Our Everest Challenge: With Ben Fogle and Victoria Pendleton
Olympic goldmedallist Victoria Pendleton hit the headlines in May when she was forced to abandon a charity challenge to scale Mount Everest alongside climbing partner, broadcaster and adventurer Ben Fogle. It was a reminder of just how enormous a struggle getting to the top of the world’s highest mountain is, when even your own body can turn against you with altitude sickness and oxygen deprivation – things no amount of preparation can overcome.
This atmospheric film captures that struggle viscerally, following the intrepid pair from the Nepalese capital Kathmandu to Everest base camp and on up the mountain for the dizzying summit attempt. They could hardly be in more experienced hands, guided by Kenton Cool, a veteran of 12 Everest summits, more than any other European climber. But as they trudge further up the sheer, ice-shrouded slopes into the mountain’s notorious “death zone”, physical exhaustion, adverse weather conditions and plain old bad luck test them to their limits. It is a fascinating account of a courageous and truly life-changing journey. Gerard O’donovan