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Human beings venture into the highest
parts of our planet at their peril.

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Some might think that
by climbing a great mountain

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they have somehow conquered it,

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but we can only be visitors here.

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This is a frozen alien world.

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This is the other extreme -

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one of the lowest hottest places
on Earth.

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It's over a hundred meters
below the level of the sea.

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But here a mountain is in gestation.

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Pools of sulphuric acid are indications

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that deep underground
there are titanic stirrings.

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This is the Danakil Depression
in Ethiopia,

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lying within a colossal rent
of the earth's surface

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where giant land masses
are pulling away from one another.

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Lava rises to the surface
through this crack in the crust

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creating a chain of young volcanoes.

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This one, Erta Ale,

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is today the longest continually
erupting volcano on the planet,

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a lake of lava that has been
molten for over a hundred years.

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These same volcanic forces
also created Ethiopia's highlands.

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70 million years ago

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this land was just as flat and as deep

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as the Danakil Depression.

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Molten lava rising
from the earth's core

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forced up a huge dome
of rock 500 miles wide,

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the roof of Africa.

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Over millennia,
rain and ice carved the rock

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into a landscape
of spires and canyons.

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These summits, nearly 3 miles up,

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are home to some very
remarkable mountaineers -

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Gelada baboons.

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They are unique
to the highlands of Ethiopia.

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The cliffs where they sleep
are for expert climbers only,

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and Gelado certainly have
the right equipment.

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The strongest fingers
of any primate

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and an utterly fearless disposition.

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But you need more than a head
for heights to survive up here.

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A day in a Gelado's life reveals
how they've risen to the challenge.

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For all monkeys morning is grooming time,

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a chance to catch up with friends.

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But, unlike other monkeys,

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Gelados chatter constantly
while they do it.

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It's a great way to network
while your hands are busy.

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But these socials can't go on
for too long.

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Gelados have a busy daily schedule

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and there's work to be done.

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Most monkeys couldn't live up here.

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There's no food
and few insects to feed on.

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But Gelados are unique -

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they're the only monkeys in the world
that live almost entirely on grass.

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They live in the largest assemblies
formed by any monkeys.

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Some groups are 800 strong

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and they crop the high meadows
like herds of wildebeest.

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The Gelados graze
alongside Walia ibex,

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which are also unique
to these highlands.

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These rare creatures
are usually very shy

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but they drop their guard
when the Gelados are around.

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You might expect that grazers
would avoid each other's patch

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but this is a special alliance
from which both partners benefit.

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It's not so risky
to put your head down

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if others are on the lookout.

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Ethiopian wolves -

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they won't attempt an attack
in broad daylight.

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But at dusk the plateau becomes
a more dangerous place.

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With the grazing largely over

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there's a last chance to socialize
before returning to the sleeping cliffs.

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An early warning system
puts everyone on the alert.

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Their day ends as it began,
safe on the steep cliffs.

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The Ethiopian volcanoes are dormant,

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but elsewhere others still rage.

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Volcanoes form the backbone
of the longest mountain chain on our planet -

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the Andes of South America.

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This vast range stretches 5,000 miles
from the Equator down to the Antarctic.

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It formed as the floor of the Pacific Ocean

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slid beneath the South American
continent, buckling its edge.

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At the southern end
stand the mountains of Patagonia.

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It's high summer,

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but the Andes have the most
unstable mountain weather on the planet

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and storms can erupt without warning.

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Temperatures plummet

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and guanacos and their newborn young
must suddenly endure a blizzard.

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Truly, all seasons in one day...

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A puma -

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the lion of the Andes.

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Pumas are usually solitary and secretive.

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To see a group walking boldly
in the open is extremely rare.

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It's a family -
a mother with four cubs.

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She has just one brief summer

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in which to teach them
their mountain survival techniques.

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Rearing four cubs to this age
is an exceptional feat,

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but she does have
an excellent territory,

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rich in food and water.

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Although the cubs are now
as large as their mother,

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they still rely
on her for their food.

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It will be another year
before the cubs can hunt for themselves.

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Without their mother's
skill and experience

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they would never survive
their first winter.

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Battered by hurricane force winds,

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these slopes are now lifeless.

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Further north,
they hold other dangers.

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Moving at 250 miles an hour,

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an avalanche destroys
everything in its path.

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In the American Rockies

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a 100,000 avalanches devastate
the slopes every winter.

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This huge mountain chain
continues the great spine

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that runs from Patagonia to Alaska.

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The slopes of the Rockies,
bleak though they are,

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provide a winter refuge
for some animals.

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A mother grizzly emerges
from her den

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after six months'
dozing underground.

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Her two cubs follow her

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and take their first steps
in the outside world.

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These steep slopes provide
a sanctuary for the cubs.

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A male bear would kill
and eat them given the chance.

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But big animals find it difficult
to get about here.

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Males may be twice
the size of a female

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and even she
can have problems.

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Her cubs, however,
make light of the snow

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and of life in general.

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But the mother faces a dilemma:

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It's six months
since she last fed

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and her milk is starting
to run dry.

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She must soon leave the safety
of these nursery slopes

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and lead her cubs away
from the mountain.

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If she delays,
the whole family will risk starvation.

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Summer reveals the true nature
of the Rockies.

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Stripped of snow,

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the peaks bear their sculpted forms.

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Only now can mountaineers
reclaim the upper reaches.

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Two miles up the crumbling precipices
seem devoid of life.

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But there are animals here -

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a grizzly bear.

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It seems to be an odd creature
to find on these high rocky slopes.

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It's hard to imagine
what could have attracted it here.

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At this time of the year
bears should be fattening up for the winter.

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Yet they gather in some numbers
on these apparently barren slopes.

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They're searching
for a rather unusual food -

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moths.

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Millions have flown up here
to escape the heat of the lowlands

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and they're now roosting
among the rocks.

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Moths may seem
a meager meal for a bear,

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but their bodies are rich in fat

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and can make all the difference
in a bear's annual struggle for survival.

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Another battle is being waged here

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but on a much longer timescale.

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These loose boulders are
the mountain's crumbling bones.

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The Rockies are no longer rising

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but slowly disintegrating.

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All mountains everywhere are being
worn down by frost, snow and ice.

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The Alps were raised
some 15 million years ago

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as Africa, drifting northwards,
collided with the southern edge of Europe.

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These spires are the eroded
remains of an ancient seabed

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that once stretched
between the two continents.

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But these are just
the Alpine foothills.

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The range at its center
rises to 3 miles high

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and is crowned
with permanent snows.

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The Matterhorn,

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its summit too steep
to hold a snow field.

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Mont Blanc - the highest peak
in Western Europe.

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The distinctive jagged shapes
of the Alps

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were carved
by those great mountain sculptors -

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the glaciers.

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Immense rivers of moving ice,

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laden with rock,

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grind their way
down the mountains,

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gouging out deep valleys.

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They're the most powerful erosive force
on our planet.

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A moulin - a shaft in the ice
opened by melt water

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as it plunges
into the depths of the glacier.

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Like the water running through it,

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the ice itself is constantly moving,

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flowing down the valley
with unstoppable force.

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Alpine glaciers may seem immense,

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but they're dwarfed by those in the great ranges

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that divide the Indian
subcontinent from Tibet.

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This is the boulder strewn snout

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of the giant Baltoro glacier
in the Karakoram mountains of Pakistan.

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It's the biggest mountain glacier
on Earth -

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43 miles long and over 3 miles wide.

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This huge ice-filled valley
is so large

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it's clearly visible from space.

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This is the greatest concentration
of peaks over 5 miles high

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to be found anywhere on Earth.

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They're the most
dangerous mountains of all.

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K2 and her sister peaks
have claimed more lives than any others.

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The peaks here rise so precipitously,

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the glaciers are so steep and crevassed

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that few except the most skilled
mountaineers can penetrate these ranges.

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Markhor gather
for their annual rut.

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Males must fight
for the right to breed,

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but on these sheer cliffs
any slip by either animal could be fatal.

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A snow leopard -

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the rarest of Himalayan animals.

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00:27:02,803 --> 00:27:06,015
It's a female returning to her lair.

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These are the first intimate images
of snow leopard ever filmed in the wild.

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She greets her one year old cub.

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00:27:40,597 --> 00:27:42,933
Her den is well chosen.

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It has exceptional views
of the surrounding cliffs.

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00:27:50,275 --> 00:27:52,486
On these treacherous slopes

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00:27:52,569 --> 00:27:55,156
no hunter other
than the snow leopard

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would have a chance
of catching such fragile prey.

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A female with young
makes an easier target.

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00:28:28,862 --> 00:28:31,990
Her large paws give
an excellent grip

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00:28:32,074 --> 00:28:35,620
and that long tail
helps her balance.

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00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:49,678
Silently she positions herself
above her prey.

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She returns with nothing.

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00:30:26,624 --> 00:30:32,464
Golden eagles patrol these cliffs
in search of the weak or injured.

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00:30:52,904 --> 00:30:55,115
With a 2 meter wing span

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this bird could easily
take a young markhor.

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Eagles hunt by sight

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00:31:04,334 --> 00:31:08,714
and the thickening veil
of snow forces them to give up.

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00:31:24,858 --> 00:31:27,945
For the leopard
the snow provides cover

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00:31:28,029 --> 00:31:30,406
and creates an opportunity.

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00:31:48,970 --> 00:31:53,058
The worsening weather dampens
the sound of her approach

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00:31:53,183 --> 00:31:57,271
allowing her to get
within striking distance.

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00:32:14,708 --> 00:32:16,752
It was an act of desperation

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00:32:16,835 --> 00:32:19,672
to try and catch such a large animal.

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00:32:29,225 --> 00:32:31,269
Wolves have made a kill

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00:32:31,394 --> 00:32:35,065
giving other hunters
a chance to scavenge.

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00:32:51,292 --> 00:32:55,047
The worst of the blizzard brings
success for the snow leopard,

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00:32:55,172 --> 00:32:57,883
but having descended so far
to make the kill

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00:32:58,008 --> 00:33:02,138
she has a grueling climb
to get back to her lair.

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The cub must be patient.

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00:33:18,616 --> 00:33:21,286
It'll be a year
before it has the strength and skill

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00:33:21,411 --> 00:33:25,457
to kill for itself
on these difficult slopes.

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00:33:50,611 --> 00:33:54,324
The snow leopard is
an almost mythical creature,

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00:33:54,407 --> 00:33:56,243
an icon of the wilderness,

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an animal few humans
have ever glimpsed

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00:33:59,580 --> 00:34:03,126
for its world is
one we seldom visit.

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The Karakoram lie
at the western end of a range

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00:34:14,556 --> 00:34:18,644
that stretches
across a tenth of our planet -

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00:34:18,978 --> 00:34:21,063
the Himalayas.

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00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:34,120
These, the highest mountains
of the world,

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00:34:34,204 --> 00:34:36,290
like other great ranges,

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00:34:36,373 --> 00:34:40,419
were created by the collision
of continents.

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00:34:41,629 --> 00:34:44,049
Some 50 million years ago

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00:34:44,132 --> 00:34:46,176
India collided with Tibet

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00:34:46,301 --> 00:34:50,973
thrusting up these immense peaks,
which are still rising.

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00:34:56,229 --> 00:34:59,692
This vast barrier
of rock and ice

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00:34:59,817 --> 00:35:04,114
is so colossal
it shapes the world's climate.

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00:35:05,699 --> 00:35:08,786
Warm winds from India,
full of moisture,

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00:35:08,869 --> 00:35:11,330
are forced upwards
by the Himalayas.

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00:35:11,455 --> 00:35:14,042
As the air rises so it cools,

245
00:35:14,125 --> 00:35:16,253
causing clouds to form

246
00:35:16,336 --> 00:35:19,006
and the monsoon is born.

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00:35:57,676 --> 00:36:02,431
At high altitudes
the monsoon rains fall as snow.

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00:36:03,266 --> 00:36:06,686
Here, at the far eastern end
of the range in China,

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00:36:06,770 --> 00:36:11,859
one inhabitant endures
the bitter winters out in the open.

250
00:36:19,159 --> 00:36:23,331
Most other bears would be
sleeping underground by now,

251
00:36:23,456 --> 00:36:28,420
but the giant panda can't
fatten up enough to hibernate.

252
00:36:31,048 --> 00:36:35,261
Its food, bamboo, on which it totally relies

253
00:36:35,345 --> 00:36:38,265
has so little nutritional value

254
00:36:38,348 --> 00:36:42,562
that it can't build up
a store of fat like other bears.

255
00:36:43,771 --> 00:36:48,694
Most of the creatures here move up or down
the slopes with the seasons

256
00:36:48,777 --> 00:36:51,822
but the panda is held
captive by its diet

257
00:36:51,906 --> 00:36:56,828
for the kind of bamboo it eats
only grows at this altitude.

258
00:37:03,961 --> 00:37:09,635
But these forests hold
fewer challenges for the more mobile.

259
00:37:12,388 --> 00:37:19,229
The golden snap-nosed monkey,
like the giant panda, lives only in China.

260
00:37:21,315 --> 00:37:26,655
Their thick fur allows them to survive
at greater altitudes than any other monkey

261
00:37:26,738 --> 00:37:31,660
and when the cold bites
they have these upper slopes to themselves.

262
00:37:39,378 --> 00:37:41,380
Even if you have a warm coat

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00:37:41,463 --> 00:37:46,302
it apparently helps to surround yourself
with as many layers as possible.

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00:37:48,430 --> 00:37:50,891
But at least these monkeys
have a choice -

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00:37:50,975 --> 00:37:54,395
if they tire of tree bark
and other survival food

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00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:57,941
they can always descend
to lower warmer altitudes

267
00:37:58,024 --> 00:38:00,277
and not return there till spring.

268
00:38:04,782 --> 00:38:06,951
As the snows retreat

269
00:38:07,077 --> 00:38:09,621
trees come into bloom.

270
00:38:15,753 --> 00:38:17,130
Cherry blossom.

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00:38:20,300 --> 00:38:21,719
Rhododendrons -

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00:38:21,802 --> 00:38:25,264
here in their natural home
they form great forests

273
00:38:25,348 --> 00:38:29,186
and fill the landscape
with the covers of a new season.

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00:38:48,959 --> 00:38:54,882
These forests are a host
to a rich variety of springtime migrants.

275
00:39:09,733 --> 00:39:13,237
Beneath the blooms - another display.

276
00:39:16,407 --> 00:39:19,828
It's the mating season
for oriental pheasants,

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00:39:19,953 --> 00:39:21,789
Himalayan monal,

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00:39:25,668 --> 00:39:27,170
tragopan

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00:39:27,295 --> 00:39:29,172
and blood pheasant.

280
00:39:37,557 --> 00:39:42,646
Musk deer make the most
of a short flash of spring foods.

281
00:39:44,398 --> 00:39:48,153
This male smells a potential mate.

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00:40:03,754 --> 00:40:07,467
The red panda,
rarely glimpsed in the wild.

283
00:40:07,550 --> 00:40:10,011
It was once considered
a kind of raccoon,

284
00:40:10,095 --> 00:40:13,557
but is now believed
to be a small mountain bear.

285
00:40:24,737 --> 00:40:31,536
By midsummer its larger, more famous
relative, has retreated into a cave.

286
00:40:45,469 --> 00:40:51,101
A giant panda nurses
a tiny week old baby.

287
00:40:57,692 --> 00:41:01,780
Her tender cleaning
wards off infection.

288
00:41:13,419 --> 00:41:17,423
She won't leave this cave
for three weeks,

289
00:41:19,259 --> 00:41:23,180
not while her cub
is so utterly helpless.

290
00:41:32,524 --> 00:41:34,193
Progress is slow

291
00:41:34,318 --> 00:41:39,741
for milk produced on a diet
of bamboo is wretchedly poor.

292
00:41:46,624 --> 00:41:48,209
Four weeks old

293
00:41:48,334 --> 00:41:50,921
and the cub is still blind.

294
00:41:59,305 --> 00:42:05,229
Its eyes do not fully open
until three months after birth,

295
00:42:05,354 --> 00:42:10,276
but the chances of the cub
reaching adulthood are slim.

296
00:42:14,573 --> 00:42:18,369
The struggle of a giant panda
mother to raise her cub

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00:42:18,494 --> 00:42:24,543
is a touching symbol of the precariousness
of life in the mountains.

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00:42:34,722 --> 00:42:37,683
On the highest summits
of our planet

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00:42:37,808 --> 00:42:40,437
nothing can live permanently.

300
00:42:45,025 --> 00:42:46,736
The highest peak of all,

301
00:42:46,819 --> 00:42:50,949
Mount Everest, five and a half
miles above sea level

302
00:42:51,032 --> 00:42:55,245
and still rising -
the roof of our world.

303
00:42:56,872 --> 00:42:59,709
Of those humans who've tried to climb it

304
00:42:59,792 --> 00:43:02,879
one in ten have lost their lives.

305
00:43:03,046 --> 00:43:08,886
Those that succeed can stand
for only a few moments on its summit.

306
00:43:09,011 --> 00:43:15,102
The Nepalese call it 'a mountain
so high no bird can fly above it. '

307
00:43:21,818 --> 00:43:26,699
But each year
over 50,000 demoiselle cranes

308
00:43:26,782 --> 00:43:31,246
set out on one of the most
challenging migrations on Earth.

309
00:43:33,457 --> 00:43:36,877
To reach their overwintering
grounds in India

310
00:43:37,002 --> 00:43:40,089
they must cross the Himalayas.

311
00:43:46,931 --> 00:43:51,311
By late morning ferocious winds
are roaring past the peaks.

312
00:43:51,436 --> 00:43:55,899
The cranes must gain height
to avoid the building storm.

313
00:44:25,517 --> 00:44:28,479
They've hit serious turbulence.

314
00:44:33,151 --> 00:44:34,861
They must turn back

315
00:44:34,987 --> 00:44:36,947
or risk death.

316
00:45:12,405 --> 00:45:13,949
A new day

317
00:45:14,074 --> 00:45:16,535
and a new opportunity.

318
00:45:17,661 --> 00:45:22,083
The flock stay in close contact
by calling one another.

319
00:45:31,552 --> 00:45:33,847
Weak from lack of food and water,

320
00:45:33,930 --> 00:45:39,019
they use thermals, rising columns
of warm air, to gain height.

321
00:45:56,665 --> 00:46:01,838
For many this is their first journey
across the Himalayas.

322
00:46:01,963 --> 00:46:05,300
For some, it will be their last.

323
00:46:13,977 --> 00:46:17,398
The golden eagles
have been expecting them.

324
00:46:28,243 --> 00:46:33,792
The eagles work in pairs
to separate a young crane from the flock.

325
00:47:20,346 --> 00:47:22,807
It escapes the touches of one,

326
00:47:22,974 --> 00:47:24,976
and is caught by another.

327
00:47:28,147 --> 00:47:31,734
But even a young crane
is a heavy prize

328
00:47:31,859 --> 00:47:35,739
and the eagle has
to struggle to control it.

329
00:47:55,095 --> 00:47:57,097
The mother can wait no longer -

330
00:47:57,180 --> 00:48:01,352
this is a desperate race
against worsening weather.

331
00:48:07,943 --> 00:48:10,863
The rest of the flock
battle on.

332
00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:20,875
In the ascent every wing beat
becomes an exhausting struggle.

333
00:48:39,563 --> 00:48:45,403
At last they are over the highest
barrier that lies in their way.

334
00:48:52,787 --> 00:48:56,875
But like all who visit
the world of the high mountains

335
00:48:57,000 --> 00:48:59,253
they dare not linger.

336
00:49:00,305 --> 00:50:00,936
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