Spoiler note: National Geographic reported the outcome of Jim Morrison's Everest ski descent in October 2025, so I mention it here. I don't describe anything that happens inside the film beyond what the filmmakers, the studio and critics have made public.
Here's the odd thing about this release. The ending has been public for more than a year. National Geographic told the world in October 2025 that ski mountaineer Jim Morrison had skied Everest's north face. And yet a critic at The Globe and Mail noted that reviewers were asked not to reveal surprises or twists in Everest: The Other Side, a request the review compared to the kind usually made for Marvel movies. A documentary about a known outcome, and the people behind it still guard what's inside.
I haven't seen the film yet, so this isn't a review. It's my call on whether it's worth paying IMAX prices, built from the documented timeline, the critics' reactions and what the filmmakers have said. Where it's my opinion, I say so. Where outlets disagree, I show you the disagreement instead of choosing the number I like.
The Key Points
- Everest: The Other Side is a National Geographic documentary from Free Solo directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. It premiered at Venice on Sept. 3, 2026 and opened in U.S. theaters and IMAX on Oct. 30.
- It follows ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson and their shared dream of climbing and skiing Everest's north face. Nelson died in an avalanche on Manaslu on Sept. 26, 2022.
- On Oct. 15, 2025, Morrison became the first person to ski Everest's Hornbein Couloir, in a descent that took 4 hours and 5 minutes, per National Geographic.
- Reviews are mostly positive but not unanimous: Metacritic had it at 65, and Rotten Tomatoes has sat roughly between 79% and 88% depending on when it was checked.
- Reports on the opening are small and inconsistent: TheWrap lists about $1.1 million from roughly 2,000 locations, while The Numbers listed a Friday figure from 515 theaters. Check your local listings.
Four numbers that explain why this story is hard to forget
One quick note on those figures. Heights and vertical drops vary by outlet depending on where they measure from and to. SKI Magazine, for example, counts the run down to Camp 1 and gives a larger vertical number. I used National Geographic's description of the face because it's the primary reporting on the descent.
Camp 2The Real TimelineIs Everest: The Other Side a true story? Six dates that matter
Yes. It's a documentary about real people and real events, and it helps to see the sequence before you walk in. Here's the timeline as it's been reported by National Geographic, Outside, ABC News and the film's festival listings.
- 2018
Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison become the first people to ski from the summit of Lhotse, the fourth-highest mountain on Earth, via the Lhotse Couloir. National Geographic reports the Everest north face project was born soon after.
- Sept. 26, 2022
Nelson dies in an avalanche on Manaslu, the eighth-highest mountain in the world, after the pair skied from its summit. National Geographic reports they had been preparing a 2023 attempt on Everest via the Hornbein Couloir.
- Oct. 15, 2025
Morrison, then 50, becomes the first person to ski the Hornbein Couloir, linking it with the Japanese Couloir on Everest's north face. He dedicates the run to Nelson, and National Geographic reports he summited with her photo in his pack.
- Sept. 3, 2026
The documentary has its world premiere out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, then plays Telluride and Toronto.
- Oct. 30, 2026
National Geographic Documentary Films and Disney open it in theaters and IMAX in the United States.
- Nov. 1, 2026
Reports put the opening weekend at a modest figure during one of the quietest weekends at the box office this year.
Documented before the film
- Nelson's death on Manaslu in 2022
- The 2018 Lhotse Couloir descent
- That Morrison completed the Hornbein Couloir ski descent on Oct. 15, 2025
- That the run was filmed by a team that included Jimmy Chin
- That Morrison dedicated it to Nelson
What only the film can show
- The relationship and the planning years from the people closest to it
- Morrison's grief in the months after 2022
- The doubts of friends, including Chin, about whether to go back
- The climb itself, beyond the descent footage already released
- Anything the filmmakers asked critics not to reveal
That split is the whole reason I think this film is worth taking seriously. The public record answers what happened. It can't answer what it felt like to decide to go back, and a documentary can.
Camp 3What Critics SayEverest: The Other Side reviews: where critics agree and where they split
The response is positive overall, with real reservations from a few critics. Metacritic listed a score of 65 from eight critics, which it labels generally favorable. Rotten Tomatoes figures I found ranged from 79% on 29 reviews to 88% depending on the page and the day, so treat the score as a moving number.
The praise: the footage and the grief
RogerEbert.com's Matt Zoller Seitz gave it three out of four stars and praised the drone footage and the first-person GoPro shots. His review singles out the footage of Morrison after Nelson's death as strikingly unguarded.
The reservation: it doesn't go deeper
Odie Henderson of The Boston Globe wrote a negative review arguing it fails to teach viewers anything. The Globe and Mail's critic similarly says the filmmakers keep circling why people take these risks without ever answering it.
The pitch from the filmmakers
Chin told ABC7 it's the most logistically and technically complex film he has made. Vasarhelyi said IMAX lets viewers see a place almost no one has ever seen.
The question I can't stop thinking about: is finishing someone's dream a tribute?
I'll say this as someone who hasn't watched it yet: the part of this story that grabs me isn't the skiing. It's the decision. A man loses his partner on a mountain, and the project the two of them dreamed up together becomes both the thing that hurts most and the thing that might hold him together. According to reviews, his closest friends asked him to think hard about whether the reward was worth the risk. That's not a sports question. That's a human one.
I find it both inspiring and a little unsettling, and I think a good film should leave you feeling both. Inspiring because grief can turn into purpose, and finishing what someone started is one of the oldest ways people honor each other. Unsettling because it asks you to admire someone for walking back into the place that took what he loved most. I'm not here to judge Morrison. I'm here to say the film is only worth it if it lets that tension breathe instead of tying it up in a bow.
The ending being public isn't a weakness. It might be the film's biggest strength, because it forces a documentary to be about the why instead of the whether.
That's also where the reviews make me cautious. If critics are right that the film circles why these athletes do what they do without landing on an answer, I'd call that a fair complaint and a believable one. Mountain stories often end there. Maybe the honest answer is that there isn't a clean one.
Camp 5The IMAX CallShould you pay for IMAX? My call, by type of viewer
Disney announced this as an exclusive theatrical and IMAX release. There's a real history behind that bet: the 1998 IMAX documentary Everest grossed about $128 million worldwide, which Wikipedia lists as the highest gross for an IMAX documentary. A mountain on a giant screen has drawn crowds before. Here's how I'd decide.
If Free Solo or other big-wall and big-mountain films pulled you in, and you want the scale of the north face, the drone shots and the altitude. Critics singled out the footage, and the directors pitched the large format as the way to see it. This is my pick for the film's strongest argument.
If you mostly want the human story. The part critics responded to most emotionally, Morrison's grief and the weight of the decision, doesn't depend on screen size. That's my opinion, not a measured fact.
If loss is close to you right now. The film is built around the death of Hilaree Nelson, and its directors have talked about the challenge of putting a friend's death on screen. It's rated PG-13, but heavy is heavy. Choose a day you're ready for it.
Showtimes, runtime and the small opening: what to know first
Expect a runtime of roughly 110 to 115 minutes, since listings differ: the Venice Biennale lists 115, Gold Derby says one hour and 50 minutes, and another listing says 110. The film is rated PG-13 in the U.S. and the British Board of Film Classification gave it a 12A. The Biennale's listing says the film uses English, Nepali, Sherpa, Spanish and Gurung, so expect subtitles at times.
On the money side, TheWrap reported a $1.1 million opening from about 2,000 locations including IMAX screens, while The Numbers' Friday report listed 515 theaters and $400,000 for the day. The two reports don't line up, and weekend figures get revised, so I wouldn't lean hard on either. What I'd say with confidence is that it opened into one of the softest weekends of the year: estimates for the whole domestic box office ranged from about $56 million to $63 million depending on the outlet. A small opening in that setting isn't a verdict on the film.
Camp 7Quick AnswersEverest: The Other Side questions, answered fast
Is Everest: The Other Side a true story?
Yes. It's a documentary about ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson and their dream of climbing and skiing Everest's north face. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 3, 2026.
Is Jim Morrison in the film the singer from The Doors?
No. The Jim Morrison in this film is an American ski mountaineer who shares the name. The singer is a different person.
What happened to Hilaree Nelson?
Nelson died in an avalanche on Manaslu in Nepal on Sept. 26, 2022, after she and Morrison had skied from the summit, per National Geographic and ABC News. She left two sons from a previous marriage, according to RogerEbert.com's review.
Did Jim Morrison really ski down Everest?
Yes. On Oct. 15, 2025, he became the first person to ski the Hornbein Couloir on Everest's north face, linking it with the Japanese Couloir. National Geographic reports the descent took 4 hours and 5 minutes.
Is Everest: The Other Side in IMAX?
Yes. Per Disney's announcement as reported by BroadwayWorld, it opened exclusively in theaters and IMAX on Oct. 30, 2026. Not every theater has an IMAX screen, so check your local listings.
How long is Everest: The Other Side and what is it rated?
Listings give a runtime of about 110 to 115 minutes. It's rated PG-13 in the U.S. and 12A in the U.K.
Do I need to see Free Solo first?
No. It comes from the same directors, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, but it tells its own story. Chin also appears in it as a friend and a climbing partner of Morrison and Nelson.
What is the Rotten Tomatoes score?
The scores I found ranged from 79% on 29 reviews to 88%, depending on the page and date. Metacritic listed 65. Scores move as reviews are added, so check the live pages.
