Back in 1996, Chris Terrill documented the journey of Jim Ballard and his two children (Kate and Tom Ballard) to K2, the mountain of the wife and mother Alison Hargreaves who died climbing the mountain in Alison’s Last Mountain. Now over two decades and a half, Terrill revisits the family only to document a new journey and tragedy in The Last Mountain with the Ballard family.

In The Last Mountain, Terrill along with Emmy Award-winning producer Julia Nottingham and BAFTA Award-winning producer Olivia Lichtenstein brings a new story of reflection after 30-year-old climber Tom Ballard disappeared in the Himalayas’ Nanga Parbat, in February 2019. The unfortunate accident occurred in the same mountain range with mother and son.

Here is the official synopsis:

The Last Mountain follows Kate Ballard on an emotional journey to say goodbye to her brother on Nanga Parbat. Using archive footage from 1995 and Tom’s own extraordinary footage taken up until the days before his death, the film explores what made Tom continue his ascent with Italian climber Daniele Nardi after the other two members of the expedition turned back. Combining years of the intimate, unseen family archive with footage of the family that director, Chris Terrill, has shot in the years since Alison’s passing, the documentary tells the unforgettable story of a family who lived—and were prepared to die—for the love of scaling the icy heights of the world’s highest peaks, and explore what it is that drives people to pit themselves against nature at its most ferocious and unforgiving.

The Last Mountain is a heartbreaking yet uplifting story about one of the world’s best climbing families and their passion. Filmed over 25 years with intimate access and breathtaking archive footage, this is a documentary that tells the stories of the mountains and mountaineers as never seen before.

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Interviews featured in the documentary included Tom Ballard, Kate Ballard, Karim Hayat, Alex Txikon, Stefania Pedreriva.

LRM Online’s Gig Patta spoke with director Chris Terrill (Alison’s Last Mountain) and producer Olivia Lichtenstein (Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don’t Know Me, Silent Twins: Without My Shadow) on the 25 years in the making of this documentary, the tragedy, and its aftermath with the family.

The Last Mountain is now available digitally and On Demand.

Watch the exclusive interview with Chris Terrill and Olivia Lichtenstein below. Let us know what you think of the interview.

Source: LRM Online Exclusive, Universal Pictures Content Group