Everest - A Time Lapse Film by Elia Saikaly

If you want only the raw numbers of this stunning Everest time-lapse created by 39-year-old Canadian filmmaker and mountaineer Elia Saikaly, then skip to the box below. But that, we believe, would be a mistake, because there is far more to these images than meets the eye, as the two-times Everest summiter happened to be filming on the slopes of the highest mountain in the world during the two deadliest climbing seasons in Everest history, 2014 and 2015.

In 2014 Saikaly found himself trapped in Camp 2 for three days, above the Icefall where 16 Sherpas had been killed, while in 2015 he was in Everest Base Camp when the devastating earthquake rocked Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people across the country, including 22 climbers in Base Camp. Understandably these tragedies traumatised Saikaly and only recently has he begun to come to terms with these dramatic turn of events and released these images.

Writing to planetmountain.com, Saikaly explained “I’ve kept these images hidden for almost 4 years. They were created in 2014 and 2015 – the two deadliest seasons in Everest history. Many lost their lives and I was at ground zero both years. I’m not sure I’ll ever un-see what I saw in those two seasons, during and after the avalanches. Somehow I felt keeping these images hidden showed respect for the fallen. The images at camp 2 were created right after the 2014 avalanche that claimed the lives of 16 Sherpas. We were trapped above the area where 16 died at Camp 1 and 2 and had to remain in place for three days, unable to assist in the evacuations. Shooting the night skies helped with the helplessness we all felt. In 2015, everything you see in this video was captured days before we got hit by the avalanche at basecamp during the Earthquake. No one can ever be prepared for such devastation. It’s taken a long time to work through the loss and perhaps somehow, releasing these images is my way of fully letting go and remembering the beauty, the wonder and freedom that comes along with climbing the world’s tallest peak. Chomolongma – Mother Goddess of the Earth.”

Timelapse
Locations: Summit of Mt. Lobuche East, Everest basecamp (near the entrance), Lobuche village, Camp 2 on Mt. Everest, Camp 1 on Mt. Everest, Khumjung, Namche, Pheriche
Camera Gear: Canon EOS-1DC, 2x 5D Mark 3’s, Canon 5Dsr, 24mm 1.4, 16mm 2.8 x2, 11-24mm f4, 70-200mm 2.8, 14mm 2.8
Photos: 26 time-lapses and 1,896 still images used from a total of 44,069 photos

Links: eliasaikaly.com, Instagram Elia Saikaly, FB Elia Saikaly