A man climbs a mountain in winter to prove something, and a dozen others follow him up the side of K2 to prove something else entirely. That is the setup for The Last First: Winter K2, now streaming on Apple TV, and Amir Bar-Lev’s documentary does not let anyone off easy.
The Goal
Snorri Sigurjónsson, a professional climber from Iceland, set his sights on K2 in 2021. The mountain sits in Pakistan and rises to 8,000 meters, making it the second-highest peak in the world. It is also considered the most dangerous. Sigurjónsson went up with a Pakistani father-and-son team of sherpas named Ali and Sajid Sadpara.
The climb was supposed to be a milestone. Reaching K2 in winter had never been done before, and the documentary treats it as a “holy grail.” Sigurjónsson’s wife, Lina Moey, described him as “hooked on the thrill of summiting,” which meant he was restless between expeditions. She noted that he and his wife raised six children in Iceland while chasing these summits.
The Race
Not long into the trip, Sigurjónsson and his team looked outside their tent and saw Nirmal Purja and his team. Purja is a Nepalese climber described as a “rock star” in his field. He heard about Sigurjónsson’s attempt and decided to make it a race.
That decision changed everything. A climbing-expedition company called Seven Summit Treks, still hurting from a drop in business tied to Covid, brought a group of inexperienced adventurers to the mountain. These climbers were essentially tourists compared to Sigurjónsson and Purja. The base camp grew crowded, and what started as a solo attempt turned into a cluster of people all trying to be first.
What Went Wrong
Bar-Lev pieces together footage from the expedition to tell the story. The film interviews the survivors, and blame gets pushed around among them. The situation grew increasingly dangerous, and the documentary does not shy away from showing it.
A filmmaker arrived to shoot the climb. Climbers brought their own camera crews. National pride became a pressure point. Purja wanted to reach the summit as a statement for generations of Nepalese sherpas. The Pakistani government wanted its own climbers at the top.
The result was a situation complicated to a dangerous degree. Modern civilization — politics, capitalism, and social media-driven narcissism — dragged itself into the wilderness alongside the climbers. The film is as much about debatable human achievement as it is about documenting those achievements. It is not enough to do something crazy, but one must be seen doing it.
The Harrowing Footage
The real-time footage from the expedition is what holds the film together. It is gripping and dangerous to watch. The climbers dodge falling rocks and battle nasty winds on the side of the mountain. Against that backdrop, the talking heads can blur. There are too many voices contributing to The Last First, and the film feels unfocused at times.
But the emotion cuts through. Bar-Lev finds enough clarity to convey the sense of peril and catastrophe. One shot shows a fallen climber’s gloves tumbling down a slope. Another shows a grieving widow, a moment of betrayal, and a brief scene of jubilation. The contrast between those moments makes you think about the full range of human experience.
Our Call
The Last First is a difficult film to sit through. It is not a clean triumph story. It is a tragedy wrapped in ambition, politics, and greed. The documentary does not settle on a single reading of the events, and it does not pretend to. It lets the mess sit on screen and asks the viewer to sort through it.
The film emerges with sad, pointed observations. It is worth watching for the footage alone, and the commentary behind it deepens the stakes. This is a documentary that rewards attention, even when it frustrates it.
STREAM IT.
| Event | Detail |
|---|---|
| Mountain | K2, Pakistan |
| Peak height | 8,000 meters |
| Attempt year | 2021 |
| Climber | Snorri Sigurjónsson |
| Sherpa team | Ali and Sajid Sadpara |
| Competitor | Nirmal Purja |
| Company involved | Seven Summit Treks |
- Director: Amir Bar-Lev
- Streaming platform: Apple TV
- Subject: Winter ascent of K2
- Status: Now streaming
Source material: “Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Last First: Winter K2’ on Apple TV, a Documentary About a Mountaineering Milestone Turned Tragic,” Decider.
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