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At three miles above sea level, the base of Mount Everest is already higher than any mountain in the Rockies. The expedition team makes seven overnight stops to get to Base Camp (BC) on the mountain's northern face and will take a full month to acclimatize their bodies before they attempt the summit. The air is thin and the climbers feel physically weak, but the camaraderie is strong. As the team moves to Advanced Base Camp (ABC) at 21,000 feet to begin acclimatization climbs, they are shocked to discover how badly their minds and bodies cope. The expedition members begin climbs up to a ridge at 23,000 feet called the North Col, scaling 1,000-foot ice cliffs along the way.
At ABC, more than 600 climbers prepare for summit attempts. All the climbers on Russell Brice's expedition must prove they're strong enough to climb from ABC to the North Col in less than five hours or he will not allow them to continue. Russell spots a period of light winds in two weeks' time that looks ideal for an early summit attempt. To make this window, however, he'll have to push both his Sherpas and climbers extra hard to be ready two weeks early.
With all high camps ready and a promising forecast, Russell splits the group into two teams for the five-day, 8,000-foot summit climb from ABC. The strongest climbers are assigned to Team One guided by Bill Crouse, including L.A. firefighter Brett Merrell, ER doctor Terry O'Connor and asthmatic climber Mogens Jensen. Led by guide Mark Woodward, Team Two includes double amputee Mark Inglis, Hollywood biker Tim Medvetz and Lebanese climber Max Chaya.
Team One is the first to head into the death zone, where the extreme altitude shuts down digestion and the body starts to consume its own muscle tissue for energy. After only a few hours at the top camp, Team One leaves in the darkness at 1 a.m. for the summit. Almost immediately, they are caught in a frustrating human traffic jam that stops them in their tracks. If they can't pass some of the slow climbers on the ropes ahead of them, they could run out of time…and oxygen.
Members of Team One cope with the aftermath of their summit attempts. Many climbers are in danger from frostbite in the minus 40 degree F temperatures. Russell instructs Team Two, now at the top camp and ready to begin their summit attempt, to leave two hours early to try to beat the traffic. Although this might help, it also means an extra two hours in the elements before the sun rises on a very cold day. While some climbers make a strong start, others immediately struggle.
As everyone descends, the entire team suffers from the extreme cold. Frostbite affects more climbers on Russell's expedition than ever before. For each one who made the trek, whether or not they made the summit, the most important trip will be the one home. The climbers reflect on this year's expedition and whether or not they'll return to the mountain.
In the second season premiere of this series we meet a new group of climbers ready to tackle one of the biggest challenges on the planet: climbing Mt Everest. They risk their lives to achieve their dream, and on the way to the top they must overcome fear, freezing cold, exhaustion, and themselves.
The team makes its first ascent to a high camp with a strict time limit set by Brice, and Betsy must prove herself in one last climb or she may not be allowed the ascent.
The climb to Camp Two is brutal in both the weather and the outcome as Brice makes his decision on who is grounded.
Finally acclimatized and ready for the final haul to the top, the expedition leaves Base Camp. David Tait and Phurba Tashi are within hours of the summit, but even if they make it, they still have a long way to go to reach their goals.
Tim is lagging behind again, and Russell threatens to kick him off the team. Team One sets off for the summit.
Team One reaches Camp 4 in the Death Zone, and as their bodies begin to shut down from lack of oxygen, there is a grim reminder of the consequences of poor decisions.
Team One is in the Death Zone preparing to set off for their summit attempt, but an injury may sideline one of the team members risking not only his or her summit hopes, but the injured part.
Team Two makes their summit run, but it's the descent that endangers one team member with an 8,000 foot drop to his death.
Climbers gear up for the annual assault on Everest, and the mountain is ready to rumble. Unsteady, melting glacial ice triggers avalanches that tear down the slopes of Everest, turning the trek through the Kumbu Ice Falls to Camp One into a deadly game of Russian roulette. Millionaire adventurer, David Tait, pushes through the treacherous Ice Falls, and races to become the first team-member to reach the summit. Canadian climber Rejean Audet finds out that it takes more than heart to conquer Everest -- and an avalanche buries a team of climbers, turning the adventure of a lifetime into a fight for survival.
With a rogue storm front closing in on Everest, the window for a summit bid is rapidly closing. Most climbers retreat in the face of the on-coming storm, but for former college football player, John Golden, and his long-time climbing partner, John Shea, it's go time. Golden shattered his knee in a freak football accident years ago, and now walks on a surgically reconstructed knee. With every step, Golden pushes himself and his knee closer and closer to the breaking point. On Everest, he's just one slip away from stranding himself and the entire team on the slopes of the world's deadliest mountain.
Astronaut, Scott Parazynski, and senior citizen Dawes Eddy attempt a history-making summit bid. Veteran of 5 Space Shuttle missions, Scott is vying to become first person to walk in space and stand on top of the world's highest peak. For 66-year-old Dawes, a successful climb would make him the oldest American to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The climbers quickly find out that the mountain doesn't give up the prize easily. They'll have to run a lethal gauntlet of shifting ice, deep crevasses, and avalanches - if they make it through these obstacles, the Death Zone lies dead ahead, and the summit just beyond.
Hundreds of climbers head for the summit on the same day, leading to human traffic jams on the icy slopes of Everest. At 28,000 feet up, the traffic is deadly. With the bottled oxygen supply running low and hypothermia setting in, Russ's guides take matters into their own hands, pushing aside rival teams to clear a path to the summit.
The season is drawing to a close, and the weather is growing worse by the day. With a storm system closing in on Everest, Russ gives the go-ahead for his final team of climbers to begin their ascent, betting that they'll make it to the summit and back before the deadly storm hits. But he's gambling on the weakest team of the season. To beat the storm and survive Everest, they'll need to climb like their lives depend on it - because they do.
