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A note to our listeners, this episode contains explicit language.

From Wondery, I'm Cassie De Peckle, and this is Against the Odds.

The End of the Story

Over the last three episodes, we've told the story of a joint CIA Indian intelligence team

tasked with placing a spine device atop Nanda Davy, a 25,000-foot Himalayan peak.

The goal? To spy on China's nuclear missile program.

High on the mountain, a storm hit, forcing them to abort the mission.

A later attempt to place a device on a different mountain was successful.

On today's show, we're joined by Climer and Outdoor Writer Pete Takeda.

His book, An Eye at the Top of the World, explores the real story behind this Cold War mission.

As part of his research, Pete found himself atop Himalayan peaks in search of clues.

Pete Takeda, welcome to Against the Odds.

Thanks for having me.

And did this story first come onto your radar?

And did you believe it at first?

Yeah, I mean, this story first popped up on my radar when I was a young climber in Yosemite.

I basically grew up, went to school, and quit my job, and ended up pursuing my passion for climbing.

And part of that was living in Yosemite National Park for six or seven years.

As tradition follows, we would go climbing all day, and then sometimes you find yourself sitting around a campfire, drinking wine, or beer.

And that's when the story starts flying.

And I heard more than once this yarn spun by someone about how the CIA had hired a bunch of America's best climbers in the 60s, and how they had tried to utilize them to plant a spy device on a high Himalayan peak.

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