Encore: K2 - The Savage Mountain | Summit Fever | 1

Against The Odds

Wondery

Cassie De Pecol, History, Society & Culture, Dolby, Mike Corey, Dolby Atmos, Atmos

4.7 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2024

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the summer of 2008, mountaineers from eight different countries gather at the foot of the world’s second tallest mountain, K2. All of them have a single goal: reach the summit. But to do that they will need to undertake one most difficult, and dangerous, climbs on earth. Sunny mornings can suddenly transform into white out conditions. Avalanches drop from overhead without warning. The technical challenge is so great, one in four who attempt it won’t come down. But in early August, this doesn’t stop more than two dozen climbers from attempting the feat.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wunderry Plus subscribers can listen to Against the Odds early in ad free right now.
0:05.0	Join Wunderry Plus in the Wunderry app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:09.0	Hey, I'm Mike Corey, the host of Against the Odds, where we tell true stories of people forced to test the limits of what they can endure.
0:19.0	And in 2008, when a group of international mountaineers set out to climb K2, the second highest peak
0:26.2	after Everest, they knew they'd encounter treacherous conditions.
0:30.9	Known as the Savage Mountain, K2 is considered the most dangerous in the world.
0:36.0	That trek became one of the worst climbing disasters in modern history,
0:41.0	but also one that showcased bravery and resilience.
0:46.1	In the past two years, however, the death rate on K-2 has plummeted, while the numbers of
0:51.4	climbers summiting has risen, leading some in the climbing community
0:55.0	to ask whether the savage mountain can be tamed after all.
0:59.0	As the popularity of K-2 rises, the local Pakistani governing body has increased fees and introduced new regulations to encourage a sustainable approach.
1:09.0	Sixteen years after the K2 tragedy, we're re-erring our series, which originally aired in 2021. It's June 5th, early morning, just before dawn.
1:27.0	Pemba Gil J. Sherpa unzips his tent and steps into the crisp clear air of base camp.
1:36.0	Pemba is 32 years old with broad shoulders and high cheekbones.
1:41.0	He's one of the best mountaineers in the entire world. He was born in Nepal,
1:45.8	in the shadow of Mount Everest, a mountain he's climbed seven times. But Everest is nothing like the
1:51.0	mountain he's here to climb now, his first attempt at K2.
1:56.6	To experience mountaineers, the name incites both excitement and fear.
2:01.8	One climber wrote,
2:02.8	it makes no attempt to sound human. It has the nakedness of the world before the first man,
2:08.8	or of the cindered planet after the last.
	...

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