Aahana Swrup
The 2015 biographical adventure film ‘Everest’ chronicles the tale of the 1996 Everest expedition that witnesses an unforeseen tragedy and a surprising miracle. It revolves around two mountaineers, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, who are guiding their groups on the mountain climb up to the Mt. Everest Summit. The two rival guides end up joining forces, combining their groups for the ascent. However, an unexpected misfortune befalls their journey when a brewing storm threatens to undo each adventurer’s hard work and effort. In bringing Rob Hall’s final mountain voyage to the screen, the film ends up paying particular attention to the mountaineer’s marriage to his wife, Jan, who remains a source of comfort and support until the very end. Therefore, the woman’s life story following her husband’s tragic loss is bound to attract the audience’s intrigue.
Jan Arnold Gave Birth to Her Daughter After Bob Hall’s Passing
Rob Hall, a famed New Zealand mountaineer, spent his last moments atop Mount Everest on May 11, 1996. At the time, his wife, Jan Arnold, a fellow mountaineer and expedition doctor, was pregnant with their daughter in Christchurch, New Zealand. Given her own experience with climbing the legendary mountain, Jan understood the dangers of her husband’s expedition, which perhaps made it easier for her to accept Rob’s unfortunate fate. Before her husband’s death, while he was still up on the mountain near the Summit, she spoke to him on a satellite phone and said her goodbyes.
“(Also) I could picture exactly where he (Rob Hall) was, having climbed it (Everest) (myself), that little depression just below the south summit,” She recalled in 2015 in a conversation with Radio New Zealand. “I could imagine him there, and I could imagine him looking out over Nepal and thinking, gosh, he’s the highest person alive on the planet right now, and I’m talking to him from Christchurch from my house. It felt really quite extraordinary.” Two months after Rob’s death, Jan gave birth to their daughter, whom she named Sarah.
Jan Arnold Retained Her Love For Mountain Climbing
As a mountaineer herself—and one who had previously undertaken an Everest expedition herself—Jan Arnold understood the risks of her husband’s climb up the mammoth mountain. However, at the same time, she knew the significance of the dangerous trip due to her own passion for the sport. As a result, her love for mountaineering continued even after her husband’s passing. She remained engaged in the community, attending events like the 50th anniversary of the first ascent to Everest of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay and the 2003 jubilee procession of Everest summiteers.
Likewise, Jan also supported her daughter’s early interest in the activity after telling her all about her father and his adventures—including his final one. At the age of 6, Jan’s daughter saw Everest for the first time on a trip to Kathmandu, Nepal. A few years later, she took 10-year-old Sarah to the Everest base camp. Five years later, she and her daughter climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Sarah ended up deviating from the mountaineer route in her adulthood and became a High-Performance Coach instead. Naturally, Jan remained a pillar of support by her daughter’s side during her quest for her true passion.
Jan Arnold Remarried in 2002 and Had Another Daughter
Six years after Rob Hall’s death, widowed Jan Arnold found a blessed married life again with Andreas Niemann, a cabinet maker. The couple got married in 2002 and had a daughter together. Thus, the couple and their two daughters, Helena and Sarah, became a happy family, embarking on life’s adventures together. As per the last known reports, they made a home in New Zealand’s Nelson, a city in South Island. Meanwhile, Jan continued pursuing a career as a part-time general practitioner.
Furthermore, Jan was involved in the making of Baltasar Kormákur’s film, ‘Everest,’ which dramatizes her husband’s life and tells her story as well. Since the film’s release, she has spoken in support of the film’s accuracy level while also calling attention to the fact that it lacks a proper depiction of the stories of the sherpas, Ang Dorjee & Lopsang. Today, the mountaineer seems to prefer a private life away from the public eye. Her social media presence remains confined to non-public accounts, with little updates about her life. She continues to be an intrinsic part of her friends and family’s lives.
