The Porter: what it's really like to work one of the hardest jobs on the planet

Posted by Emma Travers on 18/08/2020
The Porter: watch the documentary here

Sherpas. Porters. The spine to many a mountaineering mission. Watch the documentary that gives the mountaineering community an eye-opening look at what it's really like to work one of the hardest jobs on the planet.

You can't watch a film about Everest or read any account of a 8,000m ascent without their essential efforts featuring. But how much media do we consume from the perspective of a Porter, and how much do we really know about their true experiences? We're sharing with you this eye-opening documentary where Nate Menninger becomes an Everest porter and in doing so, experiences the injustices faced by the local people.

Nate did a live Q&A session with us - scroll down to watch ðŸ‘‡

'The Porter' is an extraordinary hour-long documentary following US born mountaineer Nate Menninger become one of the first ever foreign-born Porters to aid a Mt. Everest Expedition. The young American fully immersed himself in the role: eating, sleeping, dressing, speaking and working as similarly as he could to other Sherpas. He didn't shower for 23 days, lost over nine kilos and carried 100 kilos — fortunately, all on camera.

In his effort to equal their strengths, he stumbles into a reality far more harrowing than he expected and ends up documenting a serious injustice. 

Menninger hopes that the documentary will spread this insider experience through the global mountaineering community so that they can share it's takeaways.

WATCH THE FILM: The Porter - The untold story at Everest 

The Porter: The Untold Story at Everest from Nate Menninger on Vimeo.

Q&A with Director and Sherpa Nate Menninger

Protagonist and Director, Nate Menninger, gave a live session with further insight into the whole experience. Scroll down to watch 📺


We want to say a big thanks to every BMC member who continues to support us through the Coronavirus crisis.

From weekly Facebook Lives and GB Climbing home training videos, to our access team working to re-open the crags and fight for your mountain access, we couldn’t do it without you.

Did you know that we've launched a U27 membership offer for just £1.50 / month? And with full membership from £2.50 / month, it's never been easier to join and support our work: 

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/join-the-bmc-for-1-month-U27-membership


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6
11/09/2020
Watched this film the other week - it is absolutely superb and highly recommended.
Anonymous User
11/09/2020
THE VIDEO HAS NO START BUTTON - CAN'T SEE IT!
Anonymous User
21/09/2020
Why would anyone watch a privileged us citizen pretending to be a porter for an internship.
You could as easily have documented a real Sherpa or multiple Sherpa from teens onwards

Could even have bettered some lives missed opportunity I won’t support that
Anonymous User
14/11/2020
Watched the porter. Thought the film made a good point.
Anonymous User
15/11/2020
Where is the Q&A?
Tim Waterhouse(staff comment)
17/11/2020
The Q&A is now embedded in the article

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