The Premise: The Last Great Prize
Premiering to critical acclaim at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, "The Last First: Winter K2" chronicles one of the most controversial and deadly seasons in mountaineering history. The film focuses on the race to claim the "last great first" of alpinism: the winter summit of K2, the world’s second-highest and most dangerous mountain.
While the history books record the season for the successful summit by the Nepalese team led by Nirmal "Nims" Purja, Bar-Lev's documentary casts a wider, darker net. It centers heavily on the parallel, tragic expedition of Icelandic climber John Snorri and Pakistani climbing legend Ali Sadpara, who, along with Chilean climber Juan Pablo Mohr, perished high on the mountain.
A Story of "Fault Lines"
Unlike standard adventure films that focus solely on triumph, The Last First is described by critics as an "existentialist parable" that exposes the fracturing culture of high-altitude mountaineering. The film weaves together three distinct narrative threads:
- The Purists vs. The Tourists: The tension between experienced alpinists attempting a historic feat and the influx of commercial clients and social media influencers crowding Base Camp.
- National Pride & Class: The film deftly navigates the geopolitical dynamics, highlighting the often-overlooked expertise of the Pakistani high-altitude porters (specifically the Sadpara family) and the Nepalese Sherpas, juxtaposed against Western funding and ambition.
- The Viral Effect: A critical look at how Instagram, livestreaming, and the pressure to "perform" online contributed to the chaotic atmosphere at Base Camp and potentially influenced fatal decision-making.
Critical Reception at Sundance 2026
The film has been hailed as a standout of the festival's final year in Utah. Critics have praised Amir Bar-Lev for avoiding a simple hero narrative, instead opting for a journalistic and humanistic approach to a messy disaster.
"This film about a mighty peak is peak filmmaking... It is brave enough not to believe that answers come easily. It reveals a surprising and layered story of strategy, class, money, and power."
— POV Magazine
"Widely expands the emotional and ethical frame of the mountaineering documentary... It reminds us that history’s greatest feats are often built on quieter, irreversible losses."
— The Wire
The Last First: Winter K2 serves as a definitive historical record of the events of February 2021. By focusing on the bond between John Snorri and Ali Sadpara, and the survival of Ali’s son, Sajid Sadpara (who turned back just before the Bottleneck), the documentary humanizes the statistics of the "Savage Mountain."
It is not just a film about climbing; it is a film about the cost of ambition in the modern age.
