Combining his interests and skills in climbing, filmmaking, and photography, he directed, starred in, and produced the acclaimed IMAX film Everest (1998), and contributed still photos to the best selling book Everest: Mountain Without Mercy (1977). He also directed and produced the Nova television program, Everest (1998), in which he and fellow mountaineer Ed Viesturs climbed Everest while undergoing physical and mental tests to record the effects of altitude on humans. Additionally, Breashears directed the IMAX film Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa (2000) for the National Geographic Society, which documented the climbing of the world's largest freestanding mountain in Tanzania by an expedition of seven climbers.