Extreme Peak Danger podcast from BBC Sounds and Novel launches

Extreme: Peak Danger explores a true story where 11 climbers lost their lives during two disastrous days on the world’s second-highest mountain.

It’s a raw, emotional narrative about human endurance, risk, and the pursuit of extraordinary challenges.

Sitting on the border between China and Pakistan, K2 is a perfect pyramid that pierces through the clouds. Some say it looks like a kid’s drawing of a mountain…but this terrifying peak is anything but child’s play. 

In August 2008, around 30 climbers were competing for their chance to make history and reach the summit of the world’s second tallest mountain. Over 2 disastrous days, 11 of those climbers would lose their lives. 

This is the story of what really happened, told by those who survived.

Norwegian newlyweds Cecilie Skog and her husband Rolf Bae love climbing mountains almost as much as they love one another. In the summer of 2008, after a failed summit attempt three years earlier, they set off on a honeymoon like no other, when they decide to return to K2. 

Joining them is Eric Meyer, an American doctor and teammate of renowned climbing Sherpa, Chhiring Dorje. 

There too, is professional adventurer Wilco Van Rooijen. He’d been seriously injured on K2 once before but is also returning again and this time is determined to reach the top.

What started as a dream quickly morphs into a nightmare, as a series of devastating avalanches scatters climbers across K2’s steep and treacherous slopes. 

Life and death rescue missions quickly get underway. But who will be saved before time runs out? 

It features first hand testimonies from the surviving climbers, from all corners of the globe: Norway, the U.S.A, Nepal, Korea, Sweden, Pakistan, Serbia and the Netherlands.

Historian, podcaster, fitness expert and host of Extreme series one, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela returns to guide us through this eight-part series. 

From BBC Sounds and Novel, Extreme: Peak Danger is a story of adventure, of death-defying risk, of love and passion and gets at the very heart of what it means to be truly alive.  

BBC Radio 4 Commissioning editor Daniel Clarke said: “We know a good deal about what it takes to conquer Everest, but a lot less about the challenges that K2 can pose.

“Peak Danger is a unique insight, told first hand and in heart-stopping detail, into what can happen when you take on one of the toughest and most dangerous challenges on earth.

“It takes you right onto the mountain, and into the lives of Cecile, Rolf and the rest of the group climbing K2 that day, in a way that is impossible to turn away from.

“You come away from the series with an intimate understanding of why people do extraordinary and extreme things like this – and how deep their after-effects can be.”

Host Natalia Mehlman Petrzela said: “I was immediately drawn to the story of K2 because I’m fascinated by how people will put themselves in such grave danger in order to feel fully alive.

“As a historian of sport and culture and avid exerciser myself, I was also intrigued by a physical pursuit that lies far from my personal experience but is certainly intertwined with my broader research.

“Our show chronicles the intense, emotional story of the ill-fated 2008 K2 expedition through the voices and experiences of those who were there and survived, using their recollections and archival audio to reconstruct the stories of those who lost their lives on that day.

“Furthermore, we go deep into the transnational history of mountain climbing and the political, economic, and social forces that for centuries have continued to propel men and women the world over to strive to reach the Earth’s highest peaks, despite — or perhaps, because of — the incredible risks of this daring endeavour.”

The full series is available now on BBC Sounds in the UK, with episodes released weekly on Mondays, wherever you get your podcasts.

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