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New Yorkers looking to conquer Mount Everest can soon skip the crampons, oxygen tanks and considerable risk of death, as a new virtual-reality experience is bringing the world’s highest mountain to Midtown.
Everest: The First Ascent opens at Eclipso NYC on September 30, transporting visitors to 1953 to follow Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay and the Sherpa team behind the first confirmed ascent of Everest. The 35-minute experience uses free-roam VR, letting participants move through the expedition as it unfolds around them.
The journey begins far below the summit, introducing visitors to Kathmandu and Sherpa culture before sending them through high-altitude camps, across glaciers, and toward the mountain’s famously unforgiving peak. Along the way, participants will encounter the cold, exhaustion, thin air and violent weather faced by the original climbing party.
But rather than merely recreating the expedition’s best-known photographs, the experience aims to examine the people and teamwork behind the achievement. The project was developed with guidance from a scientific advisory board of Himalayan, mountaineering and cultural specialists.
“With Everest: The First Ascent, we wanted audiences to experience the first ascent of Everest not simply as a historical achievement, but as a human adventure,” co-creator Jean Dallac said in a statement. “Our aim was to make audiences feel as though they were part of this extraordinary moment in history, without having to leave New York City.”
Dallac created the project with Benjamin Auriche. Before reaching Manhattan, the experience premiered in the Venice Immersive competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. Everest: The First Ascent joins several other walk-through adventures at Eclipso, including Titanic: Echoes From the Past and Colosseum: The Legendary Arena.
The company’s format resembles a movie theater crossed with a very sophisticated group hallucination: Guests put on VR headsets, then freely explore large-scale digital environments together. The entire Everest visit lasts approximately 45 minutes, including a 10-minute onboarding session. It is open to guests ages 8 and older.
The experience opens September 30 at Eclipso NYC, located at 555 West 57th Street. Hours are noon to 7 pm Tuesday through Friday and 11 am to 7 pm Saturday and Sunday; the venue is closed Mondays. Tickets are now on sale.