i looked her up. she summited solo in 2005 after Ben broke his leg on the climb. but the article says "her partner at the time" so i'm guessing no longer together
A lot of Appalling sensationalist nonsense by the Narrator, creating false danger moments and a sense of competition between climbers and between different groups. I prefer to hear from the climbers.
Where are all of the other climbers? And why don't the photographers filming this thing get more credit? And where are the camera people when filming, the climbers are all roped in, what about them??
I am From Nepal 🇳🇵 i really appreciate everyone who is promoting my country and culture... Anyone reading this comment can visit Nepal i will gladly accept them as guest and make there visit memorable
I admired him for that. Someone who is not content to let the Sherpas do all the hard, dangerous work of fixing those lines for everyone else, and who feels a totally logical sense of guilt over letting others do so much work on his behalf. Good for him! It feels like such a low bar to admire him for that, and yet it's so much more than the other climbers generally do.
For those interested: Will Cross did eventually summit Everest in 2006 making him the first type 1 diabetics to do so (possibly the only, can't find info on other T1D who have summited). Shaunna Burke stayed with Ben Webster (for a few years at least), and summited Everest the next year in 2005 (Ben Webster broke his leg quite severely during an acclimatization trip to camp 2, and was evacuated safely) And for some somber news, Andres Delgado (again fairly certain it is the same as in the video, but names can be similar) went missing while climbing Changabang in 2006. After an extensive search, he and another Mexican climber with him, Alfonso de la Parra, were presumed dead. Nice documentary, they played up the drama a bit, but still got lots of good info and footage. Thanks for the share David Snow, love your vids
I find it so frustrating that in a good portion of these mountaineering docs, the Sherpa are lucky to even have their real names said. I have an irrational anger that boils up inside when I don’t feel like the Sherpa’s are getting their due respect haha.
As a 75 year old German former female " Alpinist " I'd like to thank you for this wonderful documentary. Brings back wonderful memories of working in rural development in the Himalayan hills and trekking in Nepal as well as my youth in the Alps.. Thank you ! Saludos desde México, where i live for 25 years now.
Amazing climbers. But let's remember serpas carried all their stuff, layed all the ropes, set up tents, brought their food and went up and down several times. to help them.
@julianyc422 - Check out the documentary called "The Porter", they are the ones who carry everything to basecamp, carrying all the stuff for the climbers while never being allowed to interact with either the Sherpa people or the climbers. But you are right, from basecamp and onwards the Sherpa people do the vast majority of the work. The Khumbu Icefall ropes and ladders need to be redone a couple times each season, if not more which is also where most will die. I'll just add that I've seen comments elsewhere from ppl wondering why they don't build permanent structures on the Khumbu Icefall believing the aluminium ladders are a cheap and lazy solution. That kind of think baffles me, but it's kinda funny too
@@dopeoplereally3972 The Sherpa people make up for 1/3 of all deaths on Everest, and you believe the mountain has some degree of sentience and decides not to "injure" them? Do people Really believe such nonsense?
Love Annabelles attitude ...she embraces the whole experience and fights her fears with a smile on her face and of course, her lipstick and mascara, she's just brilliant !!
This was probably the most incredible documentary I've ever seen. Watched every second of it. I have a new found respect for this mountain, people that chose to climb her and the sherpas thar make it all possible. Very touching and heartbreaking documentary. The footage was incredible. My hats off to EVERYONE that takes on this incredible feat.
Ben’s such a tool. He was just stringing her along, I hope she dumped that idiot. So disappointed in the narrator’s script, he framed Annabelle as a ditzy tagalong but she was a real champ. Good for her for making it and returning in better shape than the rest of the westerners. I hope Will eventually bagged the rest of his summits.
@@howwwwwyyyyy Oh ffs that was made VERY CLEAR in this documentary & the comment you snarked at never said who... for all you know they meant the sherpas 🙄 Be smarter smh
Being disabled, these videos mean so much to me. It’s the only way I’ll ever be able to see this beautiful mountain. (I don’t think my central line and feeding tube would be okay in the extreme cold. Seeing how my only nutrition comes from them, it wouldn’t be very good if it froze. lol In all seriousness, I appreciate this so so much. Thank u.
I am a former climber and outdoor enthusiast now disabled by cancer, and when I read your comment, it rang true to me. I so enjoy watching these documentaries and seeing places I would not otherwise see, so out of reach to me now.
i’m disabled too. i share your appreciation cause i too will never get to see such things in real life, not that i’d want to climb up there lol. i’d settle for being able to ride my Harley 1 more time
Shaunna Burke did eventually summit Mount Everest on May 30, 2005. She also achieved her Masters and PhD in Sport Psychology. No mention is made of Ben in her current online biography.
I felt really bad for Shauna... We have Annabelle who complained the whole time, and Shauna who was more than capable but side lined by her boyfriend who claimed superiority over her health. I understand everyone needs someone to help them, especially at high altitudes, but it felt like he put his emotional connection to her ahead of everything. That is bound to happen with partners in a situation like this; it's impossible to clear your self bias, no matter what.
I got the distinct impression that Ben sabatoged Shaunna by keeping her back for all those days and then basically abandoning her at the end. It is no surprise they apparently broke up. I would be resentful too. Congrats to Shaunna for her sticktuitiveness and succeeding to the summit in spite of of and without Ben.
I mean it would be possible lol. Just would cost alot more to hire foreign people to work the camps. You would also have to pay them to acclimate prior to the real journey, where as Sherpa spend time with eachother acclimating on other mountains before everyone shows up to meet for Everest.
Sherpa fatalities are the highest of any group of people trying to summit Everest or working there. In fact the first 9 recorded climbing deaths on Everest during the mid-1920s were all Sherpa deaths. Then there were 3 deaths from the UK: Irving, and Mallory in 1924 and Wilson in 1934) fatalities from Nepal number 111. The next two countries are India and Japan both with 19 deaths. UK (17) US (15) China (12). Sherpas and guide from Nepal make up the vast majority of people present on Mount Everest from base camp upwards, so this group will endure the highest number of injuries and deaths purely from a statistical point of view (even though Sherpas are generally the best climbers, especially at high altitude and extreme conditions, you cant control freak weather conditions, snow avalanches, ice and rock falls etc. We saw the tragic accident in 2014 where an ice avalanche killed 16 Sherpas and injured 9.
I gotta say anabelle is definitely not what you'd expect from someone climbing Everest and I'll admit that I did not think she'd make it. If you read this, hats off to you girl, you did it! 👏
Yes, I was thrilled for her. Though she had already done a lot of climbing and run back-to-back marathons. Just thinking about those makes me need a lie-down! I was extremely impressed that she was so self-disciplined as to want to wear lippy and worry about not being able to wash her hair. A great rôle model, imo.
A UFC fighter said that the opponent he has respect for the most was Luke Rockhold, because while most fighters are doing it to survive or because they grew up in hard environments, Luke grew up well-to-do and was a male model. So the fact that he chose to put himself into danger and become one of the best made it that much more impressive. I think the same applies to Anabelle. As an heiress to a fortune, she could be living a life where the hardest test is in trying to only ride two cocks on a night of partying instead of four, but instead she pushed herself beyond the limits of most people and, apparently, succeeded. Her Wiki says that she's the fastest woman ever and fourth fastest human to summit the tallest peaks of all seven continents, having done so in 360 days. Nice.
By far this is the best footage and doc I've seen about Everest. I absolutely loved getting to know everyone and see new bits of the mountain, TEAM ANNABELLE!
I know nothing about mountaineering so I don’t understand why Ben held Shauna back from the first summit attempt. I’m glad to read here that she reached the summit 2 yrs later.
@@deltastones6702Ben was a great logistical manager. Not everyone reaches the summit when they want. The guy was juggling so many balls and didn't drop any.
I hope Shauna dumped Ben as soon as she got down the mountain. There was no reason to prevent her being with the whole team. Forcing her to delay that much was unnecessary and, in my (admittedly non mountaineering) opinion, cruel. Ben is experienced. He knew she would have little chance of summiting if she didn't go with the 50 climbers who were in the first window. I cannot understand what he was thinking, but if Shauna felt undermined and sabotaged by his behaviour, I agree with her. She doesn't need this jerk. Apologies for the rant but Ben clearly abused his power here and his girlfriend was the target. Don't listen to his excuses; look at his actions. Even when she got her shot at the summit he suddenly pulled out. He was probably hoping she would give up, and the status quo (him having summited Everest and she not having done so) would not change. I have seen this pattern several times. I reckon he was jealous she was doing her doctorate so he did everything he could to stop her. This dynamic was crystal clear to me. She should change her thesis to cover the dynamics of relationships in these extreme environments and whether the senior partner wants the junior partner to succeed. I think Ben wanted her to fail. I have little doubt about it. Meanwhile, back on the mountain: Why do they leave old ropes up there? It's dangerous, as we were reminded many times here with people unable to decide which was this year's rope. Dedicated teams install the ropes, why can't they have extra people, or more time, and remove old ropes as they go? Why don't they have teams to bring down the broken tents and oxygen canisters? The Sherpas carry them up the mountain, why not bring them back down? Expedition teams should get together and pay for this like they pay for all the other logistical issues. As usual, another wonderful series that gave us amazing photography and stories.
I agree with absolutely everything you said re: Ben and Shauna's relationship. She was determined and he knew it. He did absolutely everything to undermine her climb. He reached his goal while putting Shauna and the sherpas at risk! What kind of a person does that? A very small and dangerous one! I would stay as far away from him as possible!
I think you are all bit hard on Ben. Not privy to the planning, it is not at all clear to me that it was logistically situated to take more than two climbers at a time up the mountain. On the other hand, the issue of too many climbers on summit day is well known. Weather is always iffy on Everest (hence episodes such as the 1996 disaster, which occurred on the first day of summiting that season), and staggering summit attempts is an accepted way to improve at least one element of a team making to the summit. Of course, having oxygen bottles stolen from Camp 4 is really bad. With 20/20 hindsight it is certainly seen that another day for Shauna to climb would have been better. And Ben should have spelled himself at Camp 2 and got to lower altitude to preserve his health. (For that matter, it would have been good for Shauna to go below base camp for a couple of days as well.) But it was absolutely right for the team to descend from Camp 4 after two nights. Otherwise, an unlikely to be successful summit bid would mean four nights at the South Col--much too dangerous of a proposal. Ben acted in good faith in terms of managing the team. Beyond that, I really don't know either Ben or Shauna. If they are happy together, what business of mine is it to judge either or both?
Annabel is pretty damn tough and amazing for doing that. Everyone wants to bash her for being a rich bankers daughter, and invalidate the perseverance she had to make that accomplishment….but at the same time how many male climbers failed to make it? Seriously there are so many male climbers who are equally as wealthy and inexperienced who couldn’t reach the summit. They had help from Sherpas too. She clearly had some level of passion and interest that she risked her own life for this achievement and had practiced other climbs previously. Just because she had wealth and accessibility to this expedition doesn’t mean she deserved it any more or less. If you’re going to criticize her for using Sherpa labor or commercial tours, then criticize all the others equally without bringing her gender into it. To single her out is pretty sexist
@@MsMichigan thank u, exactly why is no one else tearing into each one of these male climbers dumping $40,000+ to climb a mountain. By most peoples standards theyre considered wealthy as well. Not to mention all the $$$ spend on fancy gear, equipment, and training. Why is it different if it’s a woman? What If we put the same importance on and started examining every male climber’s finances, and make sure to announce each of their father’s careers and wealth status since it was soooo important who Annabels father is, relevant to her involvement in the sport of alpine climbing 🤷🏼♀️ I really hate the blatant sexism seen frequently in alpine climbing
@@christafox13 👏👏👏👏 You said it so well! Annabelle is a bad ass no matter what. I do not know much about alpine climbing, so I'm glad you brought up how sexiest it is
Exactly! The majority of them are using the same labor. None of them, regardless of their gender, are getting up there simply because they paid the way.
This is one of the best if not even the best Everest documentary that I have even seen. People who believe that climbing Everst is a walk in the parc should know better after watching this great footage. Thank you for providng these insides.
I am Appalachian and am so proud to be a hillbilly or “person of the hills.” The mountains are mystical and call me when I roam too far from home. I am fascinated by Mt. Everest and the people who love her. ❤
Since I watched one time in RU-vid now I'm addicted to watch it every day.i put myself I'm hiking with them.i wish I could hike there before I get too old🙏🙏I love to hike in a lower mountains.i like to hike like this👍👍
Glad to see there other comments about shaunna, Ben failed her period. She was her first priority and nothing less. Glad she managed to climb on her own two years later.
I remember watching a documentary and saw Sherpa Mingdma going for his first summit after the first 3 or 4 failed attempts and in this documentary he has summitted 10 times? Wow!!!!
I know that's incredible! And he probably doesn't want any admiration or attention for it either, like it's just a normal day for him. These Sherpa's are wonderful, you can tell that they really love & respect their mountain 🙏🩷
The most in-depth Everest quest I have ever watched thank you to the channel to discovery an especially the men an women who risk everything so people like me who have a handicap can be apart of the journey SALUTE.
so hector rescued andreas from high altitude, andreas leaves hector in a crevice, then andreas thanks god hector is alive because he "would feel guilty all his life." thats dirty. just found out andreas is leading a team. doesnt sound like a good team leader.
Everybody knows the risk they are taking and can’t really blame anyone to choose their own life instead of saving other and risking themselves. Gerr Mcdonnels tried to save one life and resulting in his own death . So we can’t really question any decision from the co fort of our homes.
Loved this documentary, however...they really glossed-over the fact that 6 or 7 climbers died. You'd think with 4.5 hrs of film, they would take more than one sentence and a few seconds to explain what happened to those climbers!
One word *inexperience" two words *big egos*. How was that for explaining it to you? These days people think they are ready, but in reality haven't got a clue what is necessary and end up dying and often take others with them.
Ben should have let her go with the other team mates. Very sad because he put himself first, before his promise. Very fantastic documentary one of my favorites.
I checked after watching this documentary and she went back and completed her sumit push the following year. Ben broke his leg further down the slopes of Everest and she continued on and managed to sumit from the south side. Pretty solid :-)
The Sherpas fix every piece of the mountain for the tourists, set up all the camps, carry all the loads and oxygen to the higher camps. Under these circumstances the trip is closer to tourism than real climbing. Imagine the mountaineers going up there alpine style without fixed ropes, Sherpas and supplement oxygen. Thats a huge achievement, almost beyond human nature.
Check out a climber by the name of Reinhold Messner. He climbed all 14 of the eights alone, without oxygen and he used his own ropes. He’s the GOAT of mountain climbing.
@@staceyshaffer180 that's not 100% correct, on the final trip to his 14th, Lhotse, he used anothers expeditions ropes. He just wanted to get it done. He was stronger than most of the Sherpas, a real hero.
Incredibly well done Everest doc; really pulls the viewer in to the personal, existential journey of each climber. Top class cinematography as well- bravo team Discovery!
Für mich sind diejenigen die wahren Helden, die ihren eigenen Gipfelsturm abbrechen, um in Not geratenen Bergsteigern hinunterzuhelfen. Denen zolle ich meinen allergrößten Respekt!!!! (bei ca. 3:55:00) Ich verstehe auch diejenigen nicht, die das Ding ohne Sauerstoff durchziehen wollen, selbst wenn sie nicht mehr weiterkönnen. Das Leben ist wichtiger als jeder Rekord...
I'll have to say that I really enjoy your channel David, have since the beginning , I really like it when you post your climbing trips and trekking videos
Hector risked his own life to save Andreas’s, yet I didn’t hear anything from Andrea’s when the roles were reversed. He simply left him to his own fate - thank goodness Hector made it on his own. No wonder he has no desire to ever climb with him again.
Also shaunna was great, no wonder she broke up with that dude after this and ended up summiting on her next trip after this!! For someone as inexperienced on these expedition levels, she did incredible and was strong af
@@DENVEROUTDOORMAN LOL no one makes it on top of mount Everest and back down alive and safe out of sheer luck. I'd love to see hour faceless, misogynistic ass attempt to climb even up to base camp.
Best Everest Documentary series I've seen from the warm comfort of my computer. Big Congratulations to the British Queen who never forgot her mascara! 😇
Hector saved Andres, and then later he is thanked by being left for dead in a crevasse by the same man he saved!??? INSANE! Shame on Andres, I hope the mountain goddess teaches him a lesson.
Thanks to this doc, We're able to see quality footage of the yellow band, Geneva spur, and you get a clear understanding of how difficult it is climbing the Lhotse Face.
Loved that despite the conditions, she's color coordinated and removes her oxygen mask briefly to speak to the camera and debut her mascara and liner. She maintained a bright and positive attitude. Loved her! ❤
felt very bad for shauna...i was waiting for her to sumit the top..its not good....Ben and Shaunna should come back again......Annabeell is the real hero...with mascarra and lipstick she did it..... And it was very good to see the flag of Nepal and Discovery channel together on the top....Discovery always amazes us with the nice documentary....loved watching it all....huge respect to the sherpas...the god of the mountains.... Love from Nepal..🇳🇵🇳🇵🇳🇵🇳🇵🇳🇵
I've seen an extreme amount of footage of Everest but never really understood the magnitude of the Lohtse face until watching this. Definitely challenging!
“Failure comes in many forms on Everest,” yes, but not to Will Cross. His oxygen reached a summit, and he had the balls to know it. Surrounded by fools, he’s been facing mortality all his life as a born diabetic, and that climb shows him a man among men.
Absolutely incredible documentary and the best I have seen so far regarding climbiung Everest.After watching the whole thing, here ae my thoughts: Hector is an absolute gem. If I was to ever want to conquer any mountain, him and his Sherpa would be my first choice. I'm sure he gets paid well, but for how good he is as a guide and his expertise, he probably deserves more. Felt bad for Shauna because it seems she was one of the stronget climbers there and would have summitted no problem if she went with the first group. I hear she summitted on the next trip there so great for her. Anabelle surprised me and she out-did what I thought she was capable of on the mountain. I hear that Will was able to summit on another trip as well. Good for him. I realze this documentary has aged quite a bit but it still is the best i've seen of climbing Everest, and everything that goes along with that.
To get rid of the bottlenecks, they need a fast lane and a slow lane going up and coming down...probably not feasible though. In a perfect world. I Googled to see if Shaunna and Ben were still together. I really didn't get a satisfactory answer, but I believe they are only climbing partners, and not romantically involved. She did summit on her second attempt (?) but Ben had slipped on the ice and broke his tibia/fibula. She continued on alone without him and made it to the summit and back.
great video. I am mad for the treatment Shauna received. If i were in charge, I would make her climb with Hector, he is the only one I would trust that would keep her safe and give her the best chance to do it. Ben's decision to push it till the last min was completely irrational... Annabelle was on the other hand portrayed like nobody cooler has ever climbed the thing... she almost didn't struggle with anything for real, just a little bit...
Its a cultural thing with Annabelle Stiff upper lip old chap.. Ben had very little regard for Shauna and it showed, but then she was a whiny b**$h, I wouldn't be surprised if this trip caused their break up.
It's both humbling and daunting to realize how extreme some parts of this world really are. Whether it be the vast and burning deserts of the Sahara, the treacherous waves of this planet's oceans or the cold and punishing conditions of the Himalayas. Even more so, when we come to the realization of how easily such places can kill us.
I couldn’t do a major climb even if someone carried my backpack too. You have to be incredibly strong to do any of these climbs. The Sherpa aren’t going to carry you across ladders, keep you warm, stop you from losing parts of your frozen body, fix your brain if it gets cerebral swelling, catch you if a rope breaks………
OMG this is tortuous to watch, I'm feeling their breathlessness and their exhaustion and their pain. You have to admire these climbers who are having a mental battle with themselves as well as a physical one. I'd be terrified of frostbite. Kudos to the amazing sherpas and climb leaders. I looked it up, 305 people have died while climbing Mount Everest, 200 bodies still remain there. Wow.
Very well done! Awesomely put together! The Sherpa really are incredible! I’m amazed at their resilience and patience with others that are clearly not meant to be there. The Holly Mother’s children are truly superhuman. As for the rest…hoisted up the mountain, camps already set up, with oxygen tanks and fixed ropes…the only challenge is the altitude, the fact that the body is starved of Oxygen and slowly dying; not the climb, not the expedition, not the struggle to weave a way up. Mountaineering on Everest ended when the last route, SW, was completed in the ‘70s.
The Sherpa's are naturally acclimatized to high alltitudes, the other climbers aren't. Just because the tents, ladders and ropes are prepared for them it doesn't mean it's not still a huge difficult effort. They pay tens of thousands for Sherpa support, otherwise it wouldn't be possible.
By far, this is the best documentary on Mount Everest. I felt like I was there at the mountain. I felt sorry for Shauna but I hope she will accomplish summitting sometime in the near future .This documentary in particular shows how difficult the climb is.
Excellent documentary made me to tears, chills and sadness. Huge Respect to the climbers, Sherpas and specially to the people who take such a great risk filming this bone chilling documentary.🙏
The theft of oxygen exceeds "just taking bottles that are stashed". Some of the people who have died on Everest is probably due to someone they were with taking their oxygen because theirs ran out, and leaving them to die so they can survive. Some humans are that despicable in a life or death situation. I guarantee that has happened on Everest.
What is it about people like you? You invent a plausible story in your head, about because you have sold that story to number one, this automatically becomes a 'fact'. You have NO EVIDENCE to support your opinion. Plausibility is NOT a measure of fact. The world does not revolve around your personal opinions and beliefs. Get over yourself.
That place (Kathmandu) is pretty clean and tame, compared to the cities I've been to in Iraq between 2004 and 2005. I don't see why the hell she's even complaining.
Ms. Burke is a real keeper. Good thing she made it up 3 times AFTER this adventure; the main reason she didn't get up this time was because her b/f wasn't up to it, and he made sure she wouldn't make it either. That she married him is testament to her character.
I don’t think she married him. She made the summit in 2005. Good old Ben broke his leg in the attempt and she went on without him. Ah, yes. Karma is a bitch.
I can't believe how unprofessional some of these expedition leaders are. Not prepared and not able to guide their climbers safely. Also, pretty shocking treatment of Ben to his girlfriend. What a useless, patronizing, totally self-absorbed narcissist. She's a great girl and should run not walk away.
You analyze with your emotions just as girlfriend did as she whined throughout the film. Ben had the entire team's safety to think about and made his decisions based on that criteria. poor whiney shauna did not appear to be physically, emotionally, technically, and most of all mentally prepared to climb. I think Ben recognized this as did the others on the team and that's why he made the decisions he made. Look at her comments and attitude compared to Anabelle's comments and attitude and it is perfectly clear who was prepared and who was not.
@@drats1279 Anabelle was not with Ben's team. She had a lot more support than Shauna because her expedition leader was competent and well equipped, unlike Ben. Ben held Shauna back from the summit, but he wouldn't bring her down, either. Every day up there makes you weaker and more likely to never make it back. He's a ghastly idiot.
I admire these brave souls who successfully ascended Mount Everest. I wish no one have to sacrifice their lives knowingly or unknowingly to ascend Everest. I personally think that only positive thing is that Everest climbing brings many Sherpa families their livelihood. Hope all future climbers will bring their used items back to Kathmandu for recycling.
Awesome video! I wish Shauna would have ditched Team Discovery and joined Team HSBC. Watching Annabelle was really entertaining. Shauna could at the least, have had a chance. I don't think it works that way though.
How fascinating to hear, if they die on the mountain, they want to stay on the mountain. If I was a climber, I would too. This documentary was REALLY great!
Excellent documentary. I've watch a lot on Everest and this was certainly one of the best. Really enjoyed the new coverage which showed areas I'd never seen climbed before. That did show that Everest is not a walk in the park as some might say.
I live in Australia and like to climb mountains/peaks every week. Ours are tiny here. I love watching these videos thank you. They are mind blowing. I'll stick to our lil Australian ones ha ha
