GILGIT: The documentary The Last First: Winter K2, which follows the tragedy of the 2021 winter expedition of K2 in which legendary Pakistani climber Moham-mad Ali Sadpara, Iceland’s John Snorri and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto lost their lives while attempting to scale K2 in winter for the first time, has been released for a worldwide audience.
Sajid Ali Sadpara, son of the late Mohammad Ali Sadpara, announced at a press conference in Skardu on Sunday that the documentary had gained international recognition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in the US and elsewhere. He said the documentary was now available for international audiences to stream on Apple TV from Oct 2.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev, the documentary takes a look at one of the deadliest seasons on the world’s second-highest peak and tells a harrowing story about the race to claim mountaineering’s “last great prize”. According to a statement issued by the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, “from the icy heights of K2 to the socio-economic forces shaping modern mountaineering, Amir Bar-Lev’s ‘The Last First: Winter K2’ looks beyond the pursuit of adventure to the people, power, and ambition behind it”.
Mr Sajid said the documentary was an emotional story. “The main character in the documentary is my father, late Mohammad Ali Sadpara, and also my story. I survived the incident. Then, five months after the tragedy, I searched for the bodies above 8,000 metres on K2 and found them and buried them at the peak,” he added.
He said it also told the story of the first-ever winter ascent of K2 by a 10-member Nepali expedition, which included Nirmal Purja, who lost his life in the Broad Peak tragedy.
“The film has real footage and was shot on location. It is the first time in history that Pakistani climbers’ achievements have been acknowledged internationally. This will also help promote mountaineering in Pakistan internationally,” he added.
US-based social media influencer Stephanie Jensen wrote in a Facebook post: “Just watched ‘The Last First: Winter K2’. What an absolutely insane story. As a race to the top of K2 unfolds in the middle of winter, Seven Summit Treks commercialises the attempt, selling places on an expedition to one of the world’s most dangerous mountains.”
The film sheds light on the perilous mission to summit K2 in winter while exploring how commercialisation reshaped the quest.
Beyond the tragedy, it examines deeper issues shaping modern alpinism, including commercialisation, social media pressure, influencer culture and long-standing inequalities within the climbing world.
Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2026
