BBC World Service’s new season of Amazing Sport Stories ‘Chasing Mountains’ follows five female climbers as they aim to defeat the world’s 14 highest peaks
Journalist Joanna Jolly and rock climber Kathy Karlo co-present the four-part series
In the new four-part season of the BBC World Service’s Amazing Sport Stories podcast, we follow the stories of the five mountaineers who are trying to become the first woman to reach the summits of the 14 highest mountains in the world.
In a gruelling and potentially deadly quest, spanning years, these women risk their lives for the ultimate challenge. All 14 peaks are more than 8000 metres high in the Karakoram and Himalayan mountains, comprising some of the harshest environments on Earth. The race is set, but everything may not be as it seems…
In the series are mountaineers Edurne Pasaban from Spain, Gerlinde Katlernbrunner from Austria, and Nives Meroi from Italy. They are joined by South Korean climbers Oh Eun-sun and Go Mi-young, all determined to claim the title.
It is a quest which will change their lives forever. But who will make history?
This is a story about chasing dreams, personal struggles, and the things that make us human, including mental health. Chasing Mountains is hosted by Joanna Jolly and Kathy Karlo.
Joanna Jolly is a writer, producer, and former BBC correspondent in Nepal. Over the series, Jo reflects on her own role in the story, reporting on the elite women climbers taking huge risks to achieve their goals. While the tantalising prospect of a race created great headlines, Joanna reflects on the realities of these women, who the media pitched against one another.
Kathy Karlo is a rock climber, podcaster and writer. Kathy draws on her experiences to help listeners understand the challenges elite athletes face as they push the mental and physical boundaries of their sport ever further and higher.
Joanna Jolly, says: “Back in 2010 when I was in Nepal reporting on this story, I was focused on who was going to win the race. But Chasing Mountains tells the story of the enormous mental and physical challenges that these women overcame – and it’s made me realise that being first isn’t that important.”
Kathy Karlo, says: “As climbers, we are inviting risk every time we go into the mountains. Mountaineering’s path asks us to gamble a thread, in order to receive everything in return. ‘Chasing Mountains’ speaks to the transformative power of passion for a sport, and how our greatest challenges and pains can reveal our truest selves.”
The first episode of Chasing Mountains will be available as a podcast on BBC Sounds on Monday 15 April and more widely available on other podcast platforms from Monday 22 April. Episodes will be released weekly. Chasing Mountains will air weekly on BBC World Service radio from Wednesday 26 June.
Amazing Sport Stories: Chasing Mountains is a Bespoken Media production for the BBC World Service.
Amazing Sport Stories is the BBC World Service podcast about sport but not as you know it. There are other podcasts about champions, team news and millionaire superstars – this one is about courage, rulebreakers, underdogs, myths, legends and expecting the unexpected. We’ve searched the world for these tales, which are told in mini-seasons and short stories. Previous mini-seasons have included the stories of the “Black 14”, a group of 14 American football players who were kicked off their university team in Wyoming in 1969 for wanting to protest against racism at another university, and a 12-year-old girl from Canada who just wanted to play ice hockey with the boys – when she was told she couldn’t, she turned from the ice rink to the court, transforming a sporting fight into a legal battle.
Series programme information
Episode 1
A near death experience motivates a mountaineer to scale the world’s highest peaks. But two others are trying at the same time. They say this isn’t a race but they are locked in competition to be the first woman to reach the summit of the fourteen peaks.
Episode 2
Then there were five. Two super-fast new challengers are powering up the peaks and the pressure is on. Edurne Pasaban, Gerlinde Katlernbrunner and Nives Meroi have been climbing the world’s highest mountains at a rate of around one a year. With the arrival of the South Korean climbers – Oh Eun-sun and Go Mi-young – the stakes are supercharged.
Episode 3
The mountaineers are climbing the final peaks and three of them are neck and neck. The other two are close behind. They say it’s not a race but their sense of competition is intense. Can they all make it and is the lead climber about to take the title?
Episode 4
We have a winner – or so we think. Questions are being asked, as an earlier climb comes under scrutiny. If you don’t actually reach the summit, can you still claim the title of first woman to scale the fourteen highest peaks? The mountaineers risked their lives on the ultimate challenge – can they make peace with what has happened?