Fansided

Sports Illustrated, Endemol Shine Beyond USA partnering for first ever VR climb of Mt. Everest

By Nick Tylwalk

GOKYO, SOLO KHUMBU, NEPAL - 2015/11/29: The mountain Mt. Everest (8848m) with a white cloud on top, seen from Gokyo Ri (5360m) at sunset. (Photo by Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images)
GOKYO, SOLO KHUMBU, NEPAL - 2015/11/29: The mountain Mt. Everest (8848m) with a white cloud on top, seen from Gokyo Ri (5360m) at sunset. (Photo by Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images) /
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Most of us won’t ever get the chance to climb Mt. Everest, but pretty soon SI will help present the next best thing to being there.

So far, the closest most human beings have ever gotten to climbing Mt. Everest is to watch television shows about other people doing it. Technology is going to help change that early next year, with Sports Illustrated ( a sister company to FanSided under the Time Inc. umbrella) helping to make it happen.

As announced earlier today, SI is teaming with Endemol Shine Beyond USA to shoot and produce a VR documentary that will mark the very first time a full, bottom to top ascent of Mt. Everest in virtual reality. Entitled “Capturing Everest,” the multi-part production is currently slated to be presented by Sports Illustrated on the LIFE VR platform in January 2017.

“Attacking the world’s highest summit seemed like the perfect place to go with our new VR initiative, and by partnering with Endemol Shine and adding in the world-class storytellers from Sports Illustrated, I think we have something truly special and unique to offer our audience,” Mia Tramz, Managing Editor of LIFE VR, said in a press release. “We can’t wait to bring viewers along for this once-in-a-lifetime journey. This is exactly the type of experience LIFE VR was created for.”

“Capturing Everest” focuses on four American climbers: Brent Bishop, son of the third American to scale Mt. Everest; Lisa White, a cancer survivor who quit her job to be part of the expedition; Nick Perks, who is climbing the mountain to raise money for UNICEF; and Jeff Glasbrenner, who is attempting to to be the first American amputee to complete the climb. The team is led by Garrett Madison, who has led more Americans to the summit than any other person in history.

SI says the production required specialized camera equipment to provide a first-person, VR perspective and “a variety of 360-degree video capture methods while enduring some of the planet’s most extreme conditions.”

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