Sky Documentaries scales new heights with climbing doc Savage Mountain

Field Productions and Full Story Films’ Savage Mountain

Factual network Sky Documentaries has commissioned documentary Savage Mountain, revealing the controversial story behind Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila’s record-breaking climbs of the world’s 14 highest mountains.

It is coproduced by Oslo-based sports-skewing prodco Field Productions and Sky News’ long-form doc unit Full Story Films, with support from the Norwegian Film Institute.

Savage Mountain details how Harila and climbing partner Tenjen Sherpa summited 14 of the world’s loftiest peaks in just 92 days, halving the record previously held by Nims Purja.

However, controversy marred the feat once footage emerged of climbers stepping over dying Pakistani porter Mohammad Hassan during an ascent of K2 in Kashmir. The news triggered global headlines and debate over ambition and ethics.

Hayley Reynolds, head of documentary commissioning, Sky, said: “Savage Mountain goes beyond the headlines, combining intimate access with unseen footage to explore the story at the centre of an extraordinary and complex climb, and the events that followed.”