EVEREST

Thom has filmed three Everest documentaries spanning two decades, notably as high altitude cameraman during the expedition that discovered the body of lost British mountaineer George Leigh Mallory at nearly 27,000 feet in 1999, 75 years after his disappearance (PBS/BBC). He filmed Accidental Climber in 2014. And, in 2016, during the filming of Sharing Everest, Thom made the summit on May 22nd.

LOST ON EVEREST, 1999

HIGH ALTITUDE CAMERA/SEARCHER PBS/BBC CO-PRODUCTION

The expedition discovered the body of George Mallory at nearly 27,000 feet, 75 years after his disappearance.

Pollard’s photo of the bottom of Mallory’s boot.

The image was taken at the site of Mallory’s body at nearly 27,000 feet on Everest’s north face, as well as numerous other photographs, have been published in dozens of books and publications worldwide, including National Geographic Magazine, National Geographic Adventure Magazine, Vanity Fair, GQ, Parade, and many more.

ACCIDENTAL CLIMBER, 2018

CINEMATOGRAPHER THEATRICAL RELEASE

Early on the morning of April 18, 2014 a massive serac avalanche claimed the lives of 16 men, mostly Sherpa, working in the notorious Khumbu Icefall on Mount Everest. Sleeping below was 68 year old Jim Geiger, an American who endeavored to become the oldest American to summit the mountain. ACCIDENTAL CLIMBER chronicles Geiger’s unsuccessful attempt and deeply emotional response to the deaths, effectively putting an end to his dream. Pollard served as field director and cinematographer on the expedition and recently released film.

SHARING EVEREST

DP/HIGH ALTITUDE CAMERA/SEARCHER CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION

In 2016 Thom embarked upon his third expedition to Everest. On May 22 he reached the summit at 2:40 in the morning under a brilliant full moon. Sharing Everest will become a worldwide traveling museum, wherein visitors will be able to experience what it’s like to climb Mount Everest.

The crew films a scene for SHARING EVEREST in a prayer room in Namche Bazaar, April 2016.

Headlamps of climbers can be seen ascending into the Khumbu Icefall.

A climber ascends one of the many ladders placed throughout the Khumbu Icefall during a rotation to Camp One in May of 2016.

Thom and Mark Synnott, NY Times best selling author and noted big wall climber, after Mark successfully returned from the summit of Everest, May 2019. Mark and Thom traveled to Everest with noted filmmaker and climber Renan Ozturk to film a National Geographic documentary to search for clues to the mystery of the disappearance of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine. Mark is writing a book about the search, due to be released in 2020 or early 2021.