Variety's review of "Everest: The Other Side" examines a new documentary from Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the Oscar-winning directors of "Free Solo," which follows ski mountaineer Jim Morrison and his late partner Hilaree Nelson's shared ambition to ski down Everest. The review argues the film raises but rarely explores difficult questions about why people pursue such perilous feats, instead leaning into spectacular, awed cinematography reminiscent of the directors' earlier work, even though the story is overshadowed by Nelson's death during the attempt.

The documentary reportedly shifts tone roughly halfway through when it reveals that Nelson died on 26 September 2022, caught in an avalanche while skiing with Morrison in Nepal and falling nearly 6,000 feet, a disclosure the reviewer criticises as being handled like a narrative "twist" rather than being stated upfront. Nelson, a mother of two teenage sons, is shown grappling candidly with the tension between family responsibility and her drive to climb, yet the film itself is described as less introspective than its subject, ultimately framing Morrison's eventual, first-ever ski descent of Everest's north face as a triumphant conclusion rather than interrogating its cost.