Sarah Arnold learned about her father after watching Everest

The film Everest, shows how eight mountaineers lost their lives on Everest in the year 1996. The tragic death of Rob Hall while trying to save the life of fellow mountaineers was extremely hurtful. His wife, Jan Arnold, was pregnant with a daughter at the time of his painful death, but due to technology, he was able to talk to her before his death, and told her that he wanted to name his daughter Sarah. While most of us who have watched the movie know about what actually happened to Rob Hall, his daughter, Sarah Arnood-Hall, learned about the harsh truth only after watching the movie Everest. In an exclusive interview with sheknows.com, Sarah has talked about the father she never knew.

Alike her father, Sarah had had some surprising and brave experiences, like trekking to Everest Base Camp when she was just 10. “Over the years, the experience has become more and more special to me and I have formed an emotional connection to the mountain and to Nepal. It was a moving experience as I met the Sherpas and other climbers who knew Rob. It dawned on me that people saw my father as someone who was respected and loved both in the Himalayas and back at home in New Zealand. I would definitely like to go back to Nepal and base camp, to see Everest as an adult, possibly to rebuild my father Rob’s memorial, which is likely to have fallen during the devastating April 2015 Nepal earthquakes,” said Arnold-Hall.

Despite of the risks, hundreds of people head towards Everest with a dream of reaching the top. On being asked what might be the reason behind it, Sarah answered : “I think that as the tallest peak in the world, it presents a challenge that draws people like no other mountain. I imagine that standing on top of the world and realizing that you got there with your own two feet must be unbelievable. I think that for some people, the risks actually add to why they want to climb it rather than detract from it — if there were no risk, it wouldn’t be the prized challenge that it is.”

Watching Everest movie has made her more proud of her father. “As I grew up, I had been told most of what the movie depicts, but seeing it reenacted in front of me reinforced the impressions that I had from my childhood — that Rob was a gentle person, a leader. It hasn’t altered who I perceived him to be, but through [this] portrayal, it expresses what other people thought of him, and it’s special to me to hear that people thought he was a generous, kind person. I am proud to be his daughter,” she said.

She hopes that Everest movie will inspire people to pursue their dreams. “Many of the people in the film were not professional climbers, but instead experienced, passionate yet still amateur climbers, who through the guided expeditions had the opportunity to climb Everest. I hope that it shows that with enough experience, a regular person can attempt something as challenging as Everest. I also hope that it gives some insight into why people want to go to Everest — the people, the culture, the beautiful country of Nepal.”

Her mother always tell her that her nature is like Rob’s, in her approach to life and people. Sarah feels that the drive and passion to achieve her goals that she has, are qualities she has inherited from her father. But, she considers herself different from her father in the sense that his whole life was immersed in mountain life from a young age, whereas she has multiple interests that are changing and developing with time. Her whole life is not directed to the passion of mountaineering unlike her father.

Read the full story here