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Mount Everest.

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Remote...

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treacherous,

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and with barely enough oxygen
to survive.

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A century ago, no-one had reached
the summit.

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NEWSREEL: 'This is what they came
to see.

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'This is what they came to find.'

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The highest mountain in the world.
It was there to be explored
and hopefully there for the taking.

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In this programme,
Mount Everest summiteers

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reveal how the mountain was
conquered.

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In 100 years, we discovered where
it was, how high it was,

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what the climate was for clothing,

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the oxygen, everything.

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From staying alive
in the death zone...

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Dan should definitely be dead!

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..to beating some of the world's
worst weather...

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..brave pathfinders risked
everything.

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George Mallory's body was lying
spread-eagled in the screed.

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Now, hundreds of people stand on the
summit every year.

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OK. I'm gonna have to be quick

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cos it's actually quite chilly!

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I'm standing on Everest, by the way!

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From tragedy to triumph.

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And from base camp
to the top of the world!

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This is Mount Everest, then and now.

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The Himalayas stretch 1,500 miles
through northern Asia.

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This cold, white world

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is home to the planet's tallest
peaks.

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Here, one mountain is king -

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Mount Everest.

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When you get out there,

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you don't realise just how enormous
the thing is.

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Everest is a monster!

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At 8,848 metres,

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it stands 5.5 miles above the sea.

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It's a hulking mass, it really is.

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Head and shoulders above every
mountain around it.

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And now, thousands of people have
managed to achieve their dream

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of climbing to the summit.

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But in the early 20th century,

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Mount Everest was an alien world,

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completely unexplored.

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Until British mountaineers stepped
bravely into the unknown.

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When I was 12, I met my cousin
we called Uncle Hunch

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and he told me about this huge
mountain.

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This was Howard Somervell,
a remarkable man.

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He was a double first at Cambridge.

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He was a surgeon, a musician,
a painter.

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Uncle Hunch was also a climber.

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In 1924, aged 34,

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he joined one of the first British
expeditions to Mount Everest.

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So they really didn't know where
the mountain was.

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It was somewhere on the border
between Nepal and Tibet.

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In fact, the summit of Mount Everest
sits exactly on the border

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between the two countries.

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The mountain has two main routes
to the summit.

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Along the south-east ridge
from Nepal...

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..and the north ridge from Tibet.

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In 1924, Uncle Hunch and the British
expedition

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trekked 200 miles through Tibet

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and approached Mount Everest

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from the north.

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They had hoped for
an easy snow slope.

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Instead, they saw a giant
three-sided pyramid,

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a rock and ice monster.

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Uncle Hunch and the rest
of the climbers

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were used to European mountains

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half the height of Everest.

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For those first climbers,
Everest was a new world.

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They were in a very exotic
and unhealthy country.

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Half of them were suffering from
dysentery.

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They got frostbite.

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It was a very, very tough mountain
to crack

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for those pioneers.

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After weeks of climbing,

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Uncle Hunch entered Mount Everest's
"death zone".

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It's an area of the mountain
higher than 8,000 metres.

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They call it the death zone because
people die

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simply because they are too high.

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Because there's not enough oxygen
to sustain life.

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When you get to Everest base camp,
there's only about half the oxygen
available

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that there is at sea level.

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At the summit, there's only
a third of the oxygen levels

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that there are at sea level.

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And those levels, we know,

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are absolutely at the limits
of what human beings can tolerate.

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One of the reasons that we went to
Everest

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was to explore what that level was.

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In 2007,

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Professor Mike Grocott wanted
to know the effect

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of the lack of oxygen on the body.

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So Mount Everest became his
laboratory.

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Mike's team measured oxygen levels
at various heights.

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Here, at 6,400 metres,
three-quarters of the way up.

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So we've just analysed Dan's
arterial gas sample

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and it's just astonishingly low.

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You should be worried!

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LAUGHTER

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Still alive!

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But the ultimate aim was for the
team to take blood samples

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in the death zone.

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At an altitude of 8,382 metres

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and with their oxygen masks removed,

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the climbers were breathing some of
the thinnest air in the world.

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And there in a small shelter,
four of us,

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took arterial blood gas samples.

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The colour is blue. It's very dark.

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Arterial blood, coming from the
heart, is usually bright red.

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The uncharacteristic colour
could only mean one thing -

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severe oxygen depletion.

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Whoa!

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CO2, 3.50.

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Dan should definitely be dead!

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The measurements we made of oxygen
in arterial blood

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were really extraordinary.

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There's no accounts of people with
that sort of level

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of oxygen in the blood who aren't
unconscious or immediately after
cardiac arrest.

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The death zone's atmosphere
is so dangerously thin,

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now most climbers carry extra oxygen
to help them survive.

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We are there as visitors for a very
short period of time.

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Most of us can't really go there
without some form of supplementary
oxygen.

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But back in the 1920s,

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many mountaineers dismissed the need
to carry extra oxygen.

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It was almost seen as "not cricket".

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You know, it's slightly cheating,

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almost a drug-assisted ascent.

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In 1924,

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Howard Somervell had climbed to
8,570 metres.

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He dreamed of being the first man to
summit Everest.

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But he had to make it up the
treacherous North Ridge

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in the freezing wind.

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The technical area on the north side

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is when you've got the first step,
second step and the third step.

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You're in a high-altitude
environment

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on tricky, technical terrain.

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So it's not to be underestimated.

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300 metres from the summit,

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Somervell was forced to turn back.

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When coming down, his larynx became
frostbitten.

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And the mucous membrane sloughed
off,

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blocked his airway and he sat down
to die.

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And he told me how he sat down

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and did a Heimlich manoeuvre.

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Squeezed his chest, and coughed up
this frozen mucous membrane.

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Uncle Hunch was able to breathe the
icy air

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and staggered on down the mountain
to the North Col.

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There, he met his friend,
George Mallory.

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George Mallory was a passionate
mountaineer

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who had tried to summit Everest
twice before.

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Now, on this expedition,

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he was determined to succeed.

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His name will forever be connected
with Everest.

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A very strong temperament,

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a very driven individual.

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Mallory came up with his rucksack
full of oxygen cylinders,

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ready to have an attempt
with the "magic gas", oxygen.

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After Somervell's failed attempt
to summit,

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Mallory saw an opportunity
to make history.

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Mallory said to him, "Somervell,
I've forgotten my camera.

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"Can I borrow yours?"

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And Howard Somervell unwisely,
he told me,

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lent George Mallory his camera

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and watched him as he headed
up the mountain.

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And that was the last he ever saw
of him.

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Mallory and his climbing partner,
Sandy Irvine,

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were last seen just 250 metres
from the summit...

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..before the peak was shrouded
in thick cloud.

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So, George Mallory, Sandy Irvine,
did they summit?

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Ah, who knows?

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Howard Somervell had given Graham

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a tantalising opportunity.

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To solve the greatest mystery of the
world's greatest mountain.

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He said to me, aged 12, "If you
could go and find that camera,

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"you could prove whether my friends
climbed it or not."

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Was there a picture on that camera

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of George Mallory standing on the
summit,

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waving his ice axe?

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Who knows?

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Next...

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George Mallory's body was lying
spread-eagled in the screed.

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Was Mallory the first person
to reach the summit?

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And climbing Everest from the south.
Then...

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'A nightmare of spikes and chasms,

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'a wrinkled and ravaged face.'

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..and now.

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50 million years ago,

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Mount Everest was born.

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The Indian sub-continent collided
with Eurasia,

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forcing land upwards and creating
the Himalayas.

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For millennia, the summit of Mount
Everest was uncharted territory.

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But in March 1924,

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George Mallory and Sandy Irvine

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embarked on a historic mission,

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to be the first people to summit
the mountain.

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Mallory was carrying a camera given
to him by Graham Hoyland's cousin,

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Howard Somervell.

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I became really obsessed

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by trying to find this camera,

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get the picture developed

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and prove that Mallory had actually
climbed the mountain first.

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Graham began by retracing
Mallory's steps.

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So, here's the border between Tibet
and Nepal.

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Here's Mount Everest,
the actual summit.

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And Mallory would have come from
their base camp up here,

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from the north, through Tibet

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around up to here to the North Col.

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Up the ridge. And certainly got to
this point.

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Just a few hundred yards, really,

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from the summit.

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To this day, the outcome of Mallory
and Irvine's push

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to the summit is still disputed.

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I think quite strongly,
if I had to put money on it,

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00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:20,640
that Mallory made it to the summit.

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I just can't imagine him turning
round short of the summit,

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even in the worst weather,

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if there was any chance in his mind
that he thought he could get there.

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Like Mallory decades earlier,

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in 1993, Graham climbed into
Mount Everest's death zone.

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I'm a very average climber

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and as I chocked up those last few
steps up to the summit,

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I thought, you know, if I can do
this,

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surely George Mallory climbed
Mount Everest.

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Graham became the 15th Brit to reach
Everest's peak.

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And at that point, I thought he must
have done it

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and I set out wanting to prove that
he'd done it.

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When Graham returned to Everest
in 1999,

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there was a startling discovery.

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George Mallory's body was lying
spread-eagled in the screed.

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It had been attacked, unfortunately,
by birds.

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But in his pockets were a bunch of
strange things,

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like nail scissors and a bill
from his tailor!

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But the one thing there wasn't

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was a camera.

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And so I started putting together
what we knew.

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And there was one crucial clue
that came up later

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which was the weather.

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Mallory and Irvine were last sighted

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just 250 metres from the summit

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before they disappeared
into a cloud.

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Howard Somervell had taken readings
down at base camp

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of the air pressure.

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And these were eventually unearthed

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at the Royal Geographic Society.

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Somervell's record of the weather
was, "Fine still morning.

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00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,520
"Clouds began to advance up valley.

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00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:11,120
"Clouds behind and on Everest
from 11 o'clock onwards."

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We realised that George Mallory and
Sandy Irvine

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00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:18,560
had been climbing up
into a perfect storm.

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When I put the clues together,

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the low pressure, the perfect storm,

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the limited oxygen,
the poor clothing

252
00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,640
and the lateness of the day,

253
00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:33,080
I realised that Mallory probably
hadn't climbed to the summit.

254
00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:37,400
But it doesn't take anything away
from their immense achievement.

255
00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,120
This is the way humanity learns
things,

256
00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:42,760
by pioneers risking their lives.

257
00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:50,640
For decades, every attempt to reach
the peak failed.

258
00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,240
Mount Everest seemed taller
than ever.

259
00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,320
NEWSREEL: 'St Paul's is 365 feet
high.

260
00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:00,560
One-fourteenth part of a mile.

261
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:05,040
'The highest mountain in
the British Isles is Ben Nevis.

262
00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:08,080
'The highest mountain in Europe
is Mont Blanc.

263
00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:17,200
'The highest mountain in the world
is five and a half miles high.'

264
00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:26,240
After the Second World War,

265
00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:28,840
Nepal opened its borders to
foreigners.

266
00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,400
The 1950s offered an opportunity

267
00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,640
to plot an entirely new route
to the summit

268
00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:37,240
from the south.

269
00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,200
The scale of Everest is so huge,

270
00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:44,680
it's easier to think of it
in three sections.

271
00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:48,600
The first section starts
at base camp,

272
00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:50,840
rises up the Khumbu Glacier

273
00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:52,520
and into the Western Cwm.

274
00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:57,600
The second section rises sharply up
the Lhotse face

275
00:15:57,600 --> 00:15:59,320
and ends on the South Col.

276
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:02,200
Then the third section.

277
00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,000
From the South Col,
up the Knife Ridge

278
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:06,560
and onto the summit.

279
00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:11,400
In 1953,

280
00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:14,480
the most famous expedition
in mountaineering history

281
00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:16,640
started its trek from the south

282
00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:18,120
through Nepal.

283
00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,760
The team included a Kiwi called
Edmund Hillary

284
00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:24,600
and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa.

285
00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:27,520
After weeks in the foothills,

286
00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,800
the British-led expedition team

287
00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,880
laid eyes on the mountain
for the first time.

288
00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:36,160
NEWSREEL: 'So this is it.

289
00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,800
'This is what they came to see.

290
00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:42,920
'This is what they came to climb.'

291
00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,600
That spring, they established
a base camp.

292
00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,840
Now, every year in the same spot,

293
00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:55,240
base camp is home to dozens of tents
from across the globe.

294
00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,560
Here, climbers prepare for
the ultimate adventure.

295
00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:04,920
The first challenge

296
00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:07,640
is one of the most treacherous
stretches of the mountain.

297
00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:10,440
The Khumbu Icefall.

298
00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,360
'This advance party must advance
through a frozen but burning forest.

299
00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:20,400
'A forest as haunted by danger
as any jungle in the world.

300
00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:23,600
'A nightmare of spikes and chasms,

301
00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:26,080
'a wrinkled and ravaged face,

302
00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:28,840
'but a face that is always changing

303
00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:32,600
'for the ice is always on the move.

304
00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:36,560
'Cracking, rumbling, roaring.'

305
00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:42,360
The Icefall is basically
a 2,000-foot cliff

306
00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:45,160
with a glacier falling over it.

307
00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:50,800
There's giant ice chunks the size of
a tower block, constantly moving.

308
00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,080
It's a really frightening place.

309
00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,520
You climb up through these moving
blocks,

310
00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:00,080
up the ladders tied together across
huge crevasses.

311
00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:03,160
'The ice has got to be made as safe
as possible,

312
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:07,320
'though "safe" up here remains
a comparative word.'

313
00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:19,440
One year, an avalanche came down and
nearly killed me and Brian Blessed.

314
00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:23,400
The Khumbu Icefall is very technical

315
00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:25,720
and it changes
almost on a daily basis.

316
00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:29,120
And you need to really have an
awareness of your surroundings

317
00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:32,280
to be able to negotiate that safely.

318
00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:33,760
So we're crossing a ladder

319
00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:35,680
and I'm panting in the background!

320
00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:37,800
Ooh.

321
00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:40,120
It's not about moving quickly.

322
00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:42,480
Do you want me to pull the ropes
for you?

323
00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:45,200
OK.

324
00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:51,200
It's about moving safely through
an ever-changing environment.

325
00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,560
Do you think so? You think
I'm gonna enjoy it, do you?

326
00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:57,920
Going over the chasm of death!

327
00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:02,440
As well as negotiating ladders
over deep crevasses,

328
00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:06,400
climbers have to gently ease their
way over snow bridges.

329
00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,720
It's difficult to know, with some of
these snow bridges,

330
00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,440
which is the strong part...

331
00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:16,920
..and where to stand.

332
00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:18,720
And where to stop

333
00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:20,720
and you might not just stop.

334
00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:23,240
Now, that's a classic,

335
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,760
where you can see, you know,
where you put your left foot,

336
00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:29,520
eventually, that might get
compromised.

337
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,960
So, uh... Yeah.

338
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,160
Ooh. Lots of slack rope.

339
00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:37,960
Whoops!

340
00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:43,800
In 1953,

341
00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:47,320
the mountaineers hoping to be the
first to summit Mount Everest

342
00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,120
had successfully navigated
the Icefall.

343
00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:54,480
Next, they had to trek up
the Western Cwm,

344
00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,440
a vast flat area of endless snow
and deep crevasses...

345
00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:03,360
..only to be confronted by a giant
ice wall -

346
00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:05,120
the Lhotse Face.

347
00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:09,760
It's a 1,200-metre wall of blue,
glacial ice

348
00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,600
that rises at severe angles
of up to 45 degrees.

349
00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:20,360
The climbers spent nine exhausting
days carving out a route

350
00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:21,720
up this icy face.

351
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,480
Hillary and Tenzing partnered up
into one of the assault teams.

352
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,200
They would now be climbing so
dangerously high

353
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,560
they had to use supplementary
oxygen.

354
00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,600
The 1953 Expedition

355
00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,240
was based on months of painstaking
research and preparation.

356
00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:50,440
Some climbers acted as human guinea
pigs in decompression chambers

357
00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:52,880
to replicate the severe lack of
oxygen.

358
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:55,600
'The oxygen mask is off.

359
00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:58,000
'The air is getting thinner
and thinner.

360
00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,840
'At such heights when you're lacking
oxygen,

361
00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:03,440
'you may think you're normal,

362
00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:04,840
'but you're not.

363
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:06,800
'You're moving in a dream,

364
00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,640
'a dream that deludes
and debilitates.

365
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,680
'Feel that now we're at the very
summit of Everest,

366
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,280
'he's approaching unconsciousness.'

367
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,640
The modern oxygen system is
delivered through

368
00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:25,040
a very low-volume mask.

369
00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,120
In the old days, there was the
Russian fighter pilots,

370
00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,880
the old Mig masks, that was a big
Womble mask.

371
00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:33,440
And these days, this is the very
closest mask

372
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,960
to the Tornado pilots', actually.

373
00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:41,280
Unfortunately, you do lose a little
bit of the ability to talk.

374
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:43,240
Even now,

375
00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,400
supplementary oxygen is still
a limited resource.

376
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:52,200
If it runs out, then very quickly
your body will deteriorate

377
00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:53,960
and an acute amount of sickness

378
00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:57,800
will be quickly followed by
life-threatening situations.

379
00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:59,840
In a very challenging environment,

380
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:04,480
you don't want to be incapacitated
above 8,000 metres.

381
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,720
At 8,000 metres lies the South Col.

382
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:12,240
It's a pass between Mount Everest

383
00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:15,760
and the fourth highest mountain
in the world, Lhotse.

384
00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,960
The South Col is the highest camp
on the mountain.

385
00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,320
It's a final opportunity to rest
and recuperate

386
00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:26,920
before the assault on the summit.

387
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:29,520
'The South Col. Camp eight.

388
00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:31,680
'26,000 feet.

389
00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:33,840
'A very hard place to get to

390
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,360
'and a very hard place to live in.'

391
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:57,920
When you get higher, you have a
feeling of extreme vulnerability.

392
00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:01,600
You are two or three days away
from help and assistance

393
00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:03,600
in a high-altitude remote
environment.

394
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:06,640
Psychologically, that can really get
to people.

395
00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:10,600
'The South Col is no place
for thoughts.

396
00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:12,520
'Most of the time on the Col,

397
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:14,960
'a man hardly thinks at all.

398
00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,360
'When he does, he usually thinks
what bliss it would be

399
00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:20,000
'to get down again.'

400
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,920
You need to make sure that you don't
just lie down and go to sleep,

401
00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,960
because you need fluid. You need to
get a drink on the go

402
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:29,800
because if you get dehydrated,

403
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:31,600
you're much less likely to summit.

404
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,000
So you need to busy yourself in
the tent and get on some energy.

405
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:37,880
The final approach to the summit

406
00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:39,520
starts in the dead of night.

407
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:43,440
At 8,000 metres, climbers are at the
mercy of the weather.

408
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,960
Making the decision to go for it is
the difference between life and
death.

409
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,000
It can take up to 16 hours
to reach the peak,

410
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,280
so climbers need to ensure they have
enough time to return safely.

411
00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:01,560
'The South Col takes away
everything.

412
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,520
'It also takes away his sleep unless
he's using oxygen.

413
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,840
'Worst of all, it takes away his
judgement.

414
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:13,720
'Hillary and Tenzing will need all
their judgement tomorrow

415
00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:15,760
'when they set out up that ridge,

416
00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:18,160
'if the storm subsides.'

417
00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:22,040
So why didn't we go to the summit
last night?

418
00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,360
We arrived in a storm,

419
00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:26,320
we sat the storm out,

420
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:27,840
the entire night.

421
00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:32,400
Yeah, massive gusts and snow coming
in the tent. Yep.

422
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,280
Snow like and wind blowing in the
porch

423
00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:37,600
so we couldn't melt water.
Did you get any sleep?

424
00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:40,720
I think I got about five or ten
minutes at one stage, yeah.

425
00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:42,720
Oh. That's very generous!

426
00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:44,880
What time is it now?

427
00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:47,080
11.50. 11.50.

428
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,720
You'll be hopefully off tonight.
We'll go about 9.30 tonight. Yep.

429
00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:55,040
We've got about nine hours to just
chill, rehydrate, eat.

430
00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,680
And play cards! Play cards! Yes!

431
00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:00,480
Oh. We didn't bring the cards! Oh.

432
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,880
'We had a lot of fun. You know,
you're living at 8,000 metres.

433
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,600
Ooh, look at that. Beautiful.

434
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:08,840
Oh!

435
00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:10,400
He's dropped it!

436
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,120
'I think that sense of camaraderie
was probably quite important

437
00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:14,920
'in the '20s and the '50s.'

438
00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:19,120
Yes, you've got those people with
quite big egos

439
00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:20,840
who want to be the first.

440
00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:24,240
But at the same time, you're all
working for the greater good.

441
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:28,240
By 11.00am on May 29th 1953,

442
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,400
Hillary and Tenzing had begun their
final push

443
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,440
to be the first to reach the summit

444
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,720
and were already out of sight.

445
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,160
'Everyone's thoughts are on what is
happening

446
00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,040
'on that knife-like ridge running up
to the summit.

447
00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:45,240
'But the climb today is beyond the
reach of human eye,

448
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:47,960
'almost beyond imagination.'

449
00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:52,000
100 metres from the summit,

450
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,240
Hillary and Tenzing were confronted
by Mount Everest's final obstacle.

451
00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:57,800
The Knife Ridge.

452
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,800
It's a dangerous section of steep,
sharp, exposed rock

453
00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:08,600
with perilous drops of more than
2,000 metres on either side.

454
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:12,560
'Well, I cut own the back of one
ridge

455
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:14,240
'and round the back of another
ridge.

456
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:16,720
'And the summit never seemed to be
coming any closer!

457
00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,680
'But finally, I cut down the back of
another one

458
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:23,560
and saw that the ridge ahead dropped
steeply away.

459
00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:25,040
'So I looked up

460
00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:28,080
'and there was the little rounded
turn above us,

461
00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:29,800
'and I knew it was the summit.'

462
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:34,240
All that was needed was a few more
blows of the ice axe

463
00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:37,120
and Hillary and Tenzing would be the
first people

464
00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:40,080
to stand on the summit of Mount
Everest.

465
00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,160
TIM: OK. I'm gonna have to be quick,

466
00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:00,000
cos it's actually quite chilly.

467
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,560
I'm standing on Everest, by the way!

468
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:06,360
This is the peak of Mount Everest.

469
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,360
At 8,848 metres,

470
00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:12,640
it's the highest place
on the planet.

471
00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,720
As Hillary and Tenzing celebrated
in Nepal,

472
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:19,200
the news reached London

473
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,560
on a very historic day.

474
00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:24,680
'June 2nd, 1953.

475
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,560
'People in London were excited,
and with good reason.

476
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:31,720
'A queen had been crowned.

477
00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:37,400
'And to add to the cheers,

478
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,000
'the newspapers gave an extra
of extras.

479
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,720
'Men had climbed Mount Everest.'

480
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:46,520
Britain, as a whole, was absolutely
delighted.

481
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:49,680
As a nation, we have always had an
adventurous spirit.

482
00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,960
You know, we've explored the world
all over.

483
00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,520
I think that lure of the highest
mountain in the world,

484
00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:58,440
it was there to be explored

485
00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:00,400
and there for the taking.

486
00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,080
Next...

487
00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,520
After the triumph then,

488
00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:07,080
the tragedy now.

489
00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:10,880
The deadliest day in Mount Everest's
history.

490
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:15,380
It was just utter,
utter destruction.

491
00:28:16,060 --> 00:28:20,140
The foothills of Mount Everest
are home to the Sherpa people.

492
00:28:20,140 --> 00:28:25,100
For generations, Sherpas had little
contact with the outside world.

493
00:28:25,100 --> 00:28:27,300
As Buddhists,

494
00:28:27,300 --> 00:28:29,940
they believed a goddess lived
in the mountain.

495
00:28:29,940 --> 00:28:31,980
Not wanting to disturb her,

496
00:28:31,980 --> 00:28:35,420
many did not set foot
on Mount Everest.

497
00:28:35,420 --> 00:28:38,820
Then, there was no Sherpa word
for summit.

498
00:28:42,380 --> 00:28:46,100
But now, climbers call their Sherpa
porters and guides

499
00:28:46,100 --> 00:28:48,180
"kings of the mountain".

500
00:28:48,180 --> 00:28:51,980
They have been an absolutely
integral part of climbing on Everest

501
00:28:51,980 --> 00:28:53,460
from the very beginning.

502
00:28:53,460 --> 00:28:56,500
You can see that they're faster
and stronger at altitude

503
00:28:56,500 --> 00:28:59,500
than certainly I am
and most Westerners.

504
00:28:59,500 --> 00:29:04,180
But little is known about their
apparent superhuman physiology.

505
00:29:04,180 --> 00:29:06,460
We're starting to see evidence

506
00:29:06,460 --> 00:29:09,540
that their genetics have altered
through evolution,

507
00:29:09,540 --> 00:29:11,740
that they are naturally adapted

508
00:29:11,740 --> 00:29:14,500
to perform well at high altitude
where there's not much oxygen.

509
00:29:16,460 --> 00:29:18,740
In 2013,

510
00:29:18,740 --> 00:29:22,060
Professor Mike Grocott's Extreme
Everest team

511
00:29:22,060 --> 00:29:23,620
returned to the mountain.

512
00:29:25,180 --> 00:29:28,380
On their first expedition in 2007,

513
00:29:28,380 --> 00:29:32,220
they had already witnessed
the superhuman Sherpas in action.

514
00:29:32,220 --> 00:29:35,780
We couldn't have done the expedition
without the Sherpas.

515
00:29:35,780 --> 00:29:37,420
They were climbing alongside us,

516
00:29:37,420 --> 00:29:39,940
but carrying substantially larger
loads,

517
00:29:39,940 --> 00:29:41,900
and apparently effortlessly.

518
00:29:41,900 --> 00:29:45,460
So it was great to be able to come
back in 2013

519
00:29:45,460 --> 00:29:49,100
and really try and answer from the
scientific perspective why that was.

520
00:29:51,180 --> 00:29:54,020
At a height of 5,300 metres,

521
00:29:54,020 --> 00:29:56,780
Mike's team built the world's
highest laboratory

522
00:29:56,780 --> 00:29:59,340
to compare Sherpas to lowlanders.

523
00:29:59,900 --> 00:30:01,420
Bite on the mouthpiece.

524
00:30:03,140 --> 00:30:04,700
How's your breathing?

525
00:30:04,700 --> 00:30:07,140
There were some striking differences
that start to explain

526
00:30:07,140 --> 00:30:09,940
why they perform so much better at
high altitude.

527
00:30:09,940 --> 00:30:11,420
Go, go, go, go, go.

528
00:30:11,420 --> 00:30:12,860
Keep it in.

529
00:30:14,060 --> 00:30:18,700
The Sherpas' physiology is suited to
producing the energy to power their
bodies

530
00:30:18,700 --> 00:30:20,580
even when oxygen is scarce.

531
00:30:20,580 --> 00:30:22,980
In a Sherpa's muscles,

532
00:30:22,980 --> 00:30:25,620
the parts of their cells that
generate energy

533
00:30:25,620 --> 00:30:27,980
are more efficient at using oxygen.

534
00:30:29,300 --> 00:30:31,020
And at high altitude,

535
00:30:31,020 --> 00:30:33,780
whilst lowlanders' blood flow slowed
down,

536
00:30:33,780 --> 00:30:36,660
the Sherpas' circulation was less
affected.

537
00:30:37,740 --> 00:30:42,780
Extreme Everest was almost entirely
comprised of doctors and scientists,

538
00:30:42,780 --> 00:30:47,820
many of whom had a background in
critical care, intensive care,

539
00:30:47,820 --> 00:30:50,300
so looking after the sickest
patients in hospital.

540
00:30:50,300 --> 00:30:52,940
Lack of oxygen in the bloodstream

541
00:30:52,940 --> 00:30:56,460
is a major contributor to deaths
in intensive care patients.

542
00:30:57,660 --> 00:30:59,740
As a critical care expert,

543
00:30:59,740 --> 00:31:02,540
Mike is hoping the Sherpas'
superhuman ability

544
00:31:02,540 --> 00:31:04,020
to adapt to altitude

545
00:31:04,020 --> 00:31:07,500
could have benefits far beyond
the slopes of Everest.

546
00:31:07,500 --> 00:31:11,460
The real joy and challenge of the
next few years

547
00:31:11,460 --> 00:31:14,980
is looking at the huge set of data
that we've accumulated

548
00:31:14,980 --> 00:31:18,020
and trying to work out from those

549
00:31:18,020 --> 00:31:21,700
what it is that identifies where
people have adapted well

550
00:31:21,700 --> 00:31:24,100
and if we could get our patients to
do that,

551
00:31:24,100 --> 00:31:26,980
then maybe, if you like, we can turn
them into Sherpas!

552
00:31:28,140 --> 00:31:30,420
Now, the superhuman Sherpas

553
00:31:30,420 --> 00:31:34,580
are the backbone of every successful
expedition up Mount Everest.

554
00:31:35,500 --> 00:31:38,580
In the old days, I think people were
probably a bit more purist

555
00:31:38,580 --> 00:31:41,140
and they would probably be carrying
their own gear

556
00:31:41,140 --> 00:31:43,940
and nowadays, tents are set up for
us by the Sherpas.

557
00:31:43,940 --> 00:31:47,620
Some people have all their gear
taken up to Camp Two

558
00:31:47,620 --> 00:31:49,620
and you see people, actually,

559
00:31:49,620 --> 00:31:52,860
without even carrying a rucksack
on the mountain!

560
00:31:52,860 --> 00:31:55,460
A Sherpa in front of them
with their every need!

561
00:31:56,700 --> 00:31:59,020
Sherpas prepare the mountain

562
00:31:59,020 --> 00:32:01,700
by setting ropes, anchors
and ladder bridges.

563
00:32:03,900 --> 00:32:07,540
And they use their expert knowledge
of its twists and turns

564
00:32:07,540 --> 00:32:09,740
to help guide climbers to the top.

565
00:32:09,740 --> 00:32:12,860
I couldn't possibly have climbed
Everest without them.

566
00:32:12,860 --> 00:32:15,780
You know, quite seriously, without
Ang Passang and Kami Tchering,

567
00:32:15,780 --> 00:32:17,300
not in a million years.

568
00:32:17,300 --> 00:32:22,620
In 1993, Rebecca Stephens became
the first British woman

569
00:32:22,620 --> 00:32:24,580
to climb the world's highest
mountain.

570
00:32:26,660 --> 00:32:30,020
There was this tremendous feeling of
togetherness

571
00:32:30,020 --> 00:32:33,940
and I'll remember it until I breathe
my last breath.

572
00:32:35,180 --> 00:32:38,780
That year, the Nepalese and Chinese
authorities

573
00:32:38,780 --> 00:32:41,220
had begun to increase the number of
climbing permits.

574
00:32:42,700 --> 00:32:46,220
I think through the '90s,
into the 21st century,

575
00:32:46,220 --> 00:32:48,980
we are now in the commercial era
on Everest.

576
00:32:50,500 --> 00:32:52,100
In the 1970s,

577
00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:55,500
just 562 people climbed Mount
Everest.

578
00:32:55,500 --> 00:32:57,220
Over the last decade,

579
00:32:57,220 --> 00:33:00,340
nearly 4,000 people have reached
the summit.

580
00:33:02,060 --> 00:33:04,500
Nepal is a poor country

581
00:33:04,500 --> 00:33:06,500
and it desperately needs
foreign exchange.

582
00:33:06,500 --> 00:33:11,100
So it has to try and make money
out of the Himalayas

583
00:33:11,100 --> 00:33:14,460
and in particular, Mount Everest,
which is a real cash cow.

584
00:33:14,460 --> 00:33:16,780
So, to climb Mount Everest, your
tickets would cost

585
00:33:16,780 --> 00:33:19,980
anything from 35,000 US dollars

586
00:33:19,980 --> 00:33:24,460
all the way through to 120,000
US dollars or more.

587
00:33:27,020 --> 00:33:28,820
Throughout the 21st century,

588
00:33:28,820 --> 00:33:32,020
climbing Mount Everest allowed
the Sherpa people to flourish.

589
00:33:33,020 --> 00:33:37,220
Now, the climbing industry is worth
over £1.5 billion

590
00:33:37,220 --> 00:33:38,860
to Nepal every year.

591
00:33:39,500 --> 00:33:44,300
But Sherpa livelihoods and lives
are at the mercy of the mountain.

592
00:33:50,100 --> 00:33:53,780
On April 18th, 2014

593
00:33:53,780 --> 00:33:56,700
warm weather triggered a series of
avalanches

594
00:33:56,700 --> 00:33:58,580
near Mount Everest's Icefall.

595
00:34:00,140 --> 00:34:03,660
The Icefall is a very dangerous part
of Mount Everest.

596
00:34:03,660 --> 00:34:09,020
And whereas we Westerners might only
go through it two or three times,

597
00:34:09,020 --> 00:34:12,780
the Sherpas have to carry the tents
and equipment

598
00:34:12,780 --> 00:34:15,620
and food and everything through
dozens of times.

599
00:34:18,020 --> 00:34:20,580
16 Sherpas lost their lives.

600
00:34:25,140 --> 00:34:29,060
When 16 died in one event,

601
00:34:29,060 --> 00:34:33,140
for the sake of looking after
Westerners on the hill,

602
00:34:33,140 --> 00:34:38,220
I think it struck a very
uncomfortable chord

603
00:34:38,220 --> 00:34:43,540
about the dangers that they were
being exposed to.

604
00:34:45,860 --> 00:34:48,060
During the 20th century,

605
00:34:48,060 --> 00:34:51,820
brave Sherpas were at the heart of
Mount Everest's success story.

606
00:34:54,340 --> 00:34:57,140
Now, there was a grim realisation

607
00:34:57,140 --> 00:34:59,340
that being a mountaineering Sherpa

608
00:34:59,340 --> 00:35:02,300
was one of the most dangerous jobs
in the world.

609
00:35:05,740 --> 00:35:09,540
On April 25th, 2015,

610
00:35:09,540 --> 00:35:11,900
a huge earthquake hit Nepal.

611
00:35:15,460 --> 00:35:19,460
It's one of the worst natural
disasters in the country's history.

612
00:35:21,220 --> 00:35:24,500
Tim Mosedale was one of hundreds
of climbers on Mount Everest

613
00:35:24,500 --> 00:35:27,580
when the earthquake struck.

614
00:35:27,580 --> 00:35:30,260
We arrived at Camp One and we
radioed down to base camp

615
00:35:30,260 --> 00:35:34,820
and we heard that the middle
of base camp had been obliterated.

616
00:35:37,780 --> 00:35:39,060
Go! Go!

617
00:35:39,060 --> 00:35:43,220
The earthquake had also triggered
avalanches on Mount Everest.

618
00:35:43,580 --> 00:35:45,780
One of them swept down the mountain

619
00:35:45,780 --> 00:35:48,140
and thundered towards base camp.

620
00:36:01,620 --> 00:36:05,780
359 people were waiting to climb
the mountain.

621
00:36:07,060 --> 00:36:08,620
When you're at the base camp,

622
00:36:08,620 --> 00:36:10,380
you think of Everest as being safe.

623
00:36:10,380 --> 00:36:14,420
But the forward draught from the
avalanche swept through the camp

624
00:36:14,420 --> 00:36:16,300
and rocks flying everywhere.

625
00:36:16,300 --> 00:36:20,140
And if you were in its path,
you know, that was it.

626
00:36:20,140 --> 00:36:22,660
It was just utter,
utter destruction.

627
00:36:24,700 --> 00:36:28,500
Nearly 9,000 people died
across Nepal.

628
00:36:29,460 --> 00:36:33,100
At base camp, 19 climbers lost their
lives.

629
00:36:33,100 --> 00:36:36,700
Three of them were Sherpas
on Tim's expedition.

630
00:36:37,900 --> 00:36:40,180
They left behind nine kids.

631
00:36:40,180 --> 00:36:43,300
And they were working on the
mountain

632
00:36:43,300 --> 00:36:45,260
to provide for their families.

633
00:36:45,260 --> 00:36:49,940
The 25th of April, 2015,

634
00:36:49,940 --> 00:36:53,260
is the deadliest day
in Mount Everest's history.

635
00:36:54,460 --> 00:36:57,900
People were questioning, really,
what was going on

636
00:36:57,900 --> 00:37:00,820
and was Everest really worth it?

637
00:37:00,820 --> 00:37:02,260
Next...

638
00:37:02,260 --> 00:37:06,380
Mount Everest becomes
a deadly tourist trap.

639
00:37:06,380 --> 00:37:10,180
I think the overcrowding has made
Mount Everest actually more
dangerous

640
00:37:10,180 --> 00:37:11,700
than it was before.

641
00:37:11,700 --> 00:37:13,900
People are just lambs
to the slaughter.

642
00:37:15,300 --> 00:37:18,500
Why are climbers dying in queues
to the summit?

643
00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:30,440
A century ago, the summit of Mount
Everest was an unknown wilderness,

644
00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:32,240
untouched by human hand.

645
00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:35,920
Now, the highest point on the planet

646
00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:37,720
has been transformed...

647
00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:43,160
..into a tourist trap.

648
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:49,760
On May 22nd, 2019,

649
00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:53,640
this photograph revealed the
reality of climbing the mountain.

650
00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:58,560
Waiting for hours in a queue.

651
00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:04,800
Too many people, stood for too long,
in a very challenging environment.

652
00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:06,320
That picture was taken on one day

653
00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:09,160
and it would be like that on one day
in 365.

654
00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:15,080
For the rest of the year, one of the
elements can make a summit
impossible.

655
00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:16,760
Wind.

656
00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:21,560
At 8,848 metres

657
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:25,080
the summit of Mount Everest is
exposed to the extremes

658
00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:26,600
of Earth's weather.

659
00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:31,080
At the top of the world,
the wind is wild.

660
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:34,600
So it being nearly 9,000 metres,

661
00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:37,000
Everest pokes up into the Jet Stream

662
00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:40,480
which is a force unto itself.

663
00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:44,040
Freezing winds batter Mount Everest

664
00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:47,480
at speeds up to 175 miles per hour.

665
00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:52,920
On the South Col, the last stop
on the route to the summit,

666
00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:56,000
the wind can be so cold
and so strong,

667
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,280
climbers are trapped in their tents.

668
00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:03,600
But every year in late May,

669
00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:08,040
the approaching monsoon brings
a rare window of opportunity.

670
00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:11,720
The monsoon is such a massive
weather system,

671
00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:15,360
effectively, it nudges
the Jet Stream slightly.

672
00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:17,520
And that might displace it upwards

673
00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:19,480
or put a fold in it,

674
00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:22,280
or it might just alter
the Jet Stream across Everest.

675
00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:25,040
And that means that we're then not
subjected to

676
00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:28,360
the huge winds that we would
otherwise experience.

677
00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:32,400
When the wind drops,
there are weather windows.

678
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:37,480
It might be anything from a 12-hour
window

679
00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:40,800
to a four, five, six,
even 11 or 12-day window,

680
00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:44,080
where you're looking for benign
conditions

681
00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:46,480
where we can then operate safely on
the mountain.

682
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:51,680
For decades, climbers had little
idea

683
00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:53,240
when a weather window would open.

684
00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:58,680
Now, most climbers only summit
during weather windows.

685
00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:02,680
One of the great things that we've
got nowadays

686
00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:05,040
is the weather forecasting
that comes in.

687
00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:09,000
And it's getting more and more
accurate.

688
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,400
When a weather window does open,

689
00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:14,120
hundreds of climbers converge on the
summit.

690
00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:17,400
People are opting for that optimum
day,

691
00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:19,560
so you do get this problem of
overcrowding.

692
00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:24,080
You're moving fairly slowly anyway.

693
00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:26,240
And if you're in a queue

694
00:40:26,240 --> 00:40:28,280
and so you are moving even slower,

695
00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:30,480
and the oxygen is still flowing,

696
00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:35,480
your life is basically being
jeopardised.

697
00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:38,600
And you could find yourself very
high on the mountain,

698
00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:42,400
becoming extremely exhausted and
hypoxic,

699
00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:44,960
which is lack of oxygen to the
brain,

700
00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:47,080
and you could die as a result.

701
00:40:49,720 --> 00:40:54,600
2019 was one of the deadliest years
in Mount Everest's history.

702
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,440
11 people lost their lives.

703
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:00,680
Many of the deaths on Everest

704
00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:03,560
occur high, particularly high
on the south-east ridge.

705
00:41:04,720 --> 00:41:07,000
When climbers have to wait in
queues,

706
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:09,960
they risk running short of oxygen

707
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:12,560
and may not have enough left
for the journey down.

708
00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:15,960
We do have that problem of being
somewhere

709
00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:19,280
where, as human beings, we're not
naturally supposed to be.

710
00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:23,200
Without artificial support of
oxygen, people die.

711
00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:26,080
I think the overcrowding has made
Mount Everest

712
00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:29,280
actually more dangerous than it was
before.

713
00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:32,320
How that might be resolved, could
there be a code of conduct

714
00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:35,240
or even if there should be a rescue
service on Everest,

715
00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:39,480
which is anathema to a traditional
mountaineering way of thinking,

716
00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:41,160
that you're self-supporting

717
00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:44,160
and the last thing you'd want to do
is get on a mobile and ask for help!

718
00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:46,200
I think something has to be done

719
00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:49,720
to try and regulate this,

720
00:41:49,720 --> 00:41:52,160
otherwise, people are just lambs
to the slaughter.

721
00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:56,880
Mount Everest's epic tale

722
00:41:56,880 --> 00:41:58,400
from tragedy to triumph

723
00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:00,120
has come full circle.

724
00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:06,880
In this programme, we've discovered
how brave pioneers died

725
00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:11,040
because they lacked the scientific
knowledge to climb the mountain.

726
00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:13,960
But by the 1950s,

727
00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:16,000
mountaineering had evolved.

728
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:19,840
Climbers had learned how to
breathe, how to stay warm

729
00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:22,720
and how to find a safe way
to the top.

730
00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:27,560
I think Mount Everest is an
incredible symbol of human progress.

731
00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:32,720
In 100 years, we discovered where it
was, how high it was,

732
00:42:32,720 --> 00:42:36,320
what to climb it with,
your clothing, the oxygen.

733
00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:37,640
Everything.

734
00:42:37,640 --> 00:42:39,840
By the end of the 1980s,

735
00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:43,840
just 284 people had stood
on the summit.

736
00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:46,760
Now, over the last decade,

737
00:42:46,760 --> 00:42:50,560
nearly 4,000 climbers have made it
to the top.

738
00:42:50,560 --> 00:42:53,360
It's become now so simple

739
00:42:53,360 --> 00:42:57,000
that a 13-year-old boy can climb
Mount Everest.

740
00:42:57,000 --> 00:42:59,360
It's more accessible.
That's not a bad thing.

741
00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:02,320
More people will have
the opportunity to climb it.

742
00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:06,040
That's not a bad thing. But it is
a very, very different experience.

743
00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:09,640
We can never turn back the wheel.

744
00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:13,880
Now, from natural disasters
to overcrowding,

745
00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:16,960
Mount Everest is still one of the
most inhospitable,

746
00:43:16,960 --> 00:43:19,880
daunting and dangerous places
on the planet.

747
00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:23,880
But the mountain will always stand
proud,

748
00:43:23,880 --> 00:43:27,720
a breathtaking symbol of our spirit
of adventure,

749
00:43:27,720 --> 00:43:30,200
our need to explore...

750
00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:33,760
..and our desire to conquer.

751
00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:38,720
Mount Everest hasn't changed itself.

752
00:43:38,720 --> 00:43:40,560
It's still the highest mountain
in the world,

753
00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:43,600
it's still a beautiful wilderness.

754
00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:46,760
Now, people just pour up it
in hundreds.

755
00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:51,440
But essentially itself,
it's indifferent to humanity.

756
00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:53,400
It's still the same mountain.

757
00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:21,160
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