For me, every score is a unique musical and storytelling challenge and so this film is very different to anything I’ve scored before. I’ve always wanted to score a mountaineering film, so in many ways this was a dream project !

The story has it all – danger, tragedy, love, humanity, drama, intimacy, heroism. I felt there was enormous potential to represent the wide range of emotional highs and lows in the film with the score. I was inspired by the grandeur of the cinematography but more importantly Nims himself. He is an intriguing human being – driven, focussed, fearless with an inspirational level of self-belief.

Working closely with the director over 6 months, the brief was to compose with a symphonic sound palette. Composing the score was like preparing for my own mountain climb. Each musical cue was epic in it’s own way. I knew strings would play a large feature because they can handle the vast landscapes of the region but could also be brought down to a singular violin for emotional connection.

There are not one but two characters in this film – Nims and the mountains themselves. There are 14 mountains to summit in the film, and each mountain had it’s different musical challenges and difficulties. For example, there is a theme for K2 which is very heroic. The scale of the story was also quite daunting. I felt I had to match the physical scale of the task at hand by painting with broad brush strokes.

One of the most powerful elements in the score is the very first musical sound you hear in the film - a descending bass string slide that captures the vastness and dread of the challenge ahead of Nims.

There is a great deal of tension in the story told with propulsion and energy, so I explored creating drama and tension using strong rhythms with the orchestra as well as percussion that is insistent and drives the story and Nim’s journey forward relentlessly.

But ultimately, I also wanted to show what it means to be human. Nims had a special bond with his mother so I translated that intimacy and emotion into a violin solo by Galya Bisengalieva - a huge emotional release in the film.

Representation was important to me and the production team. The Sherpas have never truly been acknowledged for their contribution to mountaineering so it was important to hilight that representation by using touches of Nepalese plucked strings to put you into the locale and shine a spotlight on their heritage. Having learnt Indian percussion as a child, I imbued unusual rhythms that are very natural to me. I also added slight touches of central Asian throat singing to the score.

I have collaborated with the London Contemporary Orchestra several times before and they have an experimental aesthetic to their playing. I used the orchestra in a contemporary modern way. We utilised extended techniques which suited the wild raspy, chaotic rawness of some of the pieces and helped get across the danger and brutal hostility of the environment and landscape.

As well as using mainly strings, brass and percussion, we also used silence and the natural sounds of the snow, atmospheres and wind to portray the vastness of the landscape as well as music design for the animated sequences to create a more visceral connection to the storytelling.

Large drums and percussion were really helpful in getting across the drive and epic nature of the ordeal.

What may seem to many to be a large orchestral score and done many times before, was a new experience for me, and so I hoped to bring a fresh perspective to that style of score and therefore treat it in a slightly different way with experimental string techniques and ethnic qualities.

Mountaineering has traditionally been seen as hypermasculine and therefore much of the music can be perceived as being very masculine. However, I wanted to portray all the facets of what it means to be human. There are intimate moments and Nims had a special bond with his mother so I translated that relationship into a violin solo by Galya Bisengalieva that comes at the emotional climax of the film when they both reunite with joy.

I composed and recorded the score through the pandemic so recording at Abbey Road was a feat in itself. We had one of the first and largest sessions since lockdown was lifted and had to socially distance in Studio 1, the largest room. This project allowed me to go as big as we could possibly get in sonic size.

When watching the film, I want the audience to experience what I experienced when watching the film as I experienced it; to find out what makes Nims tick, to put them right there in the action, to be terrified at times, inspired and most of all, to have a deep felt respect for Nims and his team’s astonishing accomplishments. I am proud to have helped shine a spotlight on this incredible human feat of endurance.

Score recorded at: Abbey Road Studios

Score performed by: London Contemporary Orchestra
Robert Ames (conductor and orchestrator)
Galya Bisengalieva (solo violin)