Footage from drone flown 400 metres over Mount Everest blows everyone's minds

A team of climbers and photographers launch a DJI Mavic 3 drone from the summit of Mount Everest and capture jaw-dropping vision

DJI Mavic 3 drone being launched from the summit of Mount Everest
(Image credit: DJI and 8KRAW)

Stunning drone footage from the very roof of the world has been captured by a Chinese team of photographers and mountaineers using a DJI Mavic 3 drone, which was launched from the top of Mount Everest and flown up to an altitude of 9232.88 metres.

The mind-blowing vision was filmed by Chinese vision company 8KRAW using a DJI Mavic 3, a high-performance drone known for its capabilities in extremely technical and challenging conditions such as those encountered at high altitudes, and a 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad camera.

The release of the film, simply titled Flying over Everest and jointly produced by DJI and 8KRAW, is the culmination of several years’ work on the world’s mightiest mountain. Check out the footage here:

The team reached the summit of Everest on 27 May and the video, which was released this week, shows mountaineers approaching the highest point on planet Earth in fantastic conditions, before the pilot sends the DJI Mavic 3 soaring right over the 8,848.86-metre peak until it reaches an altitude of more than 9km above sea-level. Viewers are then treated to a panoramic tour of the surrounding Himalayan mountain range set against the backdrop of a bright blue sky.

DJI Mavic 3 drone captures footage from above Mount Everest

(Image credit: DJI and 8KRAW)

On Instagram, top British mountaineer Kenton Cool (who has summited Everest 16 times) described the video as: ‘The best footage I’ve ever seen of Everest and surrounding area….simply unreal!!!’

DJI Mavic 3 drone captures footage from above Mount Everest

(Image credit: DJI and 8KRAW)

The lightweight build and folding design of the DJI Mavic 3 made it the best drone to be taken up onto the roof of the world, and the quality of the material captured on the professional-grade 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad camera makes this video totally unprecedented.

DJI Mavic 3 drone captures footage from above Mount Everest

(Image credit: DJI and 8KRAW)

“8KRAW continues to pursue the ultimate image,” company founder Wang Yuanzong told drone news channel sUAS, explaining that the company had begun shooting on Mount Everest in 2019. “As early as three years ago, we began to try aerial photography of Mount Everest. It was the team’s long-cherished wish to fly a drone at the top and complete the leap shooting. The light and reliable Mavic 3 with the ultimate image and the warm weather conditions on the summit day finally came true, and I am very grateful to Mount Everest for accepting us and allowing us to see it from a new perspective.”

Pat Kinsella
Freelance outdoor writer

Author of Caving, Canyoning, Coasteering…, a recently released book about all kinds of outdoor adventures around Britain, Pat Kinsella has been writing about outdoor pursuits and adventure sports for two decades. In pursuit of stories he’s canoed Canada’s Yukon River, climbed Mont Blanc and Kilimanjaro, skied and mountain biked across the Norwegian Alps, run ultras across the roof of Mauritius and through the hills of the Himalayas, and set short-lived speed records for trail-running Australia’s highest peaks and New Zealand’s nine Great Walks. A former editor of several Australian magazines he’s a longtime contributor to publications including Sidetracked, Outdoor, National Geographic Traveller, Trail Running, The Great Outdoors, Outdoor Fitness and Adventure Travel, and a regular writer for Lonely Planet (for whom he compiled, edited and co-wrote the Atlas of Adventure, a guide to outdoor pursuits around the globe). He’s authored guides to exploring the coastline and countryside of Devon and Dorset, and recently wrote a book about pub walks. Follow Pat's adventures on Strava and instagram.