"ATTENB0R0UGH:" "Human beings venture into the highest parts of our planet at their peril." "Some might think that by climbing a great mountain they have somehow conquered it, but we can only be visitors here." "This is a frozen, alien world." "This is the other extreme." "0ne of the lowest, hottest places on Earth." "It's over a hundred metres below the level of the sea." "But here, a mountain is in gestation." "Pools of sulphuric acid are indications that deep underground there are titanic stirrings." "This is the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, lying within a colossal rent in the Earth's surface where giant land masses are pulling away from one another." "Lava rises to the surface through this crack in the crust, creating a chain of young volcanoes." "This one, Erta-Ale, is today the longest continually-erupting volcano on the planet." "A lake of lava that has been molten for over 1 00 years." "These same volcanic forces also created Ethiopia's highlands." "Seventy million years ago, this land was just as flat and as deep as the Danakil Depression." "Molten lava, rising from the Earth's core, forced up a huge dome of rock 500 miles wide." "The Roof of Africa." "0ver millennia, rain and ice carved the rock into a landscape of spires and canyons." "These summits, nearly three miles up, are home to some very remarkable mountaineers." "Gelada baboons." "They are unique to the highlands of Ethiopia." "The cliffs where they sleep are for expert climbers only." "And geladas certainly have the right equipment, the strongest fingers of any primate and an utterly fearless disposition." "But you need more than a head for heights to survive up here." "A day in the geladas' life reveals how they've risen to the challenge." "For all monkeys, morning is grooming time, a chance to catch up with friends." "But unlike other monkeys, geladas chatter constantly while they do it." "It's a great way to network while your hands are busy." "But these socials can't go on for too long." "Geladas have a busy daily schedule and there's work to be done." "Most monkeys couldn't live up here." "There's no fruit and few insects to feed on." "But geladas are unique." "They're the only monkeys in the world to live almost entirely on grass." "They live in the largest assemblies formed by any monkeys." "Some groups are 800 strong and they crop the high meadows like herds of wildebeest." "The geladas graze alongside walla ibex, which are also unique to these highlands." "These rare creatures are usually very shy, but they drop their guard when the geladas are around." "You might expect that grazers would avoid each other's patch, but this is a special alliance from which both partners benefit." "It's not so risky to put your head down if others are on the lookout." "Ethiopian wolves." "They won't attempt an attack in broad daylight." "But at dusk, the plateau becomes a more dangerous place." "With the grazing largely over, there's a last chance to socialise before returning to the sleeping cliffs." "(YELPING)" "An early warning system puts everyone on the alert." "Their day ends as it began, safe on the steep cliffs." "The Ethiopian volcanoes are dormant but elsewhere, others still rage." "Volcanoes form the backbone of the longest mountain chain on our planet, the Andes of South America." "This vast range stretches 5,000 miles from the equator down to the Antarctic." "It formed as the floor of the Pacific 0cean slid beneath the South American continent, buckling its edge." "At the southern end stand the mountains of Patagonia." "It's high summer." "But the Andes have the most unstable mountain weather on the planet and storms can erupt without warning." "Temperatures plummet and guanacos and their newborn young must suddenly endure a blizzard." "Truly, all seasons in one day." "A puma, the lion of the Andes." "Pumas are usually solitary and secretive." "To see a group walking boldly in the open is extremely rare." "It's a family, a mother with four cubs." "She has just one brief summer in which to teach them their mountain survival techniques." "Rearing four cubs to this age is an exceptional feat, but she does have an excellent territory, rich in food and water." "Although the cubs are now as large as their mother, they still rely on her for their food." "It will be another year before the cubs can hunt for themselves." "Without their mother's skill and experience, they would never survive their first winter." "Battered by hurricane-force winds, these slopes are now lifeless." "Further north, they hold other dangers." "Moving at 250 miles an hour, an avalanche destroys everything in its path." "In the American Rockies, 1 00,000 avalanches devastate the slopes every winter." "This huge mountain chain continues the great spine that runs from Patagonia to Alaska." "The slopes of the Rockies, bleak though they are, provide a winter refuge for some animals." "A mother grizzly emerges from her den after six months dozing underground." "Her two cubs follow her and take their first steps in the outside world." "These steep slopes provide a sanctuary for the cubs." "A male bear would kill and eat them given the chance but big animals find it difficult to get about here." "Males may be twice the size of a female and even she can have problems." "Her cubs, however, make light of the snow and of life in general." "But the mother faces a dilemma." "It's six months since she last fed and her milk is starting to run dry." "She must soon leave the safety of these nursery slopes and lead her cubs away from the mountain." "If she delays, the whole family will risk starvation." "Summer reveals the true nature of the Rockies." "Stripped of snow, the peaks bare their sculpted forms." "0nly now can mountaineers reclaim the upper reaches." "Two miles up, the crumbling precipices seem devoid of life." "But there are animals here." "A grizzly bear." "It seems to be an odd creature to find on these high rocky slopes." "It's hard to imagine what could have attracted it here." "At this time of the year, bears should be fattening up for the winter, yet they gather in some numbers on these apparently barren slopes." "They're searching for a rather unusual food." "Moths." "Millions have flown up here to escape the heat of the lowlands and they're now roosting among the rocks." "Moths may seem a meagre meal for a bear, but their bodies are rich in fat and can make all the difference in a bear's annual struggle for survival." "Another battle is being waged here but on a much longer time scale." "These loose boulders are the mountains' crumbling bones." "The Rockies are no longer rising but slowly disintegrating." "All mountains everywhere are being worn down by frost, snow and ice." "The Alps were raised some 1 5 million years ago as Africa, drifting northwards, collided with the southern edge of Europe." "These spires are the eroded remains of an ancient seabed that once stretched between the two continents." "But these are just the Alpine foothills." "The range at its centre rises to three miles high and is crowned with permanent snows." "The Matterhorn, its summit too steep to hold a snowfield." "Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe." "The distinctive jagged shapes of the Alps were carved by those great mountain sculptors, the glaciers." "Immense rivers of moving ice, laden with rock, grind their way down the mountains, gouging out deep valleys." "They're the most powerful erosive force on our planet." "A moulin, a shaft in the ice opened by meltwater as it plunges into the depths of the glacier." "Like the water running through it, the ice itself is constantly moving, flowing down the valley with unstoppable force." "(CREAKING)" "Alpine glaciers may seem immense, but they're dwarfed by those in the great ranges that divide the Indian subcontinent from Tibet." "This is the boulder-strewn snout of the giant Baltoro Glacier in the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan." "It's the biggest mountain glacier on Earth, 4 3 miles long and over three miles wide." "This huge, ice-filled valley is so large it's clearly visible from space." "This is the greatest concentration of peaks over five miles high to be found anywhere on Earth." "They're the most dangerous mountains of all." "K2 and her sister peaks have claimed more lives than any others." "The peaks here rise so precipitously, the glaciers are so steep and crevassed, that few except the most skilled mountaineers can penetrate these ranges." "Markhor gather for their annual rut." "Males must fight for the right to breed, but on these sheer cliffs, any slip by either animal could be fatal." "A snow leopard, the rarest of Himalayan animals." "It's a female returning to her lair." "These are the first intimate images of snow leopard ever filmed in the wild." "She greets her one-year-old cub." "Her den is well chosen." "It has exceptional views of the surrounding cliffs." "0n these treacherous slopes, no hunter other than the snow leopard would have a chance of catching such agile prey." "A female with young makes an easier target." "Her large paws give an excellent grip and that long tail helps her balance." "Silently she positions herself above her prey." "(SQUEALING)" "She returns with nothing." "Golden eagles patrol these cliffs in search of the weak or injured." "With a two-metre wingspan, this bird could easily take a young markhor." "Eagles hunt by sight and the thickening veil of snow forces them to give up." "For the leopard, the snow provides cover and creates an opportunity." "The worsening weather dampens the sound of her approach, allowing her to get within striking distance." "It was an act of desperation to try and catch such a large animal." "Wolves have made a kill, giving other hunters a chance to scavenge." "The worst of the blizzard brings success for the snow leopard." "But having descended so far to make the kill, she has a gruelling climb to get back to her lair." "The cub must be patient." "It will be a year before it has the strength and skill to kill for itself on these difficult slopes." "The snow leopard is an almost mythical creature, an icon of the wilderness, an animal few humans have ever glimpsed for its world is one we seldom visit." "The Karakoram lie at the western end of a range that stretches across a tenth of our planet," "the Himalayas." "These, the highest mountains in the world, like other great ranges, were created by the collision of continents." "Some 50 million years ago, India collided with Tibet, thrusting up these immense peaks which are still rising." "This vast barrier of rock and ice is so colossal it shapes the world's climate." "Warm winds from India, full of moisture, are forced upwards by the Himalayas." "As the air rises, so it cools, causing clouds to form and the monsoon is born." "At high altitudes, the monsoon rains fall as snow." "Here, at the far eastern end of the range in China, one inhabitant endures the bitter winters out in the open." "Most other bears would be sleeping underground by now but the giant panda can't fatten up enough to hibernate." "Its food, bamboo, on which it totally relies, has so little nutritional value that it can't build up a store of fat like other bears." "Most of the creatures here move up or down the slopes with the seasons, but the panda is held captive by its diet, for the kind of bamboo it eats only grows at this altitude." "But these forests hold fewer challenges for the more mobile." "The golden snub-nosed monkey, like the giant panda, lives only in China." "Their thick fur allows them to survive at greater altitudes than any other monkey." "And when the cold bites, they have these upper slopes to themselves." "Even if you have a warm coat, it apparently helps to surround yourself with as many layers as possible." "But at least these monkeys have a choice." "If they tired of tree bark and other survival food, they can always descend to lower, warmer altitudes and not return until spring." "As the snows retreat, trees come into bloom." "Cherry blossom." "Rhododendrons." "Here in their natural home, they form great forests and fill the landscape with the colours of a new season." "These forests are host to a rich variety of springtime migrants." "Beneath the blooms, another display." "It's the mating season for oriental pheasants," "Himalayan monal," "tragopan and blood pheasant." "Musk deer make the most of a short flush of spring foods." "This male smells a potential mate." "The red panda, rarely glimpsed in the wild." "It was once considered a kind of raccoon but is now believed to be a small mountain bear." "By midsummer, its larger more famous relative has retreated into a cave." "A giant panda nurses a tiny week-old baby." "Her tender cleaning wards off infection." "She won't leave this cave for three weeks." "Not while her cub is so utterly helpless." "Progress is slow, for milk produced on a diet of bamboo is wretchedly poor." "Four weeks old and the cub is still blind." "Its eyes do not fully open until three months after birth." "But the chances of the cub reaching adulthood are slim." "The struggle of a giant panda mother to raise her cub is a touching symbol of the precariousness of life in the mountains." "0n the highest summits of our planet, nothing can live permanently." "The highest peak of all, Mount Everest." "Five and a half miles above sea level and still rising." "The roof of our world." "0f those humans who've tried to climb it, 1 in 1 0 have lost their lives." "Those that succeed can stand for only a few moments on its summit." "The Nepalese call it, "A mountain so high no bird can fly above it."" "But each year, over 50,000 demoiselle cranes set out on one of the most challenging migrations on Earth." "To reach their over-wintering grounds in India, they must cross the Himalayas." "By late morning, ferocious winds are roaring past the peaks." "The cranes must gain height to avoid the building storm." "They've hit serious turbulence." "They must turn back or risk death." "A new day and a new opportunity." "The flock stay in close contact by calling to one another." "Weak from lack of food and water, they use thermals, rising columns of warm air, to gain height." "For many, this is their first journey across the Himalayas." "For some, it will be their last." "The golden eagles have been expecting them." "The eagles work in pairs to separate a young crane from the flock." "It escapes the clutches of one and is caught by another." "But even a young crane is a heavy prize and the eagle has to struggle to control it." "The mother can wait no longer." "This is a desperate race against worsening weather." "The rest of the flock battle on." "In the final ascent, every wing-beat becomes an exhausting struggle." "At last, they are over the highest barrier that lies in their way." "But like all who visit the world of the high mountains, they dare not linger." "It's not just the scale of mountains that makes them a daunting place to work in." "The wildlife is scarce and extremely hard to find." "And it doesn't come any harder than finding and filming the snow leopard." "Scientists can spend years in the field with barely even a sighting of this rare creature." "Plane\t Earth sent one of the toughest cameramen in the business to begin a three-year quest to film it." "So I guess this is where you could say it really starts." "We're up here in snow leopard country." "You look around and anywhere, anytime, you might just see it." "These are big, big mountains." "And there are not many snow leopards." "There it is." "There's home entrance for the next wee while." "If I take you inside, I'll show you the amenities." "Very much five star." "It's actually, I think, quite comfy." "There's the bed." "And I've got pretty much everything I need." "There's film stock." "I brought some water up from the river." "True, it..." "It's a little bit cramped, but it's quite enough." "And all I need now... are one or two pussycats." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "As an insurance policy, the crew set up remote camera traps." "CAMERAMAN:" "Yeah, that's good. 0kay, Doug." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "These cameras are triggered by movement and capture images of any passer-by." "Am I a good snow leopard?" "MAN:" "No, but if the snow leopard does what you did, that'll be jolly good." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "But to stand a chance of filming any behaviour," "Doug just has to sit in a hide and wait." "This is tedious stuff." "This is the seventh session that I've done." "I do three hours in the morning and three hours in the late afternoon." "Not a sign." "If you got just... just a little bit of a hint..." "A wee bit of a sighting now and again, your spirits would be lifted." "But right now I'd swap a little bit of this animal's charisma for a little bit more visibility." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "Doug's hide is carefully positioned to give him the best view of the valley just in case a snow leopard should turn up." "Five days." "That's 35 hours of watching." "Nothing, no cats." "Yeah, of course it's boring." "It's boring as hell." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "After seven weeks of patiently sitting and waiting, these distant shots are all that Doug managed to film from the hide." "But luckily, the remote cameras proved to be more successful." "Whilst even a few shots of snow leopard in the wild are thrilling to see, the crew was still far from having a sequence of behaviour." "Plane\t Earth needed to take another risk and move to a new location." "Unfortunately, where they hoped to search for snow leopard, others were already searching for Al-Qaeda." "REP0RTER:" "Any Ame\rican..." "REP0RTER 2:" "This is the\ location in the\ war against te\rror..." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "0nly news crews were given access until the political situation became more stable." "0ne year later, Plane\t Earth was finally allowed into Pakistan." "They faced a week-long trek through terrain that was not only politically but geologically unstable." "The BBC has put us through two days of safety training." "It went from landmine clearing to hijack attempt." "And actually having watched the markhor, which we're trying to film, climb these cliffs that we're on today, the most terrifying thing is these football-sized rocks that keep flying past at head height." "You just think..." "Actually you can't prepare for that sort of thing." "Getting knocked on the head by a big rock." "Quite scary really." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "But it turned out to be worth all the risk." "The crew were in promising snow leopard terrain and soon finding plenty of signs that they were around." "MAN:" "How old do you think that one is?" "We just got a lot of snow, and we'll be able to track the snow leopard and so have a lot better chance of filming it." "It's just fantastic." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "Good news for tracking, but the snow would make it far harder to get around." "To increase their chances of finding a snow leopard, the crew split up, leaving Mark to spend Christmas on his own." "It's gonna be the first Christmas and New Year I've spent away from my family." "I spoke to my wife and kids last night and they were just about to go out carol singing around the village." "It would've been nice to have been with them." "Um, however..." "Well, that's it really." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "Although Mark woke to a white Christmas, there was no sign of the present that he had most been wishing for." "He had to wait five days before he heard any more news." "We just got a report that there's a snow leopard up on the ridge." "We were too low where we were before." "Just trying to get some height to get a better view of it." "Team on the radio said it was just up the valley on a cliff on the left here." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "Finally Mark was rewarded with his first ever glimpse." "MARK:" "When I looked up onto the ridge," "I could see this leopard-shaped rock which I'd seen a million times before." "And I looked through binoculars and it was a leopard just sat there." "And I said, "Leopard, leopard!" and they went, "Nah, markhor."" "And I said, "No, look at it!"" "It was perched just on the top of a rock and it looked down at us and it sat down in a sort of sphinx-like posture." "Came down very quickly and it's in a cave just up here about 1 00 metres away, above us." "And we've just gotta stake it out now and wait." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "Mark's patience had paid off." "News of his success quickly reached the tracking team." "Snow leopard?" "Snow leopard." "(MEN LAUGHING)" "(MEN SINGING AND CHEERING)" "I can't tell you how relieved I am." "This is just the best news ever." "And tomorrow is New Year's Eve." "So I think we're gonna party like there's no tomorrow." "No excuses, I think, on this one." "I just..." "Unbelievable." "I couldn't be happier." "ATTENB0R0UGH:" "The crew were lucky enough to spend two whole weeks with this snow leopard and her cub capturing intimate details of their lives in this extremely remote location." "But the final day of filming was to bring the best luck of all." "Plane\t Earth's three-year quest ended with this extraordinary footage." "A wild snow leopard hunt." "Something few humans have ever even seen."