extraordinary effort his wife made to have a helicopter make a record-breaking landing to rescue him. Watch below or on YouTube.

Mountain Without Mercy: The Everest Story

Mountain Without Mercy: The Everest Story is a documentary episode that aired as part of ABC’s Turning Point series. It details some history of the mountain and the 1996 Everest Disaster, its victims and survivors. Watch below or on YouTube.

Everest: Death Mountain (2003)

Everest: Death Mountain was produced in 2003 by the Discovery Channel in an effort to show the mountain’s deadly history and terrain. It also details the 1996 Everest Disaster and the accounts of Beck Weathers and other survivors. Watch below or on YouTube.

1996 Everest Disaster Movies

You can learn more about the 1996 Everest Disaster in these motion pictures that either cataloged the events or mentioned them as part of a larger topic about Everest.

Into Thin Air: Death on Everest Motion Picture

The 1996 Everest Disaster was recounted in the 1997 motion picture Into Thin Air: Death on Everest, a film that was based on the book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Krakauer was a survivor and member of one of the expeditions that were affected by the deadly storm in May of 1996. Krakauer was a mountaineer and journalist on assignment for Outside Magazine during the expedition. Watch below or on YouTube.

Important Links:

Into the Death Zone IMDB | Into Thin Air Amazon

Everest IMAX

One of our favorite films is Everest IMAX, a film by David Breashears; a mountaineer and director who was present during the tragic 1996 Everest spring season.

This film details the glory of Everest and brings viewers to the scene of Breashear’s successful summit of Everest a few days after the terrible events. On his way up, he passes the body of his friend, Rob Hall, and stops in an emotional scene to say goodbye. The film briefly appeared on Netflix and can now be rented on VuDu, Amazon Video, YouTube, iTunes and Google Play Movies for $1.99-$2.99.

Everest (2015)

Everest is an action-packed film that debuted in 2015 starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Scott Fisher and Jason Clarke as Rob Hall. The film was produced with the help of Rob Hall’s wife, Jan Arnold, and his daughter Sarah. Jan was pregnant with Sarah at the time of Hall’s death.

This film did receive its fair share of criticism, especially from Jon Krakauer, who said the film was “total bull.” Many people felt as though the film’s creators walked on eggshells and sugarcoated the events, and in many cases, did not present many of the circumstances that caused the disaster in the first place. You can rent the movie on VuDu, Amazon Video, YouTube, iTunes and Google Play Movies for $2.99-$3.99.

If you liked this article, check out K2 Documentaries You Can Watch on YouTube. Also, see our list of must-read books about climbing disasters.

Links Not Working? Video Removed?

These links to YouTube videos are regularly updated. Some are removed and reuploaded. If you come across this article and notice any of the links are broken or the videos have been removed, please leave us a comment to let us know. We’ll update them.