1 00:00:00,823 --> 00:00:04,952 (helicopter rotors) 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 4 00:00:13,710 --> 00:00:17,589 ♪ ♪ 5 00:00:18,798 --> 00:00:22,260 PAUL (off-screen): You're out on the edge of the world if you're on top of Everest. 6 00:00:37,024 --> 00:00:39,652 You can speak on a satellite phone, yeah. 7 00:00:39,735 --> 00:00:43,614 But that doesn't mean anybody can get to you. 8 00:00:53,708 --> 00:00:55,501 PETE (off-screen): You can have great guides, 9 00:00:55,585 --> 00:00:57,587 you can have an excellent route set, 10 00:00:57,670 --> 00:01:01,382 but when you are dealing with the highest mountain on Earth... 11 00:01:01,465 --> 00:01:04,468 You're still a long ways from anywhere. 12 00:01:08,639 --> 00:01:11,392 ERIC (off-screen): 26,000 feet does not feel that good. 13 00:01:11,475 --> 00:01:14,562 On the brain or the body. 14 00:01:15,855 --> 00:01:18,441 Now we've got a little snowstorm rolling in here which might be 15 00:01:18,524 --> 00:01:21,402 hampering our summit bid. 16 00:01:21,485 --> 00:01:24,155 We have one chance at this, and that's leaving tonight. 17 00:01:24,238 --> 00:01:27,074 We're all hopeful that we can make it. 18 00:01:27,533 --> 00:01:30,202 Otherwise we're going back down tomorrow regardless. 19 00:01:30,286 --> 00:01:35,577 CLIMBER: Let’s go! We’re ready! 20 00:01:35,660 --> 00:01:39,748 BAKER: There's a reason that some of this has never been done before. 21 00:01:40,606 --> 00:01:45,152 We're trying to go to the highest reaches of Mount Everest, 22 00:01:45,236 --> 00:01:49,198 to install the highest weather station in the world. 23 00:01:49,907 --> 00:01:54,662 To try to do science up at some of these elevations is an added challenge. 24 00:01:55,871 --> 00:01:58,124 And we're pushing the envelope. 25 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:03,963 (theme music plays). 26 00:02:10,594 --> 00:02:12,430 NARRATOR: Every spring in the Himalayas, 27 00:02:12,513 --> 00:02:15,558 a temporary town comes to life. 28 00:02:18,644 --> 00:02:20,021 For the next two months, 29 00:02:20,104 --> 00:02:23,774 this will be the highest village on Earth. 30 00:02:24,984 --> 00:02:29,196 Everest's south base camp, 31 00:02:29,947 --> 00:02:32,366 at over 5,000 meters 32 00:02:32,450 --> 00:02:34,785 it's at the extreme edge of where the atmosphere can 33 00:02:34,869 --> 00:02:37,997 sustain human life. 34 00:02:39,248 --> 00:02:41,959 For decades, climbers have gathered here, 35 00:02:42,043 --> 00:02:45,463 each preparing for their chance at Everest's summit. 36 00:02:45,546 --> 00:02:51,260 (bells ringing) 37 00:02:51,635 --> 00:02:55,514 This season, one group is here with an entirely different goal... 38 00:02:55,598 --> 00:02:57,892 TOM: Namaste, my name's Tom. 39 00:02:57,975 --> 00:03:01,937 NARRATOR: To get a better understanding of how this mountain impacts all of us. 40 00:03:02,813 --> 00:03:06,317 (chanting in native language) 41 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:10,029 PAUL (off-screen): We know literally nothing about what goes on above 5,000 meters. 42 00:03:10,112 --> 00:03:14,867 And yet, it's this fantastic window into a portion of the atmosphere, 43 00:03:14,950 --> 00:03:16,911 where granted not a lot of people live, 44 00:03:16,994 --> 00:03:18,496 but that's critically important to what goes on 45 00:03:18,579 --> 00:03:20,373 in the rest of the world. 46 00:03:20,456 --> 00:03:24,460 NARRATOR: Paul Mayewski will be leading a team of more than 30 scientists, 47 00:03:24,543 --> 00:03:27,630 in some of the most challenging conditions on Earth, 48 00:03:27,713 --> 00:03:31,967 to compile the first complete portrait of the iconic mountain. 49 00:03:32,051 --> 00:03:35,262 PAUL: The National Geographic Rolex Perpetual Planet Expedition 50 00:03:35,346 --> 00:03:37,765 is the largest scientific expedition 51 00:03:37,848 --> 00:03:39,809 ever conducted on Everest. 52 00:03:39,892 --> 00:03:41,560 NARRATOR: Among those braving the mission will be: 53 00:03:41,644 --> 00:03:43,604 Geologists... 54 00:03:43,687 --> 00:03:46,440 Glacial experts... 55 00:03:46,524 --> 00:03:49,110 And a biology team... 56 00:03:49,985 --> 00:03:52,279 Most ambitious of all, 57 00:03:52,363 --> 00:03:55,408 two climate scientists are here to install the highest weather station 58 00:03:55,491 --> 00:03:57,910 the world has ever known, 59 00:03:57,993 --> 00:04:01,372 as close as they can get to the summit. 60 00:04:06,502 --> 00:04:08,546 PAUL (off-screen): Preparing for every expedition is different. 61 00:04:08,629 --> 00:04:10,297 This one was going to very high elevation. 62 00:04:10,381 --> 00:04:13,717 The plan was to not only create a scientific program that would be 63 00:04:13,801 --> 00:04:15,970 multi-disciplinary, interdisciplinary, 64 00:04:16,053 --> 00:04:18,556 but find the right people to do this. 65 00:04:18,639 --> 00:04:21,142 NARRATOR: One of the first to get the call was glaciochemist and 66 00:04:21,225 --> 00:04:23,519 mountaineer Mario Potocki. 67 00:04:23,602 --> 00:04:25,896 MARIO (off-screen): It was beyond the dreams, going to Everest, 68 00:04:25,980 --> 00:04:29,567 so I said, "Of course. Such adventure. Yes, please." 69 00:04:30,234 --> 00:04:32,570 But doing work at that elevation, 70 00:04:32,653 --> 00:04:37,241 8,000 meter in death zone, that's gonna be challenging. 71 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,122 NARRATOR: Mario's mission is to collect a core from the highest ice on the planet. 72 00:04:43,706 --> 00:04:47,877 Inside the ice is a record of several thousand years' worth of climate on Everest. 73 00:04:48,669 --> 00:04:52,047 It contains critical pieces of missing information to help scientists 74 00:04:52,131 --> 00:04:55,384 understand climate change today. 75 00:04:55,468 --> 00:05:00,014 But the thin atmosphere near the summit presents Mario with a new challenge. 76 00:05:01,974 --> 00:05:03,684 To safely get to the top of one of the 77 00:05:03,767 --> 00:05:07,271 most extreme environments in the world, 78 00:05:07,354 --> 00:05:10,900 the scientists need a different kind of expert. 79 00:05:12,067 --> 00:05:15,696 Pete Athans has made dozens of expeditions to the Himalayas, 80 00:05:15,779 --> 00:05:19,074 starting 40 years ago. 81 00:05:19,158 --> 00:05:23,245 PETE (off-screen): I just love the feeling of being stripped down to just 82 00:05:23,329 --> 00:05:26,081 very, very basic elements. 83 00:05:26,165 --> 00:05:30,336 When you get out into the wild conditions and wild places 84 00:05:30,419 --> 00:05:33,422 on Earth you're let's just say, 85 00:05:33,506 --> 00:05:37,301 the simplicity of life becomes much more forward. 86 00:05:38,594 --> 00:05:42,056 NARRATOR: Incredibly, Pete has summited Everest seven times, 87 00:05:42,139 --> 00:05:46,143 leading teams of climbers all the way to the top. 88 00:05:47,978 --> 00:05:49,396 PETE: You find out what they're made of, 89 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:51,482 what your team is made up of and what you're made of 90 00:05:51,565 --> 00:05:54,109 as an individual. 91 00:05:55,194 --> 00:05:58,489 To see if you have the capability and aspirations, energy, 92 00:05:58,572 --> 00:06:01,992 physiology to rise to the occasion. 93 00:06:02,076 --> 00:06:06,247 NARRATOR: But this expedition is like none other Pete has ever attempted. 94 00:06:06,330 --> 00:06:10,334 PETE: They're trying to commit to getting those takeaways from the rooftop 95 00:06:10,417 --> 00:06:12,044 of the world that we don't know. 96 00:06:12,127 --> 00:06:16,674 That's the new terra incognita. That's what we don't know. It just hasn't been done. 97 00:06:20,052 --> 00:06:24,306 NARRATOR: Everest has always held its secrets close. 98 00:06:26,100 --> 00:06:28,185 Just 100 years ago, 99 00:06:28,269 --> 00:06:31,146 the Himalayas were such unknown territory that the maps were 100 00:06:31,230 --> 00:06:34,567 mostly blank spaces. 101 00:06:37,987 --> 00:06:43,450 It took more than three decades from the first attempt to summit Everest in 1921, 102 00:06:43,534 --> 00:06:48,122 before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay would be the ones to finally 103 00:06:48,205 --> 00:06:51,959 touch the highest point on earth. 104 00:06:54,336 --> 00:06:58,799 That first success inspired thousands of others to try their luck. 105 00:07:00,217 --> 00:07:05,055 PETE (off-screen): I think the enhancements in everything from the clothing we wear 106 00:07:05,139 --> 00:07:09,184 to our communications equipment have made climbing Everest easier. 107 00:07:09,268 --> 00:07:11,687 However, on the worst days, 108 00:07:11,770 --> 00:07:15,816 it's still impossible for even the best climbers in the world. 109 00:07:23,115 --> 00:07:23,907 NARRATOR: At base camp, 110 00:07:23,991 --> 00:07:27,911 Pete is heading up the safety and climbing logistics for the scientists, 111 00:07:27,995 --> 00:07:31,457 none of whom have ever attempted to summit Everest before. 112 00:07:32,666 --> 00:07:36,587 One of the first features they'll have to navigate is the notoriously 113 00:07:36,670 --> 00:07:40,049 dangerous Khumbu Icefall. 114 00:07:40,132 --> 00:07:43,636 PETE: For dealing with the Khumbu Icefall we setup a simulator at basecamp out in 115 00:07:43,719 --> 00:07:47,264 the less complicated icefall, very close to basecamp. 116 00:07:49,558 --> 00:07:52,394 We setup some difficult ladders for them, 117 00:07:52,478 --> 00:07:54,980 getting a feel for spikes and their crampons, 118 00:07:55,064 --> 00:07:57,691 and how to manage the rungs on the ladder. 119 00:07:59,234 --> 00:08:01,904 NARRATOR: To study the impacts of pollution on Everest's glaciers, 120 00:08:01,987 --> 00:08:06,158 Inka Koch needs to collect snow from above the icefall. 121 00:08:07,076 --> 00:08:08,786 INKA (off-screen): Once I decided that I would go up to 122 00:08:08,869 --> 00:08:11,080 six and a half thousand meters on Everest, 123 00:08:11,163 --> 00:08:15,125 and through the Khumbu Icefall, which is quite treacherous, 124 00:08:15,209 --> 00:08:19,421 I got really scared. 125 00:08:21,340 --> 00:08:22,591 CLIMBER (off-screen): Climbing! 126 00:08:22,675 --> 00:08:27,471 INKA (off-screen): And was super excited, but also really quite intimidated. 127 00:08:31,016 --> 00:08:32,810 MARK (off-screen): You can kick your toe in and then drop your heel. 128 00:08:32,893 --> 00:08:36,063 PETE (off-screen): Setting up fixed lines, practicing with ice screws and 129 00:08:36,146 --> 00:08:38,899 other types of anchors that they may not be familiar with, 130 00:08:38,982 --> 00:08:41,151 and then running them through, for lack of a better term, 131 00:08:41,235 --> 00:08:42,778 an obstacle course. 132 00:08:42,861 --> 00:08:44,613 Just whatever works more efficiently on... 133 00:08:44,697 --> 00:08:49,076 To the point where they just felt less intimidated by the physical environment. 134 00:08:51,161 --> 00:08:54,665 MARIO (off-screen): You have to have a lot of respect going through Khumbu Icefall. 135 00:08:54,748 --> 00:08:59,336 That was the biggest thing in our heads, because the safety issue. 136 00:08:59,420 --> 00:09:02,047 It's like very unpredictable place. 137 00:09:02,131 --> 00:09:04,425 NARRATOR: The ice fall is the most active, shifting part 138 00:09:04,508 --> 00:09:08,679 of a giant, constantly moving, 16-kilometer-long glacier. 139 00:09:09,805 --> 00:09:13,016 Base camp lies directly on top of its lowest curve. 140 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:17,104 To get to the summit from Everest's south side, 141 00:09:17,187 --> 00:09:20,232 climbers follow the glacier up the mountain, 142 00:09:20,315 --> 00:09:23,777 stopping to acclimate for several nights at camps along the way. 143 00:09:25,821 --> 00:09:29,199 The Khumbu is the highest glacier in the world. 144 00:09:29,283 --> 00:09:32,411 To better understand how it's impacted by a warming climate, 145 00:09:32,494 --> 00:09:34,997 expedition scientists will be studying it from 146 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:36,582 many different angles. 147 00:09:36,665 --> 00:09:37,875 ALEX: You can see the bedrock there... 148 00:09:37,958 --> 00:09:41,795 One of the big scientific questions this expedition is answering is how climate 149 00:09:41,879 --> 00:09:45,674 change in particular is happening in the high mountain regions? 150 00:09:46,592 --> 00:09:48,635 How quickly are the glaciers changing? 151 00:09:48,719 --> 00:09:53,515 How quickly are they reducing in their size and their volume? 152 00:09:56,143 --> 00:09:57,686 NARRATOR: To answer these questions, 153 00:09:57,770 --> 00:10:00,689 National Geographic geographer, Alex Tait, 154 00:10:00,773 --> 00:10:04,485 is heading up a team to map the giant glacier in its entirety, 155 00:10:04,568 --> 00:10:07,237 including base camp. 156 00:10:08,322 --> 00:10:12,910 The highly detailed map will be a snapshot of the iceform today, 157 00:10:12,993 --> 00:10:16,830 so they'll be able to track changes in the future. 158 00:10:17,539 --> 00:10:20,542 They'll be using a combination of digital scans and photographs to 159 00:10:20,626 --> 00:10:24,505 stitch together 3D images of the environment. 160 00:10:28,425 --> 00:10:33,514 Chris Millbern's job is to scan and photograph every square centimeter in sight. 161 00:10:36,683 --> 00:10:38,018 CHRIS: If we can pull off this scan, 162 00:10:38,101 --> 00:10:41,271 I'm pretty convinced that we can pull it off anywhere. 163 00:10:45,150 --> 00:10:47,027 This is a really difficult environment and 164 00:10:47,110 --> 00:10:48,737 it's really hard to climb around so we can 165 00:10:48,821 --> 00:10:52,074 only take pictures from so many angles on foot. 166 00:10:53,784 --> 00:10:57,913 Drones really help us give the overall sphere an extra bit of resolution, 167 00:10:57,996 --> 00:11:01,458 an extra bit of perspective on Everest base camp. 168 00:11:11,844 --> 00:11:15,764 We're using LiDAR, which is a laser scanning tool. 169 00:11:15,848 --> 00:11:19,351 And this laser scanner shoots out 2 million points per second, 170 00:11:19,434 --> 00:11:22,271 taking individual measurements every single time that it shoots out 171 00:11:22,354 --> 00:11:24,022 one of those lasers. 172 00:11:24,106 --> 00:11:27,442 It does that in a 360 degree sphere and measures everything 173 00:11:27,526 --> 00:11:30,320 that it can see. 174 00:11:30,404 --> 00:11:33,782 What we then do is we take high resolution images to paste onto 175 00:11:33,866 --> 00:11:37,452 those measurements that the laser scanning provides. 176 00:11:41,164 --> 00:11:43,208 NARRATOR: To map the entire extent of the glacier, 177 00:11:43,292 --> 00:11:45,586 the team takes to the skies, 178 00:11:45,669 --> 00:11:48,964 using LiDAR mounted underneath a helicopter. 179 00:11:51,592 --> 00:11:54,887 CHRIS: Having a scan of a glacier means that you can measure the exact recession 180 00:11:54,970 --> 00:11:57,472 a year from now, five years from now, ten years from now, 181 00:11:57,556 --> 00:12:00,893 and see exactly what the difference is. 182 00:12:02,394 --> 00:12:06,481 PAUL: The way that we can understand the impact of warming in the Himalayas, 183 00:12:06,565 --> 00:12:10,861 is largely through the extent of glaciers. 184 00:12:11,570 --> 00:12:13,572 NARRATOR: After the north and south poles, 185 00:12:13,655 --> 00:12:16,199 the Himalayas have more frozen water than 186 00:12:16,283 --> 00:12:18,535 anywhere in the world. 187 00:12:18,619 --> 00:12:21,747 PAUL: The high mountain areas are critically important because those are 188 00:12:21,830 --> 00:12:23,457 our water towers. 189 00:12:23,540 --> 00:12:26,793 Those are the places where a tremendous amount of water is stored. 190 00:12:28,211 --> 00:12:30,839 NARRATOR: Nearly a quarter of the world's population depends on that 191 00:12:30,923 --> 00:12:33,300 glacial water to survive. 192 00:12:33,383 --> 00:12:35,052 ALEX (off-screen): Downstream from high-mountain Asia, 193 00:12:35,135 --> 00:12:36,762 we have hundreds of millions of people who 194 00:12:36,845 --> 00:12:40,182 rely on the water from the rivers that flow out. 195 00:12:40,265 --> 00:12:43,477 NARRATOR: The glaciers that hold the precious resource have been shrinking at an 196 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:46,730 alarming rate over the past few decades. 197 00:12:46,813 --> 00:12:50,525 Since 2000, melting in these mountains has doubled. 198 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:53,236 Without a plan for what's ahead, 199 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:56,323 most of south Asia could be facing catastrophe. 200 00:13:00,410 --> 00:13:04,873 NARRATOR: The Himalayas are losing around 7.5 billion tons of ice every year. 201 00:13:06,083 --> 00:13:08,543 This creates two different dangers. 202 00:13:08,627 --> 00:13:10,545 If the glaciers disappear, 203 00:13:10,629 --> 00:13:14,466 the water supply for more than a billion people will be at risk. 204 00:13:15,759 --> 00:13:18,679 And as the meltwater rushes down from the mountains, 205 00:13:18,762 --> 00:13:21,139 there's a more immediate danger... 206 00:13:21,223 --> 00:13:23,892 Deadly flash flooding. 207 00:13:25,519 --> 00:13:27,980 Until now, there have been few warning systems 208 00:13:28,063 --> 00:13:30,524 in place to predict disaster and provide 209 00:13:30,607 --> 00:13:34,194 lifesaving information for people below. 210 00:13:35,028 --> 00:13:38,532 Tom Matthews and Baker Perry are here to try and change that. 211 00:13:39,116 --> 00:13:42,536 Their plan is to install a network of weather stations at five carefully chosen 212 00:13:42,619 --> 00:13:45,831 locations along the main climbing route. 213 00:13:47,082 --> 00:13:51,336 The last station will be placed as close to the summit as the team can get. 214 00:13:52,462 --> 00:13:55,465 All the stations will have instruments measuring temperature... 215 00:13:55,549 --> 00:13:56,466 Humidity... 216 00:13:56,550 --> 00:13:57,592 Air pressure... 217 00:13:57,676 --> 00:14:00,053 And wind speed... 218 00:14:00,137 --> 00:14:02,222 This network will produce a constant stream of near 219 00:14:02,305 --> 00:14:06,435 real-time data to help create accurate weather forecasts. 220 00:14:08,020 --> 00:14:10,647 One of the lower stations will be installed near base camp, 221 00:14:10,731 --> 00:14:13,483 with part of it perched on the ice itself. 222 00:14:14,484 --> 00:14:17,154 TOM: These will just hold... Good. Good, good, good. 223 00:14:17,237 --> 00:14:19,114 MAN: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 224 00:14:19,197 --> 00:14:21,116 TOM (off-screen): We knew it would get harder and harder as we went up to 225 00:14:21,199 --> 00:14:22,993 install these weather stations. 226 00:14:23,076 --> 00:14:24,411 Yep, tighten everything. 227 00:14:24,494 --> 00:14:27,664 So we knew early on that the Sherpa team were going to be instrumental in this, 228 00:14:27,748 --> 00:14:31,752 that we would have to work quickly and efficiently as a team to deploy those weather 229 00:14:31,835 --> 00:14:34,796 stations as fast as possible. 230 00:14:36,506 --> 00:14:38,592 Once the base camp science had been done, 231 00:14:38,675 --> 00:14:41,845 we could then start focusing on moving higher. 232 00:14:42,429 --> 00:14:45,891 PETE: Does everybody have a mask and a regulator? 233 00:14:46,975 --> 00:14:48,602 TOM (off-screen): The fear of going through the ice fall and 234 00:14:48,685 --> 00:14:51,354 the worry of columns of ice collapsing, 235 00:14:51,438 --> 00:14:53,690 of avalanches coming down from the slopes, 236 00:14:53,774 --> 00:14:55,484 it was a little bit overwhelming at times to 237 00:14:55,567 --> 00:14:59,196 think about the ordeal that was ahead, or the challenge that was ahead. 238 00:14:59,905 --> 00:15:01,490 NARRATOR: Over the next four weeks, 239 00:15:01,573 --> 00:15:04,117 the high-altitude team of scientists and Sherpas will 240 00:15:04,201 --> 00:15:08,538 work their way up from basecamp ever closer to Everest's summit. 241 00:15:09,331 --> 00:15:11,416 They will set up weather stations and collect ice cores 242 00:15:11,500 --> 00:15:14,544 at key locations along the way. 243 00:15:14,628 --> 00:15:17,881 Camp 1 is just above the ice fall. 244 00:15:17,964 --> 00:15:21,676 Camp 2 sits in the middle of a huge natural amphitheater, 245 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:24,096 filled with massive amounts of snow. 246 00:15:24,179 --> 00:15:28,016 Camp 3 is perched at 7,000 meters. 247 00:15:29,267 --> 00:15:31,436 TOM (off-screen): You can barely believe there's a camp up there. 248 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:33,480 It's only as you're ascending to Camp 3 that 249 00:15:33,563 --> 00:15:36,775 you can see there's this kind of notch carved out, 250 00:15:36,858 --> 00:15:40,362 and there's an area that you can pitch tents. 251 00:15:41,071 --> 00:15:45,075 NARRATOR: From there they'll climb up to Camp 4 in the South Col. 252 00:15:45,659 --> 00:15:48,537 TOM (off-screen): You're still looking up at the top of the mountain there. 253 00:15:48,620 --> 00:15:52,207 From the South Col, you've pretty much got to climb the equivalent height of the 254 00:15:52,290 --> 00:15:55,377 tallest mountain in England. 255 00:15:55,919 --> 00:15:58,797 NARRATOR: The Balcony is the last resting stop before the final 256 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,424 few hundred meters to the summit. 257 00:16:10,350 --> 00:16:13,562 TOM: 4:00 am, we're about to start up the icefall proper. 258 00:16:13,645 --> 00:16:18,567 Hopefully we'll get through it as quick as we can and emerge safely at Camp 1. 259 00:16:19,192 --> 00:16:20,735 BAKER: All good. 260 00:16:20,819 --> 00:16:23,029 AMRIT: Excited! 261 00:16:23,113 --> 00:16:25,198 MAN (off-screen): Yeah! 262 00:16:26,750 --> 00:16:30,879 NARRATOR: The first phase of the climb is a test of skill and nerves. 263 00:16:32,255 --> 00:16:34,966 PETE (off-screen): In recent years certainly the most fatalities have taken place 264 00:16:35,050 --> 00:16:37,177 in the Khumbu Icefall. 265 00:16:37,260 --> 00:16:40,263 It's our greatest technical challenge. 266 00:16:41,431 --> 00:16:44,601 It's the one where you have the fewest options for putting a safe 267 00:16:44,684 --> 00:16:47,312 and efficient route through. 268 00:16:47,395 --> 00:16:49,647 AMRIT: So, who got the first ladder of the day? 269 00:16:49,731 --> 00:16:52,567 Cause it's going up on the ladder. 270 00:16:57,447 --> 00:17:00,492 BAKER (off-screen): You're always on edge for sounds and 271 00:17:00,575 --> 00:17:04,204 for what might be coming at you. 272 00:17:05,830 --> 00:17:07,999 If the hazards weren't there, 273 00:17:08,083 --> 00:17:13,254 of a block of ice falling or an avalanche occurring, 274 00:17:13,338 --> 00:17:15,423 it'd be a lot more fun. 275 00:17:15,507 --> 00:17:19,010 I mean it's an obstacle course to go through. 276 00:17:29,396 --> 00:17:32,524 TOM: You're aware of the risk and the kind of Russian roulette nature of it. 277 00:17:32,607 --> 00:17:36,945 You know every crack, every rumble from up above 278 00:17:37,028 --> 00:17:40,615 is accompanied by quite the same level of fear. 279 00:17:41,199 --> 00:17:42,992 PETE: I'm hopeful that we'll be able to understand 280 00:17:43,076 --> 00:17:45,703 more about the glacier after this expedition, 281 00:17:45,787 --> 00:17:47,831 and maybe we'll be able to come up with some theory as to what 282 00:17:47,914 --> 00:17:50,708 exactly is going on there. 283 00:17:50,792 --> 00:17:55,380 What makes one good day turn into someone else's bad day within 24 hours? 284 00:17:55,463 --> 00:17:58,007 How do we predict that if we can? 285 00:18:03,304 --> 00:18:06,683 NARRATOR: The dangers on Mount Everest are natural and expected, 286 00:18:06,766 --> 00:18:09,060 but this year there's another hazard, 287 00:18:09,144 --> 00:18:11,855 one more difficult to accept. 288 00:18:11,938 --> 00:18:14,941 REPORTER: It's a bucket list for many, turning fatal this year. 289 00:18:15,024 --> 00:18:18,903 Reports of inexperience and overcrowding emerging in one of the deadliest 290 00:18:18,987 --> 00:18:22,323 seasons to hit Mount Everest. 291 00:18:23,950 --> 00:18:27,829 TOM (off-screen): We were unlucky enough to experience Everest in a very, 292 00:18:27,912 --> 00:18:29,497 very busy season. 293 00:18:29,581 --> 00:18:31,499 People are only moving higher up on the mountain 294 00:18:31,583 --> 00:18:33,877 when the weather is okay to do it. 295 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,630 There weren't many windows that were suitable for climbing. 296 00:18:46,931 --> 00:18:49,559 DIRK (off-screen): We're kinda at this bottleneck in the icefall 297 00:18:49,642 --> 00:18:51,519 where there's two vertical ladders, 298 00:18:51,603 --> 00:18:54,856 and they're a little bit of a tough climb for some people, 299 00:18:54,939 --> 00:18:58,902 so there's 150 people standing here under a serac, 300 00:18:58,985 --> 00:19:01,696 we're kinda standing back from it a little bit. 301 00:19:01,779 --> 00:19:04,699 It's not the safest situation. 302 00:19:05,658 --> 00:19:07,619 BAKER: We're gonna be here a while, 303 00:19:07,702 --> 00:19:10,121 so we might as well get comfortable. 304 00:19:10,205 --> 00:19:13,249 Appreciating the virtue of patience. 305 00:19:14,459 --> 00:19:17,253 AMRIT: My fingers are getting a little cold, my toes are getting cold, 306 00:19:17,337 --> 00:19:20,840 but it'll get over. 307 00:19:21,382 --> 00:19:23,801 It's all good. 308 00:19:31,851 --> 00:19:33,436 MARIO (off-screen): That's a very charming place. 309 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:35,813 It's hard to describe because you feel all pressure, 310 00:19:35,897 --> 00:19:37,565 or all tension, 311 00:19:37,649 --> 00:19:43,071 emotional tension because you have hanging gigantic pieces of ice overhead. 312 00:19:44,155 --> 00:19:46,449 But then when you're just over everything and 313 00:19:46,533 --> 00:19:47,951 in Camp 1 you just like think, 314 00:19:48,034 --> 00:19:50,453 ‘Oh my god that was an amazing experience.' 315 00:19:50,537 --> 00:19:53,540 AMRIT: Heavy breathing, short breath, 316 00:19:53,623 --> 00:19:55,542 but now I feel very good. 317 00:19:55,625 --> 00:19:57,544 It's very rewarding. 318 00:19:57,627 --> 00:20:00,755 We feel like we did something good today. 319 00:20:01,756 --> 00:20:04,801 NARRATOR: As the high-altitude team approaches elevations increasingly 320 00:20:04,884 --> 00:20:06,886 dangerous to human life... 321 00:20:06,970 --> 00:20:08,263 ANTON (off-screen): Two types of surveys we'll be doing. 322 00:20:08,346 --> 00:20:09,847 Water filtration... 323 00:20:09,931 --> 00:20:11,349 NARRATOR: Back at base camp... 324 00:20:11,432 --> 00:20:12,934 ANTON: Collecting water samples. 325 00:20:13,017 --> 00:20:16,646 And also doing things like turning over rocks, looking underneath, 326 00:20:16,729 --> 00:20:18,231 and seeing what's there. 327 00:20:18,314 --> 00:20:21,484 NARRATOR: Biology lead Tracie Seimon and her husband Anton Seimon are 328 00:20:21,568 --> 00:20:25,029 studying life forms better suited to survive up here. 329 00:20:25,113 --> 00:20:28,157 TRACIE (off-screen): The biodiversity of this area is really poorly understood. 330 00:20:28,241 --> 00:20:32,829 This will be the first comprehensive biodiversity survey 331 00:20:32,912 --> 00:20:35,665 performed on Mount Everest. 332 00:20:35,748 --> 00:20:39,502 We are at 5,300 meters. 333 00:20:40,420 --> 00:20:45,592 We are trying to find some of the highest life forms we can. 334 00:20:46,509 --> 00:20:47,677 ANTON (off-screen): Really interesting. 335 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,054 There's much more life up here than meets the eye at first glance, 336 00:20:50,138 --> 00:20:51,472 that's for sure. 337 00:20:51,556 --> 00:20:54,100 So here's some tussock grass and some mosses, 338 00:20:54,183 --> 00:20:57,061 and these were all growing under the pebbles and rocks you see here. 339 00:20:57,145 --> 00:21:01,274 And here, there is a very delicate little plant. 340 00:21:01,357 --> 00:21:03,610 There's a little alpine garden here. 341 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:07,238 NARRATOR: There are even tiny insects, known as bristletails. 342 00:21:07,322 --> 00:21:09,907 Related to the common silverfish. 343 00:21:10,950 --> 00:21:15,913 TRACIE: He's got these long filaments sticking out, that's a bristletail. 344 00:21:15,997 --> 00:21:18,374 NARRATOR: The drastic changes these specialized species 345 00:21:18,458 --> 00:21:21,753 are facing up here could provide an early indicator 346 00:21:21,836 --> 00:21:26,049 of what's in store for the rest of the world as our climate warms. 347 00:21:26,132 --> 00:21:28,551 ANTON (off-screen): We're getting a window into what the rest of the world is 348 00:21:28,635 --> 00:21:33,473 starting to experience and likely to experience in growing proportions. 349 00:21:33,556 --> 00:21:38,478 As the ice is melting and everything's moving uphill, the snow lines are rising, 350 00:21:38,561 --> 00:21:42,065 the biosphere itself is rising to occupy that space. 351 00:21:42,148 --> 00:21:43,775 But how rapidly is it rising? 352 00:21:43,858 --> 00:21:45,943 Which species are rising faster? 353 00:21:46,027 --> 00:21:48,946 What's being left behind? 354 00:21:54,661 --> 00:21:58,081 NARRATOR: As the high-altitude team moves farther up the mountain, 355 00:21:58,164 --> 00:22:00,875 the greatest danger they must face comes from the very thing they're 356 00:22:00,958 --> 00:22:02,710 determined to measure... 357 00:22:02,794 --> 00:22:04,128 The weather. 358 00:22:04,212 --> 00:22:06,506 PETE (off-screen): The fears are always the uncontrollable elements... 359 00:22:06,589 --> 00:22:07,757 The weather. 360 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:10,593 That's always the one we try to keep an eye on the most, 361 00:22:10,677 --> 00:22:13,012 so we don't put our team into any type 362 00:22:13,096 --> 00:22:15,848 of hazardous jeopardy. 363 00:22:15,932 --> 00:22:18,768 People are well prepared to deal with the cold, 364 00:22:18,851 --> 00:22:22,772 but it's really more having the ability to deal with the wind. 365 00:22:23,898 --> 00:22:25,525 TOM (off-screen): We changed our plans this morning. 366 00:22:25,608 --> 00:22:26,984 We were originally going to leave tomorrow, 367 00:22:27,068 --> 00:22:28,986 but the weather window dictates that it's 368 00:22:29,070 --> 00:22:31,114 really most sensible to leave today. 369 00:22:31,197 --> 00:22:37,203 BAKER: I think we're all excited to go up, but obviously a little 370 00:22:37,286 --> 00:22:42,083 apprehensive with just health and altitude 371 00:22:42,166 --> 00:22:45,503 and crowds and weather, 372 00:22:45,586 --> 00:22:49,006 but this is the time to go. 373 00:22:50,299 --> 00:22:54,303 NARRATOR: As the scientist and Sherpa team responds to the changing conditions, 374 00:22:54,387 --> 00:22:58,099 Pete keeps close track of all the teams from base camp. 375 00:22:58,641 --> 00:23:02,770 PETE (off-screen): I'm always conflicted about having people under my care on Everest, 376 00:23:02,854 --> 00:23:05,064 especially when I'm not going above basecamp, 377 00:23:05,148 --> 00:23:08,735 and because as well as somebody might understand the mountain 378 00:23:08,818 --> 00:23:13,072 the natural world doesn't always know who the experts are. 379 00:23:18,286 --> 00:23:22,415 NARRATOR: Pete Athans knows better than most how unforgiving Everest can be. 380 00:23:23,207 --> 00:23:26,502 He was on the mountain on one of its darkest days. 381 00:23:27,378 --> 00:23:29,756 On May 10th, 1996, 382 00:23:29,839 --> 00:23:33,801 he was making his fifth ascent up Mount Everest. 383 00:23:33,885 --> 00:23:37,847 He had reached Camp 3 for the night when he received the news. 384 00:23:37,930 --> 00:23:42,602 PETE: We heard at about 11:00 PM at night that there were still 16 people 385 00:23:42,685 --> 00:23:45,438 who hadn't made it back down to the high camp, 386 00:23:45,521 --> 00:23:48,232 at Camp 4, 26,000 feet. 387 00:23:48,316 --> 00:23:52,653 We dropped everything that we had at that point and worked our way back up 388 00:23:52,737 --> 00:23:56,115 to Camp 4 to assist people. 389 00:23:56,199 --> 00:23:57,700 NARRATOR: Earlier that day, 390 00:23:57,784 --> 00:24:00,745 several teams had set out to make their summit attempt. 391 00:24:00,828 --> 00:24:03,331 But a series of delays with rope lines and 392 00:24:03,414 --> 00:24:06,709 crowding slowed many members of the teams, 393 00:24:06,793 --> 00:24:11,130 and some were still pushing towards the top late into the afternoon. 394 00:24:12,048 --> 00:24:15,051 As the day inched closer to night, 395 00:24:15,134 --> 00:24:18,095 a powerful blizzard pounded the mountain. 396 00:24:18,179 --> 00:24:20,348 PETE: There were extreme high winds. 397 00:24:20,431 --> 00:24:24,560 There was some snow fall, poor visibility. 398 00:24:25,394 --> 00:24:28,356 NARRATOR: Unable to locate the safety of Camp 4, 399 00:24:28,439 --> 00:24:31,692 the climbers were trapped out in the open on the mountain. 400 00:24:31,776 --> 00:24:34,904 Eight people lost their lives. 401 00:24:36,197 --> 00:24:39,575 Preventing tragedies like these is just one more motivation 402 00:24:39,659 --> 00:24:41,994 for the weather station team. 403 00:24:42,078 --> 00:24:46,457 TOM: Being able to predict the weather with greater accuracy 404 00:24:46,541 --> 00:24:49,836 and avoid surprises could potentially save lives. 405 00:24:52,713 --> 00:24:54,841 DAWA (off-screen): We are at Camp 3 today. 406 00:24:54,924 --> 00:24:57,343 We just came from Camp 2. 407 00:24:57,426 --> 00:25:00,513 Mostly like, vertical uphill. 408 00:25:01,556 --> 00:25:04,433 But we had a really kinda mixed day today 409 00:25:04,517 --> 00:25:07,645 with the hot sun into the snowy ending, 410 00:25:07,728 --> 00:25:10,898 and now it's getting better here. 411 00:25:12,441 --> 00:25:15,528 TENKZA (over radio): Be by 5:30. 412 00:25:15,611 --> 00:25:19,323 PETE (off-screen): So the Sherpa team will meet them at 5:30 at Camp 3. 413 00:25:19,407 --> 00:25:21,534 TENKZA (over radio): Yeah, that's correct. 414 00:25:21,617 --> 00:25:22,743 PETE: Okay Tenkza, 415 00:25:22,827 --> 00:25:25,580 that's a good time for them to start, 416 00:25:25,663 --> 00:25:29,083 and they will then get to the South Col pretty early. 417 00:25:29,166 --> 00:25:31,419 TENKZA (over radio): Sounds good, see you tomorrow. 418 00:25:31,502 --> 00:25:33,004 (speaking native language). 419 00:25:33,087 --> 00:25:35,089 PETE: Basecamp standing by. 420 00:25:40,970 --> 00:25:42,680 TOM: Cold start but we're nearly there now. 421 00:25:42,763 --> 00:25:45,641 Sherpas just joined us from Camp 2. 422 00:25:45,725 --> 00:25:48,144 About to saddle up, start the oxygen flowing, 423 00:25:48,227 --> 00:25:51,439 then long climb to Camp 4. 424 00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:08,706 CLIMBER: Moving up. 425 00:26:08,789 --> 00:26:11,375 Almost to the South Col. 426 00:26:11,459 --> 00:26:14,378 It’s good to be heading higher. 427 00:26:19,342 --> 00:26:23,179 TOM (off-screen): Many times I was thinking about what the early pioneers of 428 00:26:23,262 --> 00:26:25,306 Everest climbing must have been thinking 429 00:26:25,389 --> 00:26:28,142 at different stages of the climb. 430 00:26:28,225 --> 00:26:30,937 The uncertainty of what was ahead. 431 00:26:31,020 --> 00:26:35,191 And not knowing at any point, whether perhaps the route would become unclimbable. 432 00:26:36,984 --> 00:26:42,573 I don't know how those early climbers managed to suppress those voices of fear and doubt 433 00:26:42,657 --> 00:26:45,785 as they were pressing on towards the summit. 434 00:26:48,621 --> 00:26:52,249 NARRATOR: This team has more in its sights than the summit. 435 00:26:52,333 --> 00:26:56,587 Mario is finally within reach of the ice core he's come to Everest for. 436 00:26:57,713 --> 00:27:00,049 MARIO (off-screen): We are at Camp 4, South Col. 437 00:27:00,132 --> 00:27:04,261 30 minutes from here there is a beautiful blue ice. 438 00:27:04,345 --> 00:27:10,059 I believe it's very old glacier and I'd love to drill a couple meters on the top, 439 00:27:10,142 --> 00:27:13,270 and meter or two on the bottom. 440 00:27:13,354 --> 00:27:16,565 I hope that will work. 441 00:27:16,649 --> 00:27:19,068 PAUL (off-screen): Ice cores are like a big detective story. 442 00:27:19,151 --> 00:27:22,530 We work with historians, archeologists, atmospheric chemists. 443 00:27:22,613 --> 00:27:26,993 Locked in those ice cores is everything that happened in the atmosphere. 444 00:27:28,536 --> 00:27:31,872 NARRATOR: Never before has an ice core been collected from this height. 445 00:27:32,581 --> 00:27:38,212 MARIO (off-screen): It's like opening a new window for science for us. 446 00:27:38,295 --> 00:27:40,840 It's absolutely unknown territory. 447 00:27:40,923 --> 00:27:43,217 NARRATOR: Now into Everest's death zone, 448 00:27:43,300 --> 00:27:46,595 above 8,000 meters, there is no margin for error. 449 00:27:46,679 --> 00:27:49,015 DAWA: Yeah, it's windy here. 450 00:27:49,098 --> 00:27:51,767 Very windy. 451 00:27:52,601 --> 00:27:54,854 PAUL (off-screen): You'll have literally only a couple of hours. 452 00:27:54,937 --> 00:27:58,524 In which you can exert yourself enough to, to drill down, 453 00:27:58,607 --> 00:28:01,652 pull the sample back out again, get it into a container. 454 00:28:01,736 --> 00:28:04,739 And there are a lot of places you can make a mistake. 455 00:28:05,614 --> 00:28:08,993 MARIO (off-screen): Whenever you drill, it's never the same type of ice. 456 00:28:09,076 --> 00:28:12,371 So, we didn't know really what we may expect. 457 00:28:14,248 --> 00:28:18,002 Just very first bite in ice, when the drill start rotating, 458 00:28:18,085 --> 00:28:21,839 and you see it's just going deeper and penetrating ice. 459 00:28:21,922 --> 00:28:24,842 It's just like, phew yeah, it's going to work. 460 00:28:24,925 --> 00:28:29,638 It was the most wonderful moment actually, because all stress just gone. 461 00:28:34,226 --> 00:28:36,896 I remember, I just, like, took my mask off. 462 00:28:36,979 --> 00:28:38,564 It's like, "Yes, it's going happen." 463 00:28:38,647 --> 00:28:41,400 So, everybody's just happy, like, "Hey, Mario, it's good ice." 464 00:28:41,484 --> 00:28:45,446 I was like, "Yeah, that's fantastic." 465 00:28:45,529 --> 00:28:47,948 So, like everybody start work really fast. 466 00:28:53,454 --> 00:28:55,039 (groans) 467 00:28:55,831 --> 00:28:59,210 Two or three times more and we're finished. 468 00:29:01,462 --> 00:29:03,464 NARRATOR: With every foot of ice drilled, 469 00:29:03,547 --> 00:29:06,425 the core reaches further back into time. 470 00:29:07,259 --> 00:29:10,262 Ten meters could mean Mario has reached ice that will reveal secrets 471 00:29:10,346 --> 00:29:13,349 around 5,000 years old. 472 00:29:13,432 --> 00:29:18,312 MARIO: I'm so extremely happy because it's going... 473 00:29:18,395 --> 00:29:20,231 Well we may finish soon because it's 474 00:29:20,314 --> 00:29:23,526 getting more and more difficult, but it's fantastic. 475 00:29:23,609 --> 00:29:26,403 The ice quality is WOW! 476 00:29:26,487 --> 00:29:28,364 Ok that's number 7. 477 00:29:28,447 --> 00:29:33,285 Amazing! Whooo! 478 00:29:34,453 --> 00:29:37,081 Awesome! 479 00:29:39,083 --> 00:29:41,710 Thank you everybody! 480 00:29:41,794 --> 00:29:44,380 PAUL (off-screen): In order to make better predictions for the future, 481 00:29:44,463 --> 00:29:46,841 you need to go back in time to see under a 482 00:29:46,924 --> 00:29:48,509 naturally colder climate, 483 00:29:48,592 --> 00:29:50,636 were there more storms or fewer storms? 484 00:29:50,719 --> 00:29:54,515 Was there more precipitation coming in, or less? 485 00:29:58,185 --> 00:29:59,895 NARRATOR: In a valley below, 486 00:29:59,979 --> 00:30:02,523 another team hopes to collect more information to fill in 487 00:30:02,606 --> 00:30:05,442 the pieces of this ancient climate. 488 00:30:05,526 --> 00:30:09,113 But their challenge isn't ice, it's water. 489 00:30:15,077 --> 00:30:18,747 NARRATOR: Geologists Mary Hubbard and Ananta Gajurel 490 00:30:18,831 --> 00:30:20,666 head up the effort to collect mud samples 491 00:30:20,749 --> 00:30:23,836 containing lifeforms from centuries ago... 492 00:30:23,919 --> 00:30:25,796 Ten meters deep in the lake. 493 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,924 MARY: So our project here is to take rafts and go out on this lake 494 00:30:29,008 --> 00:30:31,010 to take a sediment core. 495 00:30:31,093 --> 00:30:35,556 We've got two boats that we will raft together in catamaran style. 496 00:30:35,639 --> 00:30:37,725 And then we'll go under the boat. 497 00:30:37,808 --> 00:30:38,934 SHERPA: Under the boat? 498 00:30:39,018 --> 00:30:40,352 MARY: Under the boat. 499 00:30:40,436 --> 00:30:43,898 On an annual basis, streams are flowing into the lake, they bring sediment with them, 500 00:30:43,981 --> 00:30:45,316 the sediment's deposited. 501 00:30:45,399 --> 00:30:47,193 There's also wind-blown pollen that comes 502 00:30:47,276 --> 00:30:50,154 from trees in the areas or plants in the area, 503 00:30:50,237 --> 00:30:51,906 and that's deposited in the lake. 504 00:30:51,989 --> 00:30:54,450 So that's all recorded. 505 00:30:54,533 --> 00:30:57,369 BIBEK (off-screen): In this context of changing climate 506 00:30:57,453 --> 00:30:59,747 everything we can get our hands on to figure out 507 00:30:59,830 --> 00:31:04,960 how climate is behaving through the time is really important. 508 00:31:06,086 --> 00:31:09,423 It gives you like a tape recording of the climate, 509 00:31:09,506 --> 00:31:10,966 of the surrounding, 510 00:31:11,050 --> 00:31:14,094 of almost everything in that time. 511 00:31:14,929 --> 00:31:18,933 It's really important to understand the past to predict what's going to 512 00:31:19,016 --> 00:31:21,936 happen in the future. 513 00:31:24,813 --> 00:31:29,193 MARY: So can you, can you pick this up 514 00:31:29,276 --> 00:31:33,030 and hold it vertical in the hole. 515 00:31:35,532 --> 00:31:38,369 The core is just a weighted device with a plexiglass tube that will 516 00:31:38,452 --> 00:31:40,204 collect the sediment, that we drop, 517 00:31:40,287 --> 00:31:42,498 and gravity takes it to the bottom. 518 00:31:44,291 --> 00:31:49,004 There's a small weight that sits on a pipe, 519 00:31:49,088 --> 00:31:51,423 and you pull it up about eight to ten inches and 520 00:31:51,507 --> 00:31:52,883 you drop it back down, 521 00:31:52,967 --> 00:31:54,843 and you do that multiple times and it hammers that 522 00:31:54,927 --> 00:31:58,472 core tube down into the mud. 523 00:31:58,555 --> 00:31:59,890 BIBEK: Come on. 524 00:31:59,974 --> 00:32:01,392 MARY: Yep, I can feel it going down. 525 00:32:01,475 --> 00:32:04,728 BIBEK: Almost everything in the mountains is difficult... 526 00:32:04,812 --> 00:32:08,732 (overlapping chatter) 527 00:32:08,816 --> 00:32:12,945 BIBEK (off-screen): Cause you are not at your full strength at that altitude. 528 00:32:13,821 --> 00:32:16,073 MARY (off-screen): Keep it vertical. 529 00:32:16,156 --> 00:32:17,408 A little muddy. 530 00:32:17,491 --> 00:32:19,618 Keep it vertical, vertical, vertical! 531 00:32:19,702 --> 00:32:23,038 The sediment was much heavier than I anticipated. 532 00:32:23,122 --> 00:32:24,957 You have to keep the sediment barrel, 533 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,836 the core barrel, vertical until you get it all capped and sealed, 534 00:32:28,919 --> 00:32:30,879 which actually happens on shore. 535 00:32:30,963 --> 00:32:32,298 Yeah, we're going to set it... 536 00:32:32,381 --> 00:32:38,512 When we pulled the lake core up, you can't quite see what's inside. 537 00:32:38,595 --> 00:32:42,141 It's a little bit like getting a Christmas present that's wrapped in paper. 538 00:32:42,224 --> 00:32:46,562 It's not until we get it back to the laboratory that you then really see 539 00:32:46,645 --> 00:32:50,065 those nice layers of the core. 540 00:32:56,238 --> 00:32:59,158 DIRK: A lot of people up on the route! 541 00:32:59,241 --> 00:33:01,785 NARRATOR: At 8,000 meters, the high-altitude team 542 00:33:01,869 --> 00:33:03,829 is facing their one chance to enter the most 543 00:33:03,912 --> 00:33:06,665 extreme reaches of the planet. 544 00:33:06,749 --> 00:33:11,337 They'll only be able to spend a few hours here to install the final weather station. 545 00:33:11,420 --> 00:33:14,882 A year of preparation all comes down to this. 546 00:33:14,965 --> 00:33:16,717 MARIO (off-screen): Finished packing a drill. 547 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:22,389 We fill our bottles, because around 11:00 pm we are going to the summit, drill, 548 00:33:22,473 --> 00:33:28,854 and put weather stations, the highest ones, both. 549 00:33:29,980 --> 00:33:32,399 Fingers crossed. 550 00:33:32,483 --> 00:33:33,692 TOM (off-screen): Suiting up. 551 00:33:33,776 --> 00:33:35,819 Harness on. Crampons on. 552 00:33:35,903 --> 00:33:40,783 I'm about to start the final 850 meters to the summit. 553 00:33:41,325 --> 00:33:46,372 There's not a breath of wind, we couldn't ask for more at this stage. 554 00:33:47,748 --> 00:33:50,501 I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous. 555 00:33:50,584 --> 00:33:54,797 I am, I guess there's nothing left to do but face the music and dance. 556 00:33:54,880 --> 00:33:56,548 MARK (off-screen): Yeah. 557 00:33:56,632 --> 00:33:59,259 BAKER: Do me a favor and turn me up to two? 558 00:33:59,343 --> 00:34:01,011 MARK: Yeah. 559 00:34:03,931 --> 00:34:07,434 BAKER (off-screen): Just going into the unknown in the middle of the night, you know, 560 00:34:07,518 --> 00:34:11,855 recognizing that we're totally dependent on our down suits, 561 00:34:11,939 --> 00:34:16,819 on our crampons, on our oxygen to literally 562 00:34:16,902 --> 00:34:21,407 keep us alive is, is a pretty humbling feeling. 563 00:34:24,076 --> 00:34:25,786 CLIMBER: Let’s do it! 564 00:34:25,869 --> 00:34:27,246 We’re ready! 565 00:34:29,706 --> 00:34:32,793 TOM (off-screen): We're heading upwards, and we can already see 566 00:34:32,876 --> 00:34:36,171 climbers ahead and we can even see some returning. 567 00:34:36,255 --> 00:34:37,673 It feels like a bit you know, 568 00:34:37,756 --> 00:34:39,466 kind of like heading into a war zone. 569 00:34:39,550 --> 00:34:40,968 You're very much aware, 570 00:34:41,051 --> 00:34:43,345 at least I was, that it's an alien environment, 571 00:34:43,429 --> 00:34:45,973 that's not really built for us. 572 00:34:49,852 --> 00:34:53,188 MARIO (off-screen): You lose your feeling of space pretty much, 573 00:34:53,272 --> 00:34:56,275 and having headlamp and like blowing snow, 574 00:34:56,358 --> 00:34:59,570 you see like tiny stars just passing just next to your eyes, 575 00:34:59,653 --> 00:35:02,739 and then you see back of your climbing partner. 576 00:35:04,032 --> 00:35:07,369 BAKER: Beautiful morning and a light snow. 577 00:35:07,911 --> 00:35:13,584 BAKER (off-screen): There was a concern in the back of my mind about the number of climbers. 578 00:35:17,296 --> 00:35:19,882 MARIO (off-screen): From the South Col to the balcony, even in the dark, 579 00:35:19,965 --> 00:35:23,218 you see a like huge line of lights, 580 00:35:23,302 --> 00:35:26,889 and pretty much no one's moving. 581 00:35:29,975 --> 00:35:34,563 PETE (off-screen): The congestion on the climb was of the sorts that they realized it 582 00:35:34,646 --> 00:35:37,149 was going to perhaps put the team in jeopardy 583 00:35:37,232 --> 00:35:40,777 and/or put the objectives at jeopardy. 584 00:35:40,861 --> 00:35:43,947 TOM: It’s fast and then slow 585 00:35:44,031 --> 00:35:47,451 and so we’re in a big crowd now. 586 00:35:47,534 --> 00:35:53,040 Otherwise, it feels tough. Tough going. 587 00:35:53,999 --> 00:35:56,710 BAKER: Too many people. We’re at the balcony! 588 00:35:56,793 --> 00:36:01,715 There’s a huge line of people. It’s slow going. 589 00:36:01,798 --> 00:36:09,264 This is uh- I think the main thing it’s really cold. My hands and toes are cold, 590 00:36:09,348 --> 00:36:13,101 ‘cause we’re moving so slow. 591 00:36:14,686 --> 00:36:18,732 TOM (off-screen): We were very well aware this was a problem that was unfolding around us. 592 00:36:18,815 --> 00:36:20,776 Given how long it had taken us in that queue, 593 00:36:20,859 --> 00:36:24,154 we would not have enough time because we would not have enough oxygen. 594 00:36:29,701 --> 00:36:34,248 NARRATOR: Just 500 meters from Everest's summit, the team faces a decision... 595 00:36:34,915 --> 00:36:37,459 Wait for the route to clear and hope they can make it to the top, 596 00:36:37,543 --> 00:36:40,879 or build the weather station right here, on the balcony. 597 00:36:42,005 --> 00:36:45,926 MARIO: I think the idea appeared in Panuru's head that we'll probably have 598 00:36:46,009 --> 00:36:49,012 to work at the balcony. 599 00:36:49,096 --> 00:36:51,807 PAUL: The ultimate decision was made by the lead Sherpa, Panuru, 600 00:36:51,890 --> 00:36:54,601 and he was the most experienced person number one, 601 00:36:54,685 --> 00:36:56,895 and number two he was there. 602 00:36:57,729 --> 00:37:00,691 BAKER: Just... my mask totally iced up. 603 00:37:00,774 --> 00:37:02,442 I couldn't breathe. 604 00:37:02,859 --> 00:37:07,239 PETE (off-screen): They were feeling like they weren't going to get enough margin of safety 605 00:37:07,322 --> 00:37:11,285 to have two to three hours to do an install of equipment up there, 606 00:37:11,368 --> 00:37:14,288 and then get back down safely with the oxygen supplies 607 00:37:14,371 --> 00:37:16,748 that they currently had. 608 00:37:16,832 --> 00:37:18,792 NARRATOR: Knowing how much work they have ahead of them, 609 00:37:18,875 --> 00:37:20,502 the team agrees: 610 00:37:20,586 --> 00:37:23,463 this is where they'll put the highest weather station. 611 00:37:23,547 --> 00:37:27,926 BAKER (off-screen): Part of me was certainly a bit disappointed not to have the chance 612 00:37:28,010 --> 00:37:29,803 to go up a little higher. 613 00:37:29,886 --> 00:37:33,599 But none of us was there solely to summit the mountain. 614 00:37:33,682 --> 00:37:39,479 We had important scientific objectives to complete and that was our task. 615 00:37:39,563 --> 00:37:41,148 MAN: Oh no. 616 00:37:42,232 --> 00:37:45,068 TOM: Really we’re waiting for the drill battery to warm up. 617 00:37:45,152 --> 00:37:46,737 They’re too cold. 618 00:37:47,112 --> 00:37:53,452 BAKER (off-screen): We realized that the batteries were in fact too cold to operate the drill. 619 00:37:53,535 --> 00:37:56,079 They just did not have enough power. 620 00:37:56,830 --> 00:37:59,791 TOM: We’re trying to warm them up in down jackets, 621 00:37:59,875 --> 00:38:02,044 stuffed under our armpits. 622 00:38:02,127 --> 00:38:04,212 Hopefully that works. 623 00:38:04,296 --> 00:38:07,466 Sun’s about to come up. That can help a bit too. 624 00:38:07,549 --> 00:38:08,884 They’re too cold for it to work. 625 00:38:08,967 --> 00:38:12,596 My guess is it’s about -25°. 626 00:38:12,679 --> 00:38:16,350 And... you know we feel it, the batters feel it, so... 627 00:38:16,433 --> 00:38:20,854 We’ll just have to wait. 628 00:38:22,564 --> 00:38:25,734 BAKER (off-screen): A real sense of panic set in.... 629 00:38:29,738 --> 00:38:32,866 NARRATOR: The team waits for an hour... 630 00:38:40,499 --> 00:38:44,211 And then, a battery sparks to life. 631 00:38:44,294 --> 00:38:46,213 TOM (off-screen): So once the batteries have started working, 632 00:38:46,296 --> 00:38:49,591 we're straight into installing the station. 633 00:38:50,884 --> 00:38:53,178 And then we start doing the things we've been preparing for. 634 00:38:53,261 --> 00:38:56,973 We start attaching the sensors in the order that makes most sense. 635 00:39:01,895 --> 00:39:04,898 So, we're sliding them on, securing them, 636 00:39:04,981 --> 00:39:06,733 and the Sherpa are doing this themselves, 637 00:39:06,817 --> 00:39:08,402 because we've run through this so many times. 638 00:39:08,485 --> 00:39:12,197 BAKER: Do you need to use the shovel? 639 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:14,825 I think this is it. 640 00:39:14,908 --> 00:39:16,743 Yeah, it's good. 641 00:39:16,827 --> 00:39:18,662 We have our wind. 642 00:39:18,745 --> 00:39:22,582 TOM: Radio. 643 00:39:28,588 --> 00:39:31,550 BAKER: Temperature? 644 00:39:36,012 --> 00:39:42,102 TOM: Turning on... 3,2,1. 645 00:39:42,185 --> 00:39:45,772 She's on! 646 00:39:46,815 --> 00:39:49,443 Charging! 647 00:39:52,362 --> 00:39:53,655 Brilliant job! 648 00:39:58,285 --> 00:40:02,831 TOM: We just finished installing this weather station. 649 00:40:02,914 --> 00:40:05,125 Undoubtedly the highest that's ever been installed. 650 00:40:05,208 --> 00:40:07,294 On the balcony. Everest. 651 00:40:07,377 --> 00:40:09,880 Fantastic work from the Sherpa team, 652 00:40:09,963 --> 00:40:11,882 who put it up really quickly. 653 00:40:11,965 --> 00:40:14,676 Really excited to start looking at the data that's coming from this. 654 00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:20,056 It's transmitting now back to Washington, D.C. 655 00:40:31,902 --> 00:40:34,821 TOM (off-screen): We wouldn't have been able to achieve anything like we did 656 00:40:34,905 --> 00:40:38,825 without the help of that incredible Sherpa team. 657 00:40:38,909 --> 00:40:40,368 This is their home. 658 00:40:40,452 --> 00:40:43,914 And they allowed us into their home to conduct this science and allowed us 659 00:40:43,997 --> 00:40:47,042 to come back out safely. 660 00:40:52,964 --> 00:40:54,674 PAUL (off-screen): Everest is an amazing place. 661 00:40:54,758 --> 00:40:55,926 It's iconic. 662 00:40:56,009 --> 00:40:59,387 From our point of view scientifically, this was a great opportunity to make some 663 00:40:59,471 --> 00:41:03,642 contributions that to the field of environmental change, and climate change, 664 00:41:03,725 --> 00:41:06,937 that really couldn't be made anywhere else. 665 00:41:09,648 --> 00:41:12,484 NARRATOR: The expedition has been a great success but the scientific work 666 00:41:12,567 --> 00:41:15,612 is just beginning. 667 00:41:15,695 --> 00:41:20,325 The samples and data collected will drive years of breakthrough research. 668 00:41:20,408 --> 00:41:25,705 MARIO (off-screen): This ice at the South Col is different because it's been formed by 669 00:41:25,789 --> 00:41:29,709 crystals that's rounded by very strong wind. 670 00:41:29,793 --> 00:41:31,878 It's very neat ice. 671 00:41:31,962 --> 00:41:34,798 I have never seen anything like that before. 672 00:41:37,175 --> 00:41:41,721 NARRATOR: Early examinations of the ice core show something surprising. 673 00:41:41,805 --> 00:41:43,265 The most recent layer, 674 00:41:43,348 --> 00:41:45,016 on the very top of the core, 675 00:41:45,100 --> 00:41:48,061 is already 2,000 years old. 676 00:41:48,144 --> 00:41:52,023 This points to significant surface loss on the glacier, 677 00:41:52,107 --> 00:41:55,610 even above 8,000 meters. 678 00:41:56,862 --> 00:42:01,783 It's a signal that human activity has impacted the entire surface of the planet, 679 00:42:01,867 --> 00:42:05,203 including its highest reaches. 680 00:42:06,955 --> 00:42:12,752 In Montana, Mary Hubbard's lake core analysis indicates the same warming trend. 681 00:42:12,836 --> 00:42:14,671 MARY (off-screen): Once you have it open, you can see the layers, 682 00:42:14,754 --> 00:42:15,964 but you still have the question. 683 00:42:16,047 --> 00:42:17,090 So how old is this? 684 00:42:17,173 --> 00:42:21,261 How much time is represented in this bit of mud that I'm holding in my hands? 685 00:42:21,344 --> 00:42:24,764 And we now have a sense that it's probably just shy of 686 00:42:24,848 --> 00:42:28,435 2,000 years old that's represented there. 687 00:42:28,518 --> 00:42:32,939 MARY: Ok, nice neat layering right straight all the way down... 688 00:42:34,733 --> 00:42:38,111 NARRATOR: The different sections of the lake core reveal the region's plant and 689 00:42:38,194 --> 00:42:41,781 animal life as it was hundreds and thousands of years ago. 690 00:42:41,865 --> 00:42:44,034 PICO: Take a look at that one. 691 00:42:44,117 --> 00:42:49,205 MARY (off-screen): The pollen samples indicate that more recent times have had a higher 692 00:42:49,289 --> 00:42:55,211 abundance of tree species, whereas the older time period had more grasses and shrubs. 693 00:42:55,295 --> 00:43:00,133 And the forests have been able to move a little bit higher up the valleys. 694 00:43:00,216 --> 00:43:01,843 PICO: The forest is coming in. 695 00:43:01,927 --> 00:43:03,887 MARY: So that's consistent with the retreat of the glacier. 696 00:43:03,970 --> 00:43:05,055 PICO: Mmm-hmm. 697 00:43:05,138 --> 00:43:07,599 MARY (off-screen): We want to understand where that might go in the future. 698 00:43:07,682 --> 00:43:10,018 PICO: The trees are coming from lower elevation. 699 00:43:11,519 --> 00:43:15,774 NARRATOR: Data is now streaming 24/7 from the highest mountain on Earth, 700 00:43:15,857 --> 00:43:19,486 pointing the way to the future. 701 00:43:19,569 --> 00:43:21,196 TOM (off-screen): So from what we've seen so far, 702 00:43:21,279 --> 00:43:24,658 it looks like the snow and ice may be more sensitive to melt 703 00:43:24,741 --> 00:43:27,661 and therefore declining more than we previously thought 704 00:43:27,744 --> 00:43:31,289 before we went up there and put these weather stations in. 705 00:43:34,167 --> 00:43:38,588 PAUL (off-screen): The bottom line is that if we understand what's in store for us, 706 00:43:38,672 --> 00:43:41,925 where changes will occur, what sort of changes, 707 00:43:42,008 --> 00:43:44,844 we can make better predictions and we can plan better. 708 00:43:44,928 --> 00:43:47,931 And we can begin to organize our lives so that in some ways our 709 00:43:48,014 --> 00:43:51,643 quality of life could be better in the future than it is now. 710 00:43:51,726 --> 00:43:53,603 ANTON: 100 years ago, George Mallory, 711 00:43:53,687 --> 00:43:55,981 the early mountaineer was famously asked, "Why go to the Everest?" 712 00:43:56,064 --> 00:43:57,440 And he very famously answered, 713 00:43:57,524 --> 00:43:59,109 "Because it's there." 714 00:43:59,192 --> 00:44:00,318 I'm not satisfied with that. 715 00:44:00,402 --> 00:44:03,196 I say go to Mount Everest because it's informative, it can tell us things, 716 00:44:03,279 --> 00:44:06,282 it can tell us stories, it can help us understand the world we live in. 717 00:44:06,366 --> 00:44:07,492 Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.