The Sherpas of Everest, Presenting the Kanneh-Masons

Summary

60 Minutes: "The Sherpas of Everest, Presenting the Kanneh-Masons"

Date: December 22, 2025
Host: CBS News
Correspondents: Leslie Stahl, Scott Pelley, others
Episode Overview:
This episode of 60 Minutes features two major stories: an immersive journey with Sherpa guides to Everest Base Camp, exploring the lives, challenges, and aspirations of these mountaineers; and an intimate profile of the Kanneh-Mason siblings, a family of musical prodigies redefining classical music for a new generation.

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The Sherpas of Everest

[Main Segment: 04:21–33:00]

Main Theme

A behind-the-scenes look at the unsung heroes of Mount Everest—the Sherpas—through a ten-day trek to Everest Base Camp with 19-year-old climbing phenom Nima Rinji Sherpa as guide. The episode examines the perilous work, lack of global recognition, commercialization of Everest, and how new generations of Sherpas are pushing for respect and opportunity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Everest & the Sherpa Way of Life

• Everest Base Camp Trek Experience: Leslie Stahl and crew trek 50 miles and ascend 8,261 feet to Base Camp, guided by Nima Rinji Sherpa, the youngest person to summit all 14 of the world's highest mountains ([04:21–05:45]).

• Sherpa Identity: Sherpa is not just a job but an ethnic identity; approximately 150,000 Sherpas live in Nepal ([08:18]).

  “They are the porters and guides who risk their lives to help others reach the summit with little recognition.”
  — Leslie Stahl [04:34]

  "If there is no Everest, we'll still be farming...the mountain has given us a meaning to life."
  — Nima Rinji Sherpa [08:09]

2. Legacy of Sherpa Mountaineers

• Tenzing Norgay Tribute: Recognition of Tenzing Norgay, who guided Sir Edmund Hillary during the first successful Everest summit in 1953, and his underappreciated place in history ([08:44–09:06]).

  “It was because of him who made the Sherpa a brand today.”
  — Nima Rinji Sherpa [09:06]

• Family Mountaineering Dynasty: Nima comes from a family of record-holders—a father who climbed Everest without oxygen and uncles who summited all 14 eight-thousanders ([09:20]).

3. Perilous Trek & Sherpa Resilience

• Physical and Mental Toll: The trek is punishing even with modern training, underscoring Sherpa resilience ([10:58–11:35]).

• Mental Preparation and Motivation:

  "The mountains will start to question you why you are here...you have to have an iron heart."
  — Nima Rinji Sherpa [12:17]

4. Challenges & Inequity

• Lack of Recognition & Sponsorship: Despite Nima’s record-breaking feats, Western climbers command more sponsorships and recognition ([12:57–13:19]).

  "Do you think the fact that you haven't received any of those endorsements has to do with where you're coming from?"
  — Leslie Stahl
  "Maybe yes, but I know my time is going to come. I don't want to rush it."
  — Nima Rinji Sherpa [13:13–13:19]

• Workload and Danger: One in three Everest deaths is a Sherpa. In 2023, 18 climbers died—many of whom were Sherpas ([21:13]).

  "Every step is do and die…dangerous. Sometimes it's nighttime work, sometimes it's avalanche."
  — Mingma Sherpa (Nima’s uncle) [09:59]

5. Innovation and Changing Everest

• Commercialization: Everest has become a multimillion-dollar industry, turning the once-heroic summit into a lucrative, sometimes luxury-driven, enterprise ([19:34]).

  “Everest is a booming multimillion dollar high altitude industry…Base Camp has become a tourist destination.”
  — Leslie Stahl [19:34]

• New Technology—Drones: Expedition companies like Seven Summit Treks are using drones to transport supplies and remove waste, aiming to improve safety ([28:52–29:16]).

  “The drones are now helping…the icefall doctors…helping to bring down all the trash…”
  — Nima Rinji Sherpa [29:02]

6. Risk, Death & Motivation

• Coping with Mortality:

  “It seems like death is inevitable in what you do.”
  — Leslie Stahl
  “I've seen many people passed away...but you believe that you're not gonna die. You use death almost as a motivator.”
  — Nima Rinji Sherpa [21:54–22:05]

• Rescue Missions: Pilots like Simone Moro risk dangerous flights for evacuations. Lack of preparedness among tourists makes rescues frequent and dangerous ([29:27–30:47]).

7. Sherpa Legacy and the Future

• Aspiring for Recognition: The new Sherpa generation wants independent recognition on the world stage ([32:04]).

• Enduring Hardship:

  “People like Simone, me, like my dad, my uncle… we come from zero... we created something for ourselves.”
  — Nima Rinji Sherpa [32:04]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Facing Fear:
  “Of course you are scared, but you have to balance it in a way that you can be confident… you have to calm yourself down and realize who you are.”
  — Nima Rinji Sherpa [07:44–07:59]

• On Inequity:
  “A Western climber dies, and…the community rallies…for the Nepali climbers, it's not recognized in the same sense.”
  — Leslie Stahl [15:49]

• On Commercialization:
  “Everest has been a blessing for Sherpas… for the country, the biggest revenue source... but it's the whole economy sustaining.”
  — Nima Rinji Sherpa [25:44–26:08]

• On Sherpa Legacy:
  “You don't usually talk to 19 year olds about their legacies.”
  — Leslie Stahl
  “Yeah, I don't know about legacy for now. Maybe one day then I will have my own legacy.”
  — Nima Rinji Sherpa [32:23–32:31]

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Key Timestamps

• Arrival and Introduction to Everest Trek: [04:21–05:45]
• Legacy of Tenzing Norgay: [08:40–09:06]
• Danger & Motivation: [11:35–12:43]
• Discussion of Sponsorship and Inequality: [12:57–13:19]
• Technology Innovations—Drones: [28:52–29:27]
• Deadliness and Risk: [21:13], [22:05], [29:27–30:47]

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Presenting the Kanneh-Masons

[Main Segment: 33:59–46:50]

Main Theme

A profile of the Kanneh-Mason siblings—seven remarkably talented classical musicians from Nottingham, England. The episode explores their upbringing, successes, family dynamic, and how they are making classical music younger, more diverse, and broadly accessible.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing the Kanneh-Mason Family

• Seven Virtuosos: All under 30, each a musical prodigy (Geneva, Aminata, Sheku, Brima, Aizahda, Konya, Mariatu) ([33:59]).

  "What is surely the most statistically improbable story in classical music history. Seven siblings, each a virtuoso..."
  — Scott Pelley [33:59]

• Global Impact: Performed at major venues and won top awards. Sheku notably played at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ([37:05–43:15]).

2. Their Upbringing

• Nurture Over Nature: Music was a supportive, organic part of family life, not something forced ([37:05–37:33]).

  “Our environment was so intensely musical and loving and supportive, it was kind of bound to happen...”
  — Aminata Mason [37:05]

• Family Routine: Practiced daily, attended the Royal Academy of Music as children, but pressure came from siblings more than parents ([39:48–41:19]).

• Sunday Concert Tradition: Weekly gatherings where siblings critiqued performances—helped build resilience ([40:32–41:03]).

3. Career and Public Perception

• Balancing Individual and Group Identity: As adults, they are finding their own styles and careers outside the family unit ([44:59–45:16]).

  “As soon as that comparison starts to become about the external things like, 'oh, you're doing this concert,' then everything can just crumble...”
  — Aminata Mason [46:08]

• Commitment to Classical Music: The family turned down commercialized reality TV and always insisted on serious repertoire ([42:08–42:19]).

4. Sibling Dynamic—Support and Competition

• Healthy Rivalry: Fiercely competitive in daily life, but in music, their support for one another is unwavering ([45:30–46:33]).

  "We draw the line at music because our instruments are such an integral part of ourselves, and it would be like deeply attacking the other person."
  — Aminata Mason [46:26]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Nature vs. Nurture:
  “I think that environment is so important…If there were a nature part, it would be having that base level of interest. You can't force a child to like something.”
  — Aminata Mason [37:05–37:33]

• On Sibling Pressure:
  “If mom and dad weren't typical stage parents, the pressure came instead from one another. As siblings, they can dispense with the niceties. They remain each other's toughest critics.”
  — Scott Pelley [41:03–41:19]

• On Identity and Collective Success:
  “How do you balance the collective with also trying to carve out an identity as individuals?”
  — Interviewer
  “I think it's something that probably gets easier as you get older… Also musically…I mean, we play different instruments, we're different ages, we play different repertoire.”
  — Kanneh-Mason sibling [44:59–45:16]

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Key Timestamps

• Introduction to the Kanneh-Mason Family: [33:59]
• Family upbringings and musical environment: [37:05–39:48]
• Sibling advice sessions and Sunday concerts: [40:32–41:03]
• Sheku's Royal Wedding moment: [43:15]
• Balancing group and individual growth: [44:59–45:30]
• Sibling rivalry and teamwork in music: [45:49–46:33]

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Episode in a Nutshell

• The trek with the Sherpas delivers a visceral sense of awe, danger, inequity, and hope on Everest—revealing the Sherpas’ vital, underappreciated role and the new aspirations of a rising generation.
• The profile of the Kanneh-Mason siblings highlights how nurturing, loving support and healthy rivalry can give rise to a phenomenon—showing how one family is reinvigorating classical music from the inside out.

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Memorable Moments

• Leslie Stahl, breathless and vulnerable, facing the physical and existential challenge of high-altitude trekking alongside Sherpa guides. [13:53, 24:49]
• A candid discussion about death as a motivator in mountaineering. [21:54–22:05]
• An impromptu sibling music lesson in the Kanneh-Mason home, showcasing both the nerves and affection fueling their growth. [40:32–41:03]
• Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s world-stopping cello performance, his quiet humility highlighting the depth of raw talent within the family. [43:16]

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For more, visit 60MinutesOvertime.com.

Transcript

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[Scott Pelley]

This is the setting that produced what is surely the most statistically improbable story in classical music history. Seven siblings, each a virtuoso by almost any definition. They have performed at the world's great concert halls, recorded chart topping albums, won prestigious awards. Meet the Connie Masons.

[Leslie Stahl]

I'm Leslie Stahl.

[Scott Pelley]

I'm Scott Pelley.

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[Leslie Stahl]

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I'm Bill Whitaker. Those stories and in our Last minute, an 18 letter milestone tonight on 60 Minutes.

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[Leslie Stahl]

Everest, Earth's highest mountain, needs no introduction. At 29,032ft, it sits not only at the top of the world, but at the top of countless bucket lists. 40,000 people trek to Everest Base Camp in Nepal every year. This past spring, we joined them, hiking for 10 days, sometimes on all fours, often barely breathing. And we could not have done it without the Sherpas. Indigenous to the Everest region, Sherpa is an ethnic group, a last name and a job description often cast as superhuman. They are the porters and guides who risk their lives to help others reach the summit with little recognition. Our guide, Nima Rinji Sherpa, is part of a new generation hoping to change that. High in the heart of the Himalayas sits Lukla, one of the most dangerous airports in the world.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

You see how short that is?

[Leslie Stahl]

It's incredible. It doesn't look very safe. Where the short, unforgiving Runway is carved into the edge of a cliff, there is no margin for error. Bravo.

[Bill Whitaker]

Bravo.

[Leslie Stahl]

Welcome.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Oh yes.

[Leslie Stahl]

It is the start of what will be a 10 day trek to Base Camp. At 17,598ft elevation, We meet our porters who strap 800 pounds of our camera gear to their backs and heads before setting off on the trail. I guess you're always training. Nima Rinji Sherpa, the youngest person to Summit the world's 14 highest mountains, has trekked up this mountain more times than he can count. A veteran who is just 19. Watch yourself. We begin our journey dodging animals at 9,337ft. Prayer wheels, believed to send blessings with every turn, mark the way out. Here, you learn the mountain etiquette quickly. When you hear the warning bells, you get out of the way fast. Hoarders, often overloaded with almost twice their body weight, rule the fast lane. All in. It will be a 50 mile trek and 8,261foot climb to Everest Base Camp. An ungraceful uphill grind. We've spent months training for it, studied the route, and yet nothing prepares you for this.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Just look down and hit it.

[Leslie Stahl]

I am not looking down. Don't talk.

[Aminata Mason]

Oh, God.

[Leslie Stahl]

Windy. I do not like this at all. Another suspension bridge dangles 45 stories above a roaring gorge below. You can't be scared of anything if you do what you do.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Of course you are scared, but you have to balance it in a way that you can be confident, you know, when you do things.

[Leslie Stahl]

What do you tell yourself when you get scared?

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

I'm just trying to calm myself down and just realize who I am.

[Leslie Stahl]

With every step, we move deeper into Sherpa country and closer to the shadow of Everest. Is there a spiritual connection to Mount Everest?

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

I think if there is no Everest, we'll still be farming, we'll still be looking after the yaks, the goats. And the mountain has given us like a meaning to life. I think.

[Leslie Stahl]

Yeah, Mount Everest has given the Sherpa people a meaning. Almost 150,000 Sherpas live in Nepal, less than 1% of the country's population. Renowned for their endurance, they thrive where oxygen is scarce. Among them, one name rises above all. Did you grow up learning about Tenzing Norgay?

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Yes, we had to learn about him.

[Scott Pelley]

Nepalese guide Tenzing Norgay.

[Leslie Stahl]

In 1953, Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa from Nepal, guided Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand on the first ever summit of Everest. It was among the most defining moments of the 20th century. And yet, while it cemented Hillary and history, Norgay's contribution was largely overlooked. What does he mean to the Sherpa people?

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

I think it was because of him who made the Sherpa a brand today. And for me, he was always a very big motivation just to understand that, okay, maybe we can also be someone like him.

[Leslie Stahl]

Today, Nima is chasing the recognition that once eluded his idol. It doesn't hurt that he comes from mountaineering royalty. His dad holds the record as the youngest person to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen. His uncles were the first brothers to conquer the world's 14 highest mountains. We are in good hands. As we arrive in Tenamche at 11,300ft. Here we meet Mima's uncle, Mingma Sherpa, a former yak farmer who started as a porter, earning a dollar a day carrying loads for foreigners. I come to Kathmandu, carry the lot by Porter. 30 kg, 70 kg. I show off the people. I'm strong. I carry like 90 kilograms, too. Almost 200 pounds. He climbed literally to the ranks of Sherpa guide, A top job reserved for the strongest and most skilled. Every step is do and die. Every step is maybe we are live or not live. You know, every step is that dangerous. It's dangerous. Sometimes it's nighttime work, sometimes it's avalanche. But our goal is Summit. In 2009, Nyingma and his brothers started their own company, Seven Summit Treks, responsible for nearly a third of all Everest expeditions. Now they want to prove that Sherpas are more than indispensable guides to western climbers. And they are banking on Nima to show that Sherpas can be climbing stars too.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

We're almost near campo now.

[Leslie Stahl]

At 16, while most teenagers his age were in a classroom, Nima was doing this. Climbing into what's known as the death zone. That's when the altitude is above 26,000ft and the body's organs begin to shut down minute by minute. For his first summit in 2022, Nima climbed and recorded on his way up Nepal's Mount Manaslu. So that first climb, how hard was it? Yes, don't say easy. It was hard.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

But every second I was excited because I never knew what was gonna. What I was gonna see after 10 meter. Of course, the main problem that I had was I had a lot of muscle cramps. And I think it's mostly because I was too young for my age to start. At that time, I was sleeping at night. I had some pain in my lungs, some pain on my heart. But for some reason, I don't know why, I kept wanting to go up. And I never felt like I was gonna not submit, Even in the face.

[Leslie Stahl]

Of avalanches and serious injuries. It took Nima just two years to succeed scale all of the world's 14 tallest mountains. The previous record holder did it in nine years. What does it take to do this?

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

So there has to be a lot of meaning. Why do you want to do it? And because many times the mountains will start to question you why you are here. The mountains question you because when you go to Everest, you can feel the energy that you are so small at that time, you have to have a really like an iron heart to know why you are here. You cannot say, I'm just here for fun. That's the worst thing that you can convince yourself.

[Leslie Stahl]

So why are you there?

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

I was on a mission to finish all the 14 and I knew I belong in this industry. So everyone has their own reason. And the reason has to be really big that you don't give up. So getting the crampons ready.

[Leslie Stahl]

Despite the achievement, big brands never offered endorsements the way they have for Western mountaineers who reach summits. Do you think the fact that you haven't received any of those endorsements has to do with where you're coming from?

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Maybe yes, because of that. But I know my time is going to come. I don't want to rush it.

[Leslie Stahl]

Sounds like the same deliberate, considered approach you take to those mountains. The one you've taught us walking up these. These mountains. Yes. Wow.

[Narrator/Commercial Announcer]

Steep.

[Leslie Stahl]

Holy smokes. By day five, it is a battle between our lungs and gravity. You feel it in your legs. You said push off the poles, right? You're not out of breath?

[Interviewer/Reporter]

I am.

[Leslie Stahl]

We are at 13,500ft elevation. Me at this point, our inner thoughts are no longer being held in. This is really hard. I need to. They can catch me on the camera. Taking a break. I don't care.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

This looks close, but there's another more.

[Leslie Stahl]

Stairs I have to emotionally prepare. Gets a lot harder.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Final way to force. Steep.

[Leslie Stahl]

Very steep. You're used to it. After eight hours of trekking, we arrive in Portse.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Thank you.

[Leslie Stahl]

The remote village where Nima trained to become a mountaineer. Hello. Namaste. We are welcomed with ceremonial scarves, a symbol of honor and respect. And greeted by Nima's mentor, Conrad Anker, one of America's top mountaineers who returns to this village each year. What a beautiful home you have. Wow, it's just breathtaking. Literally breathtaking. Warm up on this wall here. Anchor opened the Khumbu Climbing center in Portse in 2003 to provide Sherpas with specialized technical training to improve safety on high altitude expeditions. Smooth technique. Nima graduated top of his class. We would show up in fancy gear.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

And all the best stuff and we would see our staff there with worn.

[Leslie Stahl]

Out gear or not the proper gear, and then not having the technical knowledge. And for me it was eye opening. Is there an inequity between Western climbers and Nepalese climbers?

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Oh, yeah.

[Scott Pelley]

It's not just sponsors.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

It's the value of what they do.

[Leslie Stahl]

I mean, a Western climber dies and it's just the community rallies up and there's fundraising. And yet for the Nepali climbers, it's not recognized in that same sense. After a night in a tea house, we leave Portse behind. Our porters are already lined up the mountainside as we begin the push toward 14,500ft, taller than most mountains in the United States. We are just 10 miles now from Everest Base Camp, but we cannot go on without a stop. That has become tradition for Nima before he summits a 600-year-old Buddhist monastery. Where we receive a blessing meant to keep us safe. The monks tie a thin cord around our neck, a simple thread, to protect us on the mountain. We are ready for Everest. When we come back, the big business of Base Camp and the dangerous journey to the summit.

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[Leslie Stahl]

Bone. Once viewed as a near impossible feat in the most brutal conditions achieved only by the most daring climbing, Mount Everest has shifted from a symbol of ultimate adventure to to something mere mortals can accomplish. And take a summit selfie to prove it. Today, Everest is a booming multimillion dollar high altitude industry with guided climbs fetching six figure sums. Base Camp has become a tourist destination, as we learned when we made the trek in May. The commercialization has brought wealth and opportunity to the Sherpas of Nepal, but also pressure as they carry the weight of the climbing season. It is peak Everest season, that narrow window in May when the weather holds just long enough for climbers to make their move up to the top of the world. We have been walking for eight days. So pretty. And are now crossing a critical threshold when the body begins to falter. As we gain altitude, every breath delivers less oxygen. In extreme cases, when the brain swells and lungs fill with fluid, severe altitude sickness can be fatal. It's why we don't take the easy way up in a helicopter. The body needs the slowest sea to acclimatize. These are the memorials are right here. Uh.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Huh. For all the climbers who pass.

[Leslie Stahl]

Away. The hillside ahead is covered in memorials. This one is from 2014. Avalanche for those who never made it back from Everest summit. One in three deaths on Everest is a Sherpa. In 2023 alone, 18 people died. The most in one year. So high up, their bodies are almost impossible to recover. Our guide, Nima Rinji, Sherpa, the youngest climber to Summit the world's 14 highest mountains, knows this all too well. It seems like death is inevitable in what you.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Do. I've seen many people passed away and yeah, it's always there. But you believe that you're not gonna.

[Leslie Stahl]

Die. You use death almost as a.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Motivator. You have to be more careful when you're in the mountains because every time you go, you are so energized and you feel like nothing is going to happen to you. And then when you see someone pass away, then you feel like, okay, this is real. Final day of the trip.

[Leslie Stahl]

Trek. Yeah, we did really well so.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Far. I'm very emotional, about to cry.

[Leslie Stahl]

But don't say that okay. Today is the first time we'll be touching 5,000 meters. 16,404ft to be.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Exact. Which country you are.

[Narrator/Commercial Announcer]

From? From.

[Leslie Stahl]

Canada. Even up here in this glacial valley, you're a hero. Nima is a celebrity. This high up, besides the tourists, it's you, the yaks, and the altitude that crushes your chest. Took me about 12 days to get up this hill. We're mere hours from Base Camp. Gotten much colder.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Tonight. Maybe minus 15, minus 18, maybe. That's.

[Leslie Stahl]

Brutal. Our porters who carried all our gear up this mountain have already made it to Base Camp and are heading back down and onto their next job. Look at them. They're running down the mountain. I'm barely making it up, and.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

They'Re coming back down.

[Leslie Stahl]

Already. This is amazing. Thank you. This is the final approach. Really almost there.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Now. Oh, my.

[Leslie Stahl]

God. Less a trail than a passage to where the high Himalaya.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Begins. Just you can see Base.

[Leslie Stahl]

Camp. There it is. We did it. After 10 days of climbing, we catch our first glimpse of Everest Base Camp. It sits on top of constantly shifting and melting ice. Wow. Incredible. Oh, what is that? The rock is falling off the world's highest glacier, the Khumbu Glacier. Freezing nose feels like it's gonna fall off. This is where you try to not fall in the glacier lake. Every rock counts here. At 17,600ft above sea, sea level, Every breath delivers only half the oxygen. It's like breathing through a straw. We're so close, our lips are blue. A sign that we are not getting enough oxygen. It's like an Instagram photo.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Shoot. Yes, Famous.

[Leslie Stahl]

Stone. But we've made it. Welcome to Everest Base Camp. Huh? I was like, am I gonna make this? Do I need a helicopter? So nice to see you. Namaste. Thank.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

You. We're officially here.

[Leslie Stahl]

Now. Oh, my goodness. From a few dozen successful summits in the early 1980s to a near record almost 500 climbing permits issued this season. Everest has never been more commercialized. And climbers go to new extremes to stand out. Such as the British team, who this season summited Everest in less than a week by using xenon gas to boost oxygen levels in their blood. Has tourism changed Everest for better or.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Worse? For Nepal, of course. Everest has been a blessing for Sherpas, for the country, the biggest revenue.

[Leslie Stahl]

Source. It's a big part of your family's.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Livelihood. We have to understand that it's not only us who is getting business, but the taxi driver, the heli pilot, the lodges, the porters. The whole economy is Sustaining, you know. So you cannot just say that only we are profiting. So everyone is profiting from.

[Leslie Stahl]

This. Nima Sherpa, our.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Inspiration. Thank you.

[Leslie Stahl]

Guys. Commercial exposure expeditions have transformed Everest into high altitude luxury. Today, some climbers pay up to $180,000 for premium packages that come with private chefs, a movie theater, and espresso.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Machines. Come to Sona.

[Leslie Stahl]

Sona. For better or or worse, this is Everest now. And starting in 2013, Nima's father, Tashi Lakpa sherpa helped build it, turning an isolated mountainside into an economy. What was once a weeks long bone chilling. Wait at base camp for a summit window. That lull in the weather. When it's safe to attempt a move to the top can now feel like summer camp on a glacier. Small luxuries aside, two nights here test every ounce of resilience. Breathing, eating and sleeping are struggles. And the bathroom is a bed of rocks in a flapping tent. The wind is brutal, cold, piercing. And the terrain offers no shelter from the elements. Camp two. This is camp.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Two. 6,500.

[Leslie Stahl]

Meters. As always, it's the sherpas who shoulder the burden, Especially on expeditions that extend beyond ours and push up to higher camps and ultimately to the summit. A journey that can take weeks. A breeze. Through it, they navigate Everest's deadliest terrain, the Khumbu icefall, A maze of shifting towers of ice and bottomless crevasses. It's the elite sherpas called icefall doctors who go in first. They build the route with ladders lashed together over sheer drops. Every step is a gamble. Sherpas cross far more than any climber, risking everything for someone else's summit. To make it safer, innovation is taking flight for the first time. Expedition companies, including seven summit treks, are using drones to ferry loads in high altitudes. The drones are flying around as we speak right.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Now. The drones are now helping the ice fault doctors. They're helping to take the ladders, the ropes. And at the same time, the drones are helping to bring down all the trash and many.

[Leslie Stahl]

Things. The hope is that the new technology might reduce the number of fatal accidents. So these are jobs that sherpas would have done in the.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Past. The job is not gone away. It's just making the job easier and safer and.

[Leslie Stahl]

Faster. So if it takes a porter hours to climb from base camp to camp one, how quickly can a drone do.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

It? Three.

[Leslie Stahl]

Minutes? Three.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Minutes? Three and a half minutes?

[Leslie Stahl]

Yeah. Wow. Inexperience can be deadly, Especially at the top of the world's highest mountain. From Every summit in the death zone, where every minute counts. One stalled climber can trap dozens behind them for hours, turning Everest into the world's highest traffic jam. When the inevitable rescue is needed, it's Simone Moro who gets the call. The Italian has been flying helicopters for Nima's family and climbing this mountain for years. In April, he pulled off this dangerous rescue mission. So high up, there was barely enough air to keep the rotor blades.

[Simone Moro]

Spinning. You can't imagine how many people they come up. Some with not enough acclimatization, some other with not enough preparation. And they start to feel bad. And if I don't go and pick them and quickly took them down, they die for pulmonary edema, cerebell edema. And this happens quite often, even in the night while they are sleeping in the lodge. In the morning they go, they try to wake up, they are.

[Leslie Stahl]

Dead. Even for those who survive the night, another danger often.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Looms. This one is.

[Leslie Stahl]

Big. This avalanche stopped just short of our tents. One of many that followed a 5.5 magnitude earthquake. When we were on the mountain.

[Simone Moro]

For sure, this is an extra stress that you feel it because we felt the.

[Leslie Stahl]

Stress. I heard the avalanche all.

[Simone Moro]

Night. But honestly, the base camp, for such kind of danger, you have a higher danger here than not.

[Leslie Stahl]

Higher. I'm glad you're telling me this. On our final day as we're about to.

[Simone Moro]

Leave. It was intentional that we didn't told you anything. Plan of the.

[Leslie Stahl]

Day. When he's not flying around the mountain, Moro, one of the world's top climbers, is scaling them. And now he's taking Nima with him. Together they are training to conquer more peaks. This time without fixed ropes, supplemental oxygen or support teams. It is survival as.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Sport. It's snowing also very cold.

[Leslie Stahl]

Huh? There's a difference between you and me. What's different in.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Here? I think we are a little bit better in.

[Leslie Stahl]

Suffering. Maybe you've heard me.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Complaining. People like Simone, me like my dad, my uncle, like we know we come from zero, we're nobody in this world and we created something for.

[Leslie Stahl]

Ourselves. So, like this is your legacy, but the mountain is also your legacy. You know, usually you don't talk to 19 year olds about their.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Legacies. Yeah, I don't know about legacy for now. Maybe one day then I will have my own legacy. Maybe after 20, 30 years.

[Leslie Stahl]

Yeah. All right, we'll circle back in. 30 years in Kathmandu, though I'm not coming back all the way up.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Here. Say hello to the sound.

[Leslie Stahl]

Department. What it takes to film on Mount Everest. It really was an Olympic physical feat to pull off what these guys did. Go to 60minutesovertime.com. Meet the computer you can talk to with Copilot on Windows. Working, creating and collaborating is as easy as.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Talking. Got writer's.

[Leslie Stahl]

Block? Share your screen with Copilot Vision.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

To help spark inspiration and use Copilot.

[Leslie Stahl]

Voice to have a conversation and brainstorm.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Ideas. Or maybe you need some tech help with Copilot Vision. Copilot sees what you see. Let Copilot talk you through step.

[Leslie Stahl]

By step guidance so you can master new apps, games and skills.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Faster. Try [e-mail] copilot hablas.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Espanol? Spritz du.

[Narrator/Commercial Announcer]

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[Scott Pelley]

Apply Let us make the case that the most successful music conservatory is not in Paris, Vienna or Berlin, but rather in a house on a tree lined street in Nottingham, England. It might be an unpretentious structure, but it's there that seven extravagant talents were nourished on a variety of instruments before setting off to perform at the world's great concert halls, often as featured soloists with the world's great orchestras. Each of the seven is still under age 30, representing the young crossover stars that the ever graying classical music world so urgently needs. Oh, and one other thing. They're all siblings. Presenting the Connie Masons. It's rare these days to find all seven Connie Mason siblings under one roof, but when they are back in their childhood home in Nottingham, old habits return quickly. Amid the din, it's hard to keep thoughts together, much less keep tempo. Every room spoken for as the siblings practice Bach or Beethoven or Brahms, this is the setting that produced what is surely the most statistically improbable story in classical music history. Seven siblings, each a virtuoso by almost any definition. Roll Call Geneva, 23, Aminata, 20, Sheku, 26 Brima, 28 Aizahda, 29, Konya, 25 and Mariatu, 16. The Gretel von Trapp, as it were. The Connie Mason siblings have toured the world, recorded chart topping albums, won prestigious awards. They perform with each other in every combination. And as we saw at Carnegie hall last winter, the bond between the siblings expresses itself as a kind of musical banter. We notice when you play together, there really seems to be this unspoken connection, this telepathy. What is it like playing with a sibling versus accompaniment you're not related.

[Aminata Mason]

To? Well, because we're so close, I think there's like a speed at the way that we interact. And I think that kind of unspoken communication is just very quick because of how close we are, because we would listen to each other playing around the house, so we know each other's playing very.

[Scott Pelley]

Well. That dynamic helped the Kane Masons build a devoted fan.

[Leslie Stahl]

Base. Hi.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Uncle.

[Narrator/Commercial Announcer]

Wait.

[Scott Pelley]

Hello. A diverse young fan base in a genre desperate for a wider audience. The overarching question to this whole story is, how do seven siblings achieve this level of talent and.

[Aminata Mason]

Success? Well, I think that environment is so important, and because our environment was so intensely musical and loving and supportive, it was kind of bound to happen in one way or another, as in us feeling like we could achieve what we have achieved on our.

[Scott Pelley]

Instruments. I'm hearing a lot of nurture more than.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Nature. Yeah. I think that's what we all believe. I think if there were a nature part, it would be having that base level of interest. You can't force a child to like.

[Scott Pelley]

Something. There was never a grand plan here, say. The parents, Kati Kane, born in Sierra Leone, and Stuart Mason, born in London, had taken music classes in school, but that's it. When they started raising kids, music was just another entry in a packed schedule of after school.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Activities. They went to cricket down the.

[Aminata Mason]

Road. Do you.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Remember? Oh, gosh, yeah. Lots of fun. Yeah, I've.

[Leslie Stahl]

Forgotten.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Yes. Tennis.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Gymnastics. Gymnastics as well. So I think in the end, what you want to do is fuel your child's creative juices.

[Scott Pelley]

Really. It does not sound as though your children were conceived to have in mind to be musicians. It sounds like you've done.

[Aminata Mason]

That. No, it all happens accidentally.

[Scott Pelley]

Really. The eldest, Izata, started on piano when she was 6. She took to it, and as the Connie Mason clan grew, the younger siblings, as younger siblings do, imitated the bigger kids. A glorious chain reaction as to which instruments they chose. There was healthy competition, perhaps with a dash of Freud thrown in. Shaka was saying that he took up cello in part because you had the violin and he wanted to play a bigger.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Instrument. Yeah, I think. I think there could have been something about. I Think, and it helps. It's objectively a better instrument. So then you're gonna take that. I think the violin is more popular. There's more.

[Scott Pelley]

Repertoire. It became clear each also had talent, blazing, abundant talent, which Stewart, an executive in the travel industry, and Cottey, a former English professor, were determined to foster. It was intense. The kids attended local public schools, then practiced three and four hours a day. All seven were selected for the junior program at the renowned royal Academy of music in London. Two hours each way, every Saturday. Any extra income went directly to instruments and lessons. Cottey says that more than once, they nearly defaulted on their mortgage. Some people might hear the story and say, boy, I wonder what kind of pressure that must have been. There must have been a real hot house. Was it a.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Hothouse? No, it's not a hot house. I think it's a house of children who had a love of music. They did work.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Hard. It's an interesting balance, isn't it? Because they told us this is what they wanted to do. So then we had to be honest and say, well, if this is what you want to do, then you have to work hard. Because the reality is, if you want to be successful at anything, you have to go for.

[Scott Pelley]

It. But if they said, music's not for me, I want to be a champion darts player or florist, great. As the kids grew, the home grew into an informal music school. Every week, they'd all gather for what they called their Sunday concert. Each would play a piece while the others would give notes. Put us in the room. What are those.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Like? Well, the room was the hallway. Usually everyone would be sitting on the stairs, kind of looking down at the.

[Leslie Stahl]

Space. Gladiator.

[Aminata Mason]

Stadium. The unlucky.

[Leslie Stahl]

Performer.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Yeah. And then we take it in turns and.

[Aminata Mason]

Perform.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Yeah. And it's so scary because you finish performing and then everyone's like, who wants to go.

[Scott Pelley]

First? These were really critical. These were really helpful to your growth as.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Musicians. Yeah, because you have to get used to putting yourself under that pressure. Otherwise, you'll go on stage, and it's so easy to just crumble under the.

[Scott Pelley]

Nerves. If mom and dad weren't typical stage parents, the pressure came instead from one another. As siblings, they can dispense with the niceties. They remain each other's toughest critics, most demanding.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Coaches. I think pressure comes from knowing the standards in the music world, and I suppose that's not a negative pressure, but just a feeling of, this is.

[Scott Pelley]

What'S required of me in terms of career strategy. Cottey says the kids have always called the shots and it's never been about clicks, likes or.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Commerce. We're the caddy.

[Scott Pelley]

Masons. In 2015, they agreed to appear on Britain's Got Talent. Good exposure, But only if they can include real classical repertoire rather than a pop heavy set list. You surely could have milked this story and that the novelty of seven kids and shopped a reality.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Show.

[Scott Pelley]

Yes. How did you make these commercial decisions, what to pursue in the.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Novel? Because they did not want that. They wanted to be classical musicians and be really good at what they.

[Scott Pelley]

Did. They had their.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Convictions. Yes, yes, yes. Well, here is Sheku.

[Scott Pelley]

Kanemason. From there, the invites and accolades, you might say crescendoed. Sheku won a major British music award and caught the eye of a certain couple in search of a wedding entertainer. When he performed at the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle In 2018, the world heard him play. And suddenly Shaku was a bona fide star. The first cellist ever to crack the top 10 on the UK album charts. Here he is posing for British GQ. Ironic, because of all the Connie Masons Shaku presents as the quietest, perhaps the least comfortable, wearing the cloak of celebrity. But get a cello in his hand. Would you mind playing for.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Us? With.

[Scott Pelley]

Pleasure. And he transforms. And draws packed audiences. As we saw in London, the siblings came out the of to support. As they try to do whenever one of their own takes the stage. Shaku's performance quivers with intensity. Yes, that sweat glistening on this $3 million Venetian cello he has on.

[Aminata Mason]

Lo. That was.

[Scott Pelley]

Phenomenal. All seven still perform as a family from time to time. But Konya has pivoted, devoting herself to writing fiction. Aminata tried out acting school, but music tugged her back and she decided to return to conservatory. Brama branched out too, touring with the dance pop band Clean Bandit before returning to classical. The youngest, Mariatu, plans to go pro. As to the four current professionals, they're busy recording or touring. And in the spring, Sekou will take the stage as artist in residence at the New York Philharmonic. You've come into the public as this unit, as the Kanye Masons. How do you balance the collective with also trying to carve out an identity as.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Individuals? I think it's something that probably gets easier as you get older because you start to just get more confidence and more knowledge about what kind of things you want to be doing. And also musically, I think that gets easier. I mean, we play different instruments, we're different ages, we play different.

[Scott Pelley]

Repertoire. Though there are, well, some strings.

[Aminata Mason]

Attached. Out of all the sisters, we look the most similar. So a lot of the time people come up to me and be like, oh, you played so well last night at Carnegie. And I was like, that wasn't me. So we tried to do.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Like. Did it happen to you a few days ago, the first time this has ever happened? No. I saw you on TV this morning. I said, no, you didn't. I was.

[Scott Pelley]

Asleep. They confess they remain fiercely competitive when, say, apportioning dinner or playing board games. So we wondered about competition in their.

[Nima Rinji Sherpa]

Careers. You should be inspired by those around you. And if someone is doing something that you're not able to, I think you should feel that encouragement and inspiration to want to do that. But I think as soon as that comparison starts to become about the external things like, oh, you're doing this concert, then I think everything can just crumble very.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Quickly. I think, yeah. I think that kind of rivalry, if you feeling good about yourself as a musician, is based on, ahaha, you didn't get this concert and I did. I think that's a very weak.

[Scott Pelley]

Base. So you'll joke about who got the biggest piece of pizza, but you guys draw a line that's not going to contaminate our.

[Aminata Mason]

Music. We draw the line at music because our instruments are such, like, an integral part of ourselves, and it would be like deeply attacking the other.

[Scott Pelley]

Person. Yet another way the Connie Masons maintain harmony. An orchestra greater than the sum of its parts, this most remarkable of.

[Bill Whitaker]

Septets. There are some words that don't roll off the tongue. Semiquincentennial is one of them. But we'll get plenty of practice in 2026 with the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It's a chance to take stock. How well are we living up to our revolutionary ideals that all are created equal with unalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Starting in January, we'll set aside time at the end of this broadcast to hear from leaders in the arts, science and business. Expect familiar faces and some surprises. They have agreed to share their reflections on America, including how over the next 250 years we might continue working toward a more perfect union. I'm Bill Whitaker. We'll be back next week with another edition of 60 Minutes. Have a merry.

[Anderson Cooper]

Christmas. Meet.

[Narrator/Commercial Announcer]

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[Anderson Cooper]

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[Narrator/Commercial Announcer]

Big. I want to go back to school and get a pet and buy.

[Leslie Stahl]

A house and save for retirement and travel the.

[Anderson Cooper]

World. That's quite the.

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[Anderson Cooper]

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[Scott Pelley]

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[Anderson Cooper]

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[Leslie Stahl]

Ncua. Everything you've done has come to.

[Scott Pelley]

This. The biggest and wildest mission yet is now.

[Leslie Stahl]

Streaming. I need you to trust me one last time. Tom Cruise Mission Impossible the final reckoning rated VG13. Now streaming on.