This article is jointly published with The Daily Utah Chronicle as part of collaborative coverage of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

The prize of being the first to summit K2 in winter was taken from them. Feelings of disappointment turned to companionship and perseverance to etch their names into the stratosphere.

“The Last First: Winter K2” was the first screening of the Sundance Film Festival. The director, Amir Bar-Lev, described it as “an auspicious and accidental title” given it was the last first screening at the festival hosted in Park City. He also described it with hopes of being the most memorable of the festival. 

“The Last First: Winter K2” lived up to that expectation, leaving a good impression of what was to come from the festival’s final days in Park City. 

How winter K2 changed the mountaineering landscape forever

This is the fifth project from Bar-Lev that has premiered at Sundance. “The Last First: Winter K2” is a story about taking a risk beyond society and modernity and facing dangerous situations yet to be uncovered. It was emotional, complex and energetic, leaving a rush of adrenaline on the audience that could not be shaken. 

The film follows a race to become the first to summit K2 in winter from a small group of three climbers. It then grew to 50. “The Last First: Winter K2” exploits all sides of mountaineering from social media, business, competition and motivation against all odds. Mountaineering is something that, from the lens of the everyday person, would just be viewed as a hobby. But these climbers see it as their profession. Years spent on the mountains, climbing some of the world’s most renowned peaks, for some, ended here, on K2. It’s both empowering and heartbreaking to watch as the lives of these climbers, chasing peak after peak, are lost to the rubble.

From the beginning, the audience is invited into the story, becoming a part of the unraveling expedition that took a drastic turn. Bar-Lev described it as “a story with no easy endings,” leaving the audience in mystery. You can make a good mystery in fictional storytelling, but for documentaries and nonfiction, it becomes harder to master. “The Last First: Winter K2” is a great representation of exactly that. A mastery of mystery. It follows the underdogs as they progress through their expedition, and as the conditions worsen, it becomes a battle against time. 

Motivating audiences through thoughtful and raw storytelling

The filmmakers discussed how balancing their participation on this expedition became a matter of simply staying alive. They emphasized the importance of these stories being told and that it’s their job to do just that as storytellers. Watching from the seats of the Ray Theatre, it became clear the risk was not only taken by these experienced mountaineers, but by the storytellers who may not have made it out themselves.

Telling stories like this is the ethos of the Sundance Film Festival. It’s a story of the human experience and creates a connection with its audience that I haven’t seen in a long time while attending movie theaters. It shows that the sky is not the limit. In fact, it goes beyond that. 

“The Last First: Winter K2” was a great beginning and ending to a longstanding festival in the Beehive State. For more information and screening times for the film, you can visit the Sundance website here.