Pete Athans

In this documentary, Bear Grylls takes us on a journey through the most extreme version of the world's highest and most legendary peak: Mount Everest. Several leading figures in mountaineering and extreme sports, for whom a standard ascent is no longer enough, transform Everest into a laboratory for extreme challenges. Told through archival footage and reenactments, this elite group seeks new forms of performance, attempting to ski the slopes, snowboard down them, hang-glide or paraglide above the summit ridge, open new routes on more technical and exposed faces, and break climbing records. The documentary also highlights the essential role of the Sherpas, the colossal logistics behind each attempt, the explosion of commercial expeditions, and the moral debate surrounding the ever-increasing risks involved in breaking records or achieving unprecedented feats.

May 25, 1996 - Bruce Herrod, a South African mountaineer reached the summit of Everest at 5 p.m. On the radio, we urge him to come down as soon as possible because the descent is dangerous in the middle of the night. A few hours later, no news from him. From this South African expedition which turned into a fiasco and another expedition carried out in parallel, the testimonies of the members of these expeditions show to what extent the thirst for climbing to the top of certain mountaineers, combined with the lack of oxygen , can alter the lucidity of climbers to the point of changing their relationship to death and thus lead them to neglect other expedition members in order to ensure their victory or save their own life.

In the Autumn of 2003, a team of Greek mountaineers is climbing, in Tibet, to the top of Cho Oyu of altitude 8201m. This mountain, situated in the area of Everest, is where the expedition prepares for the ascent, planned for the upcoming year, to the highest summit of the world. The efforts of the team attribute, however on the last day the unexpected occurs. During the descent the leader of the team, Christos Barouchas, leaves his last breath in the hands of the team's filmmaker Pavlos Tsiantos. With their return to Greece, the mountaineers are ready to quit the project, but as soon as they discover an old letter written by Christos they acquire a new motivation. The team reunites and finds the necessary strength to continue. In the Spring of 2004, the ascent to Everest begins, enhanced by the well known Greek-American mountaineer Pete Athans.