WHITE people’s quest to climb the world’s highest peaks is well known. I have written about how mountaineering in the Himalayas developed as an offshoot of colonialism. The very language of ‘conquest’ and ‘firsts’ echoed imperial expansion. Planting a flag atop Everest or K-2 symbolised domination, much like planting one on colonised land. Brown people were cast as the dominated; Nepali sherpas carried loads, fixed ropes and absorbed risk so white climbers could claim glory and secure their place in history.

In recent years, that equation has shifted. In 2021, Nepali climber Nirmal (Nims) Purja led the first team to summit K-2 in winter, long considered the last great ‘first’ in mountaineering. The documentary 14 Peaks turned him into a global hero — not least because his story unsettled a sport long centred on white achievement and Western sponsorship.

Not everyone is comfortable with such reversals. A recent film, The Last First: Winter K-2 tells a different story. Unlike most mountaineering films — now a booming genre fuelled by influencers chasing summits — this is not a triumphant tale. It follows Swedish climber John Snorri Sigurjónsson, who recruits Pakistani climber Ali Sadpara and his son Sajid to attempt a........

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