The documentary, entitled "Everest: The Death Zone," was about ... During the post-monsoon season following the disaster of 1996, foul weather had prevented any expeditions from going above ...

His rescue efforts in the 1996 Everest disaster (which informed the 2008 Frontline documentary Storm Over Everest) highlighted his contributions to climbing. In all, he summited Everest five times.

Breashears and his team were filming the Everest documentary when the May 10, 1996, blizzard struck the mountain, killing eight climbers. He and his team stopped filming to help the climbers.