For Kicok, Everest was never a solo journey

At nearly 8,000m above sea level, Mohd Khafiz Bachok suddenly found himself worrying less about his own condition than that of the Sherpa beside him.

They were resting at Camp Four on Mount Everest, deep in the so-called “death zone”, when Saila Mingma, 26, told him his body had gone numb.

Khafiz, 47, urged him to put his oxygen mask back on before they both closed their eyes and tried to rest. “During a climb, he cannot climb alone, and I cannot climb alone either, so we really depend on each other,” he told Bernama.

That moment of concern has become one of the most telling scenes in “Tekad: Ekspedisi Guthrie Everest 2026”, a documentary about Khafiz’s successful ascent of Mount Everest on May 18.

More popularly known as Kicok, he became the 27th Malaysian to reach the summit, while for Saila it marked a sixth successful ascent.

But director Ahmad Yazid, 42, was less interested in simply recording another summit achievement than in showing the relationship that made it possible.

He said one scene, in which Saila helps pull up and zip Kicok’s hood during the climb, says as much as the later moment when Kicok checks on Saila at Camp Four.

“Many documentaries focus on the pride of the climb itself, and we know that reaching the summit is indeed something to be proud of,” Ahmad said.

“But we know less about the relationship between a climber and his Sherpa in making that climb a success.”

Ahmad, who has directed acclaimed documentaries including “Al-Maunah: The Malaysian Arms Heist” (2009) and “The Murder of Canny Ong” (2010), as well as produced content for Discovery Channel and National Geographic, said the two men shared far more than a route up the mountain.

“They smiled together, they laughed together, they got sick together, and success depended on the two-way relationship between the two individuals making the climb.”

That trust extended to the filming itself. Kicok had previously recorded footage while climbing K2 in Pakistan and Mount Manaslu in Nepal, giving the production team enough confidence to place cameras in his hands again on Everest.

Before the climb, Ahmad and director of photography Marwan Murshid briefed Kicok and Saila on the footage they hoped to capture. Once the ascent began, however, the filmmakers had no live video feed and could only communicate by radio.

“I could only put my faith in him. Whether he pressed record or not, I wouldn’t know,” Ahmad added.

The production team prepared action cameras, a 360-degree camera, extra batteries and memory cards – but high-altitude conditions remained unpredictable.

Case in point: at around 5,400m near Crampon Point, Ahmad said temperatures suddenly dropped to about -30°C while the crew was filming. They could only soldier on.

The 50-minute documentary also follows Chew Wei Ngor, better known as Margaret, 56, who reached Camp Four but had to abandon her attempt to summit because of congestion along the route.

For Kicok, the documentary captures something that summit photographs alone cannot show: the constant need to watch over the person climbing beside you.

Produced by Rack Focus Films and Red Communications and supported by the Finas Content Fund, “Tekad” was aired recently in conjunction with National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations.

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