CLIMBER BLOG: Kent Harvey, Dave Ruddick & Thomas Grimshaw

Why we joined SOTSK

While waiting in the airport lounge before flying out of Tanzania after the climb, the VRA film crew reflected on the trip…

Kent Harvey (DP): We were hired to do the daily dispatches—a 3 ½-4 minute video diary each day. We’d get direction from Brooke & Shannon for the theme of the day then would start after everyone, catch up, shoot then get ahead and try to stay in front from there and let them come to us. We’d grab Alexandra Cousteau, Elizabeth Gore or Jess because they seemed like good subjects on a given day. Then we’d make it up as we go. We shot on a Sony EX3 HD Cam and tried to stay nondescript since there were so many of us out there filming. Had to deliver the footage by 4-5pm each day then have the final piece edited and ready to send off by 8-9pm. What was challenging was producing on the fly. As the day unfolded, the story presented itself.

Dave Ruddick (Sound Recordist): It was like doing a minidocumentary every day.

Thomas Grimshaw (Editor): But it was really unknown for the day what we’d capture.

Kent: We shot a branded campaign for First Ascent back in March 2009. Someone on the SOTSK team saw the daily dispatches from Everest and wanted to know how we did it. I was living in LA at the time, doing some feature work. Eddie Bauer handed it to me in July and I realized the size of it. I called my EP Joe Raymey at VRA. He talked with Shannon on spec. We really didn’t think it would come together. Just seemed like an unrealistic prospect to do a mobile production in the same number of days as the actual expedition would take. I told Shannon she had to double the length of the trip to get the produced videos she wanted and she said they couldn’t due to everyone’s schedules and the budget constraints. I’m blown away that it worked out. Thomas Grimshaw was the MVP with what he pulled off editing every day. I learned a lot talking to everyone…especially Gore, Cousteau & Allgood who made me more aware of the global water crisis. But for Dave & I, the actual climbing was old hat. When people were freaking out about the night before, we were fine.

Dave: My first call was in July but it wasn’t confirmed that I was coming until 2 weeks before the trip. I’ve worked with Kent for 20 years. We worked on a series for National Geographic, an IMAX project, worked on Everest, and climbing shows in Peru, Bolivia and Alaska. This was the first expedition I’ve ever been on where everyone got to the top. I can’t even get a group of school kids to walk around the block, someone inevitably cramps up and drops out. The SOTSK crew had an amazing amount of determination to get to the top. I used to teach for Outward Bound, started river guiding when I was 19…and the idea of 45 people getting to the top—I never would’ve imagined. It was such a nice group of people. Normally there’s a leader, a comedian, followers, and one or two difficult people in every group. But this was an amazing group of individuals who formed a very cohesive team that supported each other with a common goal of getting every person to the top.

Thomas: In June/July we had just finished Everest-

Kent: He swore after Everest he would never do another mountain trip again.

Thomas: It was a slippery slope. I couldn’t originally come because of my honeymoon. I did Everest with Kent and our producer here, Cherie Silvera. That was seven weeks at base camp and traveling, was gone for 10 weeks. I was asked to go on that because in 2007, Mike Peters, the lead singer of The Alarm rallied a bunch of musicians, cancer survivors and mountaineers as part of the Love Hope Strength Foundation to do the highest concert on land. I got the call saying they were going to do a gig on Everest at 18,500 feet and would I come edit. 

WATCH THEIR DAILY DISPATCHES:

Day 1 of the Climb
Day 2 of the Climb
Day 3 of the Climb
Day 4 of the Climb
Day 5 of the Climb
Final Destination
Climbers Discuss Completion