In the week that marks the opening of the climbing season to the highest peaks of the Himalayas, in Nepal, several groups are eagerly awaiting to head to the summit of the world. Come on, this season has already started off in turmoil, and not just because of rumors of fraud in rescues and the poisoning of mountaineers, which have already been duly clarified and are being investigated by the Nepalese authorities. A new problem arose precisely in the country’s main attraction, Mount Everest: the ice doctors, as the workers who install ropes and ladders over cracks in an unstable layer of ice that is constantly moving are called, had to stop work because of a serac, an immense block of ice the height of a small building, which threatens to collapse onto the area closest to Base Camp, through which climbers must pass on their way to the upper camps and, from there, to the top.
The prudence of the workers who facilitate the ascent to the upper camps of the mountain is justified by the memory of the most serious accident that occurred on Everest, on April 18, 2014, when seracs were released in a violent ice avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas in the Khumbu Icefall. The waterfall is the first and one of the most dangerous challenges for those who face climbing, due to the mobility of its blocks that often collapse the metal stairs installed there over huge cracks. Until the publication of this text, doctors were still awaiting the mood of the great serac.
But, while the ice block does not decide whether to stay or go, dozens of groups are already in the process of acclimatizing to high altitudes. They are looking for the mountains closest to Everest’s neighborhood, going up and down as per the instructions in preparation for the undertaking. Around them, hundreds of workers work hard to ensure the best experience with the maximum possible safety and comfort. Among those preparing for the season is Murilo Vargas, 45, from Minas Gerais, who has been carrying out a different task: he participates as a cameraman on the expeditions, with the experience of someone who has accompanied groups in Antarctica, Russia, Argentina and Alaska, among other destinations. These are images like those in the video he created especially for the column, telling us what preparation is like for those whose mission is to capture the best images in the most hostile environments on the face of the Earth.
While making the final preparations to embark for Nepal, on the 25th, Vargas spoke at length with the column. And, in addition to the video, he sent generous material with details that would allow a good couple of meters of precious content that, unfortunately, do not fit into a single edition. So, let’s look at the best moments.
How did you start climbing?
I’ve been climbing since 2001. I’m from Minas Gerais, I started at Serra do Cipó, probably the best rock climbing site in Brazil and one of the best in Latin America. But I made my introduction to high mountains in 2005, in Bolivia, where I took my first ice climbing course, climbing Huayna Potosi, Condoriri and Pequeno Alpamayo.
And when did you start working with climbing records?
I opened my audiovisual production company focused on climbing films in 2019, and since then I have accompanied clients on various mountains around the world. But most of my clients always have one big goal, which is to climb Everest itself.
Haven’t you climbed to the summit of Everest yet?
No, not yet. I made my first attempt with a client in 2023, it didn’t work, he tried again last year and it didn’t work either. The highest I reached was 8,200 meters above sea level, but the Sherpa who was with me had pulmonary edema and I wouldn’t leave anyone to follow, it was an ethical decision to always be by the side of whoever is there to help you. But I’ve had the dream of climbing Everest since I was little, when I wasn’t even rock climbing yet.
And what is the market like for a high mountain cameraman?
I wouldn’t say it’s a big market, because it’s very specialized. As I have been climbing for 26 years, I bring this baggage from several rock climbing expeditions, on big walls, but the field really has little competition. There is, obviously, the risk, there are few who seriously want to work in this environment. The risk is included in the price, but can be mitigated when you have the appropriate technical, physical and, mainly, physiological preparation. I prepare a lot. And, above all, it’s my passion too. When I started, I said, look, I would work for free to climb Everest. Today, obviously, I am paid for this, but it is, without a doubt, a job that brings me a very important connection and knowledge of myself. Anyone who works in the mountains is a person who is very connected with that environment, they are not there solely and exclusively for the money, but also for the personal relationship, for the connection with that habitat, with those people. Nepal, especially, is a place that has an energy from another planet.
Who are your customers?
Most are CEOs of large companies who, in addition to being able to pay the high costs of an expedition with maximum comfort and safety, have little time for the expedition, which would normally last up to 50 days, but today, thanks to technological innovations, preparation with hypoxia equipment that reproduces the time needed for acclimatization, and the adoption of xenon gas, which increases the body’s hemoglobin, drastically reduces the exposure time needed on the mountain. Because no one usually spends 50 days away from the company, so these so-called flash expeditions attract this audience profile.
And what is this season’s project?
This time I’m going to the Himalayas with a different perspective, on the conditions of workers in the mountains. My idea is to tell the story of altitude workers, who most people call Sherpas, but not all of them are Sherpas, sometimes they are from other ethnicities. The name of my project is Invisible Heroes because most mountaineers, especially Westerners, go there, reach the summit, most of the time with a lot of help from the workers and they are invisible, they never appear in any videos. So, my project is just the opposite, it is to tell their story and their importance within this world of ambition of those who want to reach the top of the world.
