Main content

The approach

Can mountaineering survive in an age of rapidly warming mountains?

Adriana Brownlee is a mountaineering pioneer. The British woman became the youngest female to summit K2 - the second-highest mountain on Earth - in 2022. But mountains are changing and becoming more unpredictable because of climate change. High mountain areas are warming faster than the rest of the planet, meaning glaciers are shrinking and permafrost holding mountain faces together are disappearing. How are mountaineers like Adriana adapting and what implications are there for communities living in the foothills of these mountains?

Adriana investigates by visiting Chamonix in France, the mountaineering capital of Europe and home to Mont Blanc. She learns that the disappearing glacier there is an inescapable symbol of our warming planet. After speaking to other mountaineers, glaciologists and meteorologists, she asks herself if she is doing enough as a mountaineer to prevent the planet from warming further.

Image: Adriana Brownlee (Credit: Adriana Brownlee)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 14 Jan 2024 23:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 9 Jan 2024 02:32GMT
  • Tue 9 Jan 2024 09:32GMT
  • Tue 9 Jan 2024 13:32GMT
  • Tue 9 Jan 2024 20:06GMT
  • Tue 9 Jan 2024 21:06GMT
  • Sat 13 Jan 2024 17:32GMT
  • Sun 14 Jan 2024 05:32GMT
  • Sun 14 Jan 2024 14:06GMT
  • Sun 14 Jan 2024 23:32GMT