The Crowning of Everest - Episode 2
Seriously...
BBC
4.1 • 885 Ratings
🗓️ 3 January 2023
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Britain has tried and failed to reach the top of Everest for decades.
George Mallory and Sandy Irvine disappeared on the mountain in 1924.
There were various British expeditions during the 1930s - all unmitigated failures.
The Second World War interrupted the race to conquer Everest. But by 1951, with Tibet closed by communist China, a new unexplored route through Nepal was available.
The Swiss expedition had nearly succeeded in 1952. The French are scheduled to climb in 1954. For John Hunt's British team in 1953 the pressure is on. It is now or never.
Meanwhile, back in London, a different race begins. If the British get to the top it's the scoop of the century for whichever newspaper can report the story first. The Times pays £10,000 to have its reporter James Morris, later Jan Morris, embedded with the expedition.
Presenter: Wade Davis Series producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Sound design: Richard Hannaford Editor: Tara McDermott Production co-ordinators: Siobhan Reed and Helena Warwick-Cross
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This was an impregnable fortress. The only way you get out was in a wooden box. |
| 0:05.0 | The controversial maximum security prison impossible to escape from. |
| 0:09.0 | And one of the duties of a political prisoner is the escape. |
| 0:12.0 | The IRA inmates who found a way. of a political prisoner is the escape. |
| 0:12.5 | The IRA inmates who found a way. |
| 0:14.5 | I'm Carlo Gableer and I'll be navigating a path |
| 0:19.5 | through the disturbing inside story of the biggest jailbreak in British and Irish history. |
| 0:25.0 | The narrative that they want is that this is a big achievement by them. |
| 0:28.5 | Escape from the maze, listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:35.0 | BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:39.0 | All right there, fellow podcast lovers. |
| 0:42.0 | This is seriously from BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:45.8 | I'm Wade Davis. I'm an explorer and anthropologist. For years I've written about and |
| 0:59.3 | been obsessed by the extraordinary British expeditions which set out to climb Mount Everest. |
| 1:07.0 | The way has succeeded in conquering Mount Everest. |
| 1:10.0 | 1953 is the year they triumphed just as a young Queen Elizabeth the second is preparing for |
| 1:17.5 | her coronation. |
| 1:18.5 | I here present unto you Queen Elizabeth, your undarted queen. to you're in this series the crowning of Everest I'm exploring how these two events shape Britain |
| 1:31.1 | I knew we just climbed a mountain. |
| 1:34.0 | It just happened to be the highest one. |
| 1:37.0 | Episode 2, The Allure of Everest. I remember him saying he reflected that if he was in the southern Alps of New Zealand, the Mount Cook area, that he might |
| 1:57.0 | have gone, maybe we should go down, maybe we should come back another day when conditions are |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.