Northside flies a RED Komodo cinelifter over the Matterhorn, and the footage is absolutely wild

Flying an FPV drone at 3,260 meters above sea level is one thing. Hauling 25 kilograms of cinema-grade drone gear up an icy alpine trail to get there is another thing entirely. Northside did both, strapping a RED Komodo worth over $10,000 to an 8-inch X8 cinelifter and sending it up the face of the world’s deadliest mountain.

The result? Some of the most jaw-dropping aerial footage of the Matterhorn you will ever see.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The flight: Northside flew two FPV drones from the Hörnli Hut (3,260m / 10,700 ft) over the Matterhorn for a Swiss commercial. A 5-inch quad carried a GoPro Hero 12, while an 8-inch X8 cinelifter carried a RED Komodo cinema camera.
• Why it matters: This is likely the first time a cinelifter with a cinema camera has ever flown the Matterhorn. Previous FPV flights used lighter setups like GoPros.
• The catch: Getting there required a brutal alpine hike with over 25 kg of gear per person, crampons for the final stretch, and 15-minute helicopter-free flight windows coordinated through Air Zermatt.

You can watch the full behind-the-scenes journey on YouTube, and the final cinematic results here.

Getting a $10,000 camera to the top of the Hörnli Ridge is the real story

The Hörnli Hut sits at 3,260 meters on the northeast ridge of the Matterhorn and is the traditional base camp for climbers attempting the summit. In early spring, the hut is closed, the trail is covered in snow, and there’s nobody else around. That’s exactly when Northside decided to make the trip.

The crew took the gondola from Zermatt up to Schwarzsee at 2,552 meters, then started hiking at 9:38 a.m. The morning snow was hard and the trail was sometimes clear at lower elevations. That didn’t last. As they climbed higher, the snow got deeper with every step, and their 25+ kg backpacks full of camera equipment, drone batteries, and spare parts made each meter feel heavier than the last.

At around 3,000 meters, the altitude started to bite. The snow was softening in the midday sun. Wet snow avalanches were visible on the Matterhorn’s east face. The last 200 meters to the hut are the steepest and most technical section of the entire hike, which is why they strapped on crampons for the final push.

Kevin, who served as spotter and assistant camera operator for the project, had to stop just short of the hut. One last stretch of exposed climbing was more than he was comfortable with. Since he could still maintain visual contact for spotting duties, they repacked all the gear into one backpack and the pilot tackled the final section solo.

Two drones, 15-minute windows, and permits from Air Zermatt

Northside brought two drones for this project. The first was a 5-inch FPV quad running a GoPro Hero 12 on Li-ion batteries. The second was the star of the show: an 8-inch X8 cinelifter carrying the RED Komodo, powered by 5,200 mAh LiPo batteries. At this altitude, both battery performance and motor efficiency take a hit from the thin air, making every flight a calculated risk.

The Matterhorn is not a place where you just launch a drone and hope for the best. Helicopters from Air Zermatt circle the mountain constantly, ferrying tourists and supporting rescue operations. Getting airspace clearance was mandatory. The team secured all necessary permits through Air Zermatt ahead of time, and before every single flight, they had to call in and get explicit permission to fly.

Kevin handled the logistics from his position below the hut, staying on the phone throughout. The flight windows were tight: 15 minutes with no helicopter traffic. That’s it. Fifteen minutes to get the shots for a professional Swiss commercial with a $10,000 camera on a drone at 3,260 meters.

The pilot did a test flight first to see how the drone handled the conditions. He didn’t go for the summit on that run. Just wanted to feel how the cinelifter responded in the thin air. Satisfied with the results, he went full send on the next window.

The cinelifter’s props exploded on the final landing

The flights went well. The footage came out incredible. But the last flight pushed the battery to its absolute limit. The pilot came in hot, needed to land as fast as possible, and the cinelifter’s props shattered on impact from the hard landing. That’s the reality of flying heavy cinema rigs at altitude. You don’t get gentle landings when your battery is screaming at you to get down.

With the shots in the bag and broken props in his pack, there was one more problem. They needed to get off the mountain before dark. The last gondola from Schwarzsee departed at 5:30 p.m.

They missed it.

So they walked. All the way down from the Hörnli Hut, past Schwarzsee, and continued on foot until they ran out of daylight. No gondola, no shortcut, just a long walk back to Zermatt with heavy packs and tired legs.

FPV pilots have flown the Matterhorn before, but not like this

The Matterhorn has attracted FPV pilots before. In 2022, New England-based pilot Joshua Turner flew an iFlight Chimera 7 up the Hörnli Ridge with a GoPro Hero 10, capturing 5K footage that later won a GoPro Award. Turner also launched from the Hörnli Hut and hiked up with crampons and an ice axe. His flight covered a mile of distance and 4,000 feet of vertical gain along the ridge.

But Turner was flying a 7-inch long-range quad with a GoPro. Light, fast, and relatively simple. What Northside did is a completely different category. An 8-inch X8 cinelifter carrying a RED Komodo is heavier, slower, more power-hungry, and exponentially more expensive if something goes wrong. The camera alone is worth more than most pilots’ entire setups. And the footage shows the difference. The dynamic range, color depth, and resolution from the RED Komodo are in a different league from what any action camera can produce.

Cinelifters have been gaining traction in Hollywood for years. Johnny FPV used a RED Komodo on an FPV cinelifter for the Netflix film Red Notice, and Michael Bay’s Ambulance featured cinelifter shots flown by 2019 DRL World Champion Alex Vanover. But those were controlled film sets at sea level with full production support teams. Flying a cinelifter in the Swiss Alps at 3,260 meters, with no crew backup, limited battery life, and helicopter traffic? That’s a different beast.

The permit process is worth paying attention to

One of the most valuable takeaways from Northside’s behind-the-scenes video is how they handled the regulatory side. Switzerland adopted EU drone regulations in January 2023, and the airspace around the Matterhorn is active with commercial helicopter operations. You don’t just show up and fly.

They got all permits through Air Zermatt in advance because the project was for a commercial shoot. Every flight required a phone call for real-time clearance. Kevin coordinated with Air Zermatt from below while the pilot focused on flying. This is what professional drone cinematography looks like in regulated European airspace. The pilot explicitly calls this out in the video: “Always get the permits.”

For FPV pilots who dream of flying iconic alpine locations, this is the template. Do the paperwork. Coordinate with local air traffic. Have a spotter. Don’t wing it.

DroneXL’s Take

I’ve covered dozens of impressive FPV flights over the years, from Jay Christensen’s Maldives work to Joshua Turner’s Matterhorn GoPro run. What Northside pulled off here is something else. This isn’t just a talented pilot ripping a 5-inch quad up a mountain. This is a full cinema production hauled up an icy ridge on someone’s back, launched from the base camp of the world’s deadliest mountain, and flown in 15-minute windows between helicopter traffic.

The behind-the-scenes video is honestly just as compelling as the final footage. Watching them slog through deep snow with 25 kg of gear, strap on crampons, coordinate by phone with Air Zermatt, and then blow up props on a hard landing because they pushed the batteries too far? That’s the reality of high-end drone cinematography that nobody talks about. It’s not glamorous. It’s exhausting, stressful, and one bad decision from disaster.

The fact that they missed the last gondola and had to walk back in fading light is the kind of detail that makes you respect the commitment. Most people would plan the timeline more conservatively. But when you have a 15-minute window to fly a RED Komodo on the Matterhorn, you take every second you can get.

I think we’re going to see more of this. As cinelifter technology improves and cinema cameras get lighter, the gap between what Hollywood shoots on controlled sets and what independent pilots can achieve in the wild is shrinking fast. Three years ago, flying a RED Komodo on a mountain was something only a well-funded production house would attempt. Now independent crews are doing it with two people, a phone for air traffic coordination, and a pair of crampons.

If you’re into mountaineering, FPV flying, or cinematography, watch both videos. The journey to the launch site and the final RED Komodo footage are both worth your time.

What do you think of Northside’s Matterhorn flight? Have you ever flown an FPV drone at extreme altitude? Share your experiences in the comments below.

Editorial Note: AI tools were used to assist with research and archive retrieval for this article. All reporting, analysis, and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo.