Climbers on Everest’s North Side face constant winds hitting the Northeast Ridge. This makes the feat achieved by photographer Ma Chunlin of China the more remarkable. After years trying, this spring he filmed the entire route, from Advanced Base Camp (ABC) to summit, in a single, non-stop drone sequence.
Ma camped at ABC at 6,490m and waited for the right day. He needed climbers heading for the summit but also clear skies and calm winds, which were rare during the windy 2025 season. The shooting had to start precisely at sunrise, CGTN reported, and follow the exact route with no errors piloting the drone.
The North Col on Everest. Frame from a video by Ma Chunlin
A five-year project
Ma Chunlin, born in 1995, specializes in high-altitude mountain photography and this project is the culmination of five years’ work. He first filmed Everest’s ascent route five years ago, but in several sequences that he later edited into one. (That was during COVID, but Chinese climbers were still on the mountain.)
Since then, he has dreamed of following the route in a single take, a feat he attempted in 2021 and 2024. On the latter occasion, his drone fell at 8,300m, but he learned an important lesson.
“I realized how important it is to have climbers in the images,” Ma told People.cn. “Without them, there is no perspective, as the human scale is lost and the viewers cannot understand the difficulty and the size of the summit.”
Ma and the Chinese media claim this is the first time that the entire route on Everest’s North Side has been recorded in one take. In addition to the technical difficulties, the use of drones is strictly restricted on the Tibetan side of the mountain. It took a great deal of patience and effort for Ma to obtain permission.
Ma Chunlin. Photo: People.cn
After his success, however, the Chinese authorities applauded the achievement. “Nothing is impossible,” posted Mao Ning, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on X.
The golden window
The single shot follows the normal route along the Northeast Ridge, from ABC to the North Col, Camp 2 on the ridge, and Camp 3 at the steep North Face. It continues filming the upper sections until the summit, with the three famous “steps” marked in the video.
Ma explained he had to start filming at Advance Base Camp to keep the drone in contact along the entire route. He also carefully chose the right day and time to start shooting: 6:55 am on May 19, to make the best of a 15-minute “golden window” at dawn, when the air was calm and the light was ideal.
Location of Camp 3 on the huge flank of Everest. Frame from a video by Ma Chunlin
At the end of the video, a single climber can be seen standing on the summit, as small groups approach from both sides of the mountain.
The summit of Everest. Frame from a video by Ma Chunlin
Ma chose the ideal day. May 19 saw a large number of summits, most of them from the South Side. Winds picked up later in the day, but the early-morning drone flight had finished by then.
Probably some of the climbers filmed on the summit area of the north side belonged to the Furtenbach Adventures team, whose members reported summit success at 5:40 am that day.
“The first part of the filming went on without problems, but I was holding my breath,” Ma told People.cn.
At summit altitude, he lost connection with the drone and feared the worst. “Luckily, the return function on the drone activated automatically, and it made it back safely.”
The result is a truly impressive video. Check it here:
