Main content

Mountains

Episode 2 of 11

Documentary series which celebrates earth in all its glory. This edition looks at mountains, beginning with the birth of a mountain and ending at the summit of Everest.

Humans like to think that once they have climbed a mountain, they have somehow conquered it. But they can only ever be visitors to this alien, frozen world. Planet Earth takes you on a tour of its mightiest ranges, beginning with the birth of a mountain at one of the lowest places on earth, and ending at the summit of Everest. Unprecedented access brings you closer than ever before to the most awe-inspiring mountain landscapes on our planet and the secretive, almost mythical creatures that inhabit them - the 'real' mountaineers.

In Ethiopia, Planet Earth ventures into the heart of a volcano to discover one of earth's rarest phenomena - a lava lake that has been erupting for over 100 years. The same forces created Ethiopia's Simien Mountains, home to troops of gelada baboons nearly a thousand strong. In the Andes, a family of five puma struggle to survive the most unstable mountain weather on the planet.

Experience the full force of an avalanche in the Rockies, where grizzlies survive the harsh winters deep inside the dangerous slopes. In summer, the bears climb the peaks in search of moths, which they devour by the thousand.

Descend into the icy core of a glacier in the Alps and emerge in Pakistan, at the snout of the largest glacier on earth. This realm of giant peaks is home to the highest land predator on the planet - the snow leopard. Astounding images of a female snow leopard hunting to feed her cub are a world first.

Enter a mountain cave in China for the first ever glimpse of a wild giant panda mother nursing her week-old baby and fly alongside demoiselle cranes as they attempt to cross the largest range on our planet, the Himalayas. The cranes, like all visitors to the hostile world of the high mountains, dare not linger.

Available now

57 minutes

Audio described

Last on

Tue 22 Aug 2023 19:00

Clips

Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator David Attenborough
Series Producer Alastair Fothergill
Producer Mark Linfield

Broadcasts

  • Tue 9 May 2006 01:20
  • Wed 17 Jan 2007 19:00
  • Sat 9 Aug 2008 16:30
  • Sat 11 Apr 2009 18:40
  • Sun 12 Apr 2009 17:55
  • Sun 26 Apr 2009 17:00
  • Sat 13 Jun 2009 16:40
  • Sat 25 Sep 2010 19:30
  • Tue 9 Nov 2010 19:00
  • Wed 10 Nov 2010 01:00
  • Sat 13 Nov 2010 18:30
  • Wed 15 May 2013 16:15
  • Thu 3 Apr 2014 15:15
  • Tue 22 Aug 2017 16:15
  • Tue 13 Mar 2018 15:15
  • Tue 13 Mar 2018 15:20
  • Tue 22 Aug 2023 19:00

Featured in...