01x03 - Reaching for the Sky

[bunniefuu]

Come on, Emily,
that knot's good.

It's good.

Come on.

Now move to your left.

f*cking stop panicking.

I don't feel safe.

Doing something that
nobody's ever done before,

there's no guarantee
that your plan's gonna work.

Once you commit,

there is no turning around.

We're entirely removed
from civilization.

Look at this one.

We know once we get there,
we're on our own.

Climbing!

We've chosen to live a life
that does have risk.

Oh, my God.

One mistake and you're dead.

Come on, now.

If you harness that fear

you can do something that
you never thought possible.

Whoo! Yeah!

Is the pursuit
worth the risk?

Kyrgyzstan is one

of the most mountainous
countries on the planet.

It is an alpine playground.

I think
what makes it unique is

the quality of the climbing
in such a remote place.

It's like putting El Capitán
in the middle of nowhere

in this valley in Kyrgyzstan.

I like feeling
on that edge of uncertainty.

It's an adventure.

Perfect.

We started our expedition
in Reno

and traveled all the
way across the world

to Bishkek,
capital city of Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan is one
of those places

that no one can really find
on a map.

Fly to Osh,
which is sort of like

the gateway to the mountains.

From there,
I think it's, like,

a 10-or-so-hour Jeep ride
to a trailhead

in a town called Uzgurush.

And then
that's when you start

three days of walking
to get to the Ak-Suu Valley

where we'll eventually set up
base camp

and try to climb Pik Slesova.

The goal of this trip
is to free climb

this 3,000-foot rock route

up the northwest face
of Pik Slesova.

It's a high-level free route

that's only seen
one team ascent.

Different people freed
different pitches.

No one person freed
every pitch.

That left
this unique opportunity

for one or both of us
to be the first person

to free every pitch
on the line to the summit.

When Kyrgyzstan was still
part of the Soviet Union,

Russians would come here,

and it was
a training ground

before they went
to the Himalaya.

It is a testament
to how remote

and out there this place is.

You know, we're sort of
coming together

to combine our... our skills
and our strengths

on this one objective.

I think we're kind of unique

in that we're
both professional climbers,

but we're
on almost opposite ends

of the spectrum of the sport.

I'm known for walking up
big hills really slowly.

And she's known for, like,

the highest-end
gymnastic rock climbing.

Big wall rock climbing

is kind of where they start
to come together.

It's the adventure

and the expedition side
of climbing,

combined with a really hard
big-wall free climb.

It's definitely gonna be
a test of our relationship.

But every time
we do a trip like this,

it's a test
of our relationship.

We landed in Bishkek
and spent two days there.

Bishkek really does feel
like this sort of melting pot.

It's a very modern city,

and it has
a lot of former Soviet

and Russian influence.

But at the same time,

it feels like a very young city

that's kind of, like,
just coming into its own.

The success or failure
of an expedition

really hinges
on the group of people there.

The team is really
what it all comes down to.

It's having the proper people
with the proper experience

to kind of embark on a journey
that's pretty full-on

- in almost every way.
- Hi. I'm Adrian.

- Dimitri.
- Emily.

- Good to meet you, Dimitri.
- Nice to meet you.

- I am Topo.
- Nice to meet you, Dimitri.

- How are you?
- We are so excited

to finally be here.

I think
the first question is

yesterday we heard that there
was some...

There were some conflicts...

- The border.
- You know, yeah.

- On the border.
- The border.

- What's...
- What's your opinion?

To the west.

Okay.

No, you're doing great.

Better than our Kyrgyz
or Russian.

This region does have
instability.

It was first on my radar

when Beth Rodden
and Tommy Caldwell

were kidnapped here
in the year 2000.

Caldwell and three others,

including his girlfriend,
were climbing here

in the Pamir-Alay
mountain range of Kyrgyzstan.

They were sleeping
on a ledge 1,000 feet up

when their ordeal began.

Three people on the ground
started sh**ting at us.

And we were taken hostage
at gunpoint by two men.

They were rebels
from Uzbekistan.

And they were sort of, like,
battling in that area

with the Kyrg Army.

We were seriously fearing
for our lives.

We did not know
what was gonna happen to us.

And escape was always
on the top of our minds.

Tommy kind of saved
all of them

by pushing one of these rebels
off a cliff.

And then they ran

and eventually found
a military base.

It is so hard
to think of that now

and to say it aloud,

but we were afraid
that we would not survive.

There is still an ongoing
border disagreement.

So there are local groups

continuing to fight
in this area.

We definitely don't want
to make the situation worse

in these areas.

I think I personally
really trust

the people who we've hired

to sort of give us
the go ahead

that it's Okay
and that it's safe.

But your recommendation
or comfort

is the plan we already have.

- Yeah.
- No problems.

- No problems.
- Okay.

- Great.
- Cool.

You know,
but at the same time,

you don't know
what's going to happen.

To go to your camp here.

- You got it?
- Yeah.

You said you
wanted to, right?

Emily and I have been together
for 9 1/2 years.

We met on Mount Everest
at 21,500 feet.

In this case,
having her as a teammate,

she's obviously

an unbelievably talented
rock climber.

This maestro of just knowing

what to do
with her body on the rock.

I discovered climbing
when I was 10 years old.

It went from me not even
knowing what climbing was

to, "Oh, this
is what I'm gonna do

for the rest of my life."

Around age 16,
I started doing world cups.

I didn't even have,
like, a team jersey.

I had to make my own
and, like,

sew a little American flag
on there.

I was sort of
in that first wave of people

who learned how to train
for rock climbing

instead of just going
rock climbing.

It was very regimented.
It was very serious.

And in my later teenage years,

I struggled
with an eating disorder.

A lot of young climbers do.

In order to perform well,

one of the easiest
and fastest ways to do that

is to cut weight.

I remember, like, feeling
exceptionally tired

all the time, really
kind of falling out of love

with climbing
and with what I was doing.

That was sort of, like,
the turning point.

I just couldn't live
that way anymore.

My love for climbing
has just sort of changed

and evolved as I've changed
and evolved as a person.

Competition climbing was

very much a part
of my childhood.

I didn't really explore
the adventure side of climbing

until a little bit later.

She was determined
to conquer El Capitán

in less than 24 hours.

Emily Harrington has reached
the peak of success.

I hate to compare,
but it looks

like Emily is in a slightly
more precarious situation

than you are.

There's still,
you know, sometimes

a tendency in our culture

to think, you know,
in athletic pursuits

there's a different level
of capability.

And Emily is out there
and pushing

at the very highest level
of the sport,

just showing what's possible,

man or woman.

Right as we landed,

there was the call to prayer.

Really kind of, like,
grounds you in a place.

Today's day one
of two days driving

to the trailhead in Uzgurush.

Pik Slesova is by far

the most remote big wall
I've ever attempted,

hands down.

It's not like Yosemite.

You don't just drive up,
park your car,

walk 20 minutes,
start climbing...

Which is why it's so unique.

Getting to just pick
our own fruit,

this is not gonna happen
anymore in the mountains.

No, we're not gonna
get this stuff.

We should take advantage
of it.

Batken definitely felt

like this transition point.

We didn't really have
any worries or concerns

up until that point.

Vorukh.

- It's...
- Oh, Vorukh is Tajikistan.

Yeah, Vorukh is Tajikistan.

That's where the fighting was
last month.

- Vorukh.
- It's a surrounded enclave.

Yeah.

The contested border
that we were passing

really close to after Batken,

the last flare-up we had
really heard about was in May.

More than 11,500 people
have been evacuated

following a flare-up
in violence

along its border
with Tajikistan,

leaving at least


and more than 100 others
injured.

Part of
the border conflict here

has to do with management
of this lake

and the drought
this part of the country

has been going through.


in 25 years in this region.

Seeing a place that is
threatened by climate change,

it makes it
that much more real,

that it's not about
threatening

our adventures
or our recreation.

It's about threatening
people's livelihoods

and people's lives.

Wars are gonna be fought
about water.

And that's happening here now.

You know, it's...

Some of our crew
got detained,

and so we're outside
a little military zone

waiting for them.

Welcome back.

Yeah, after a couple hours.

The area we're going
is super close

to the strongest part
of the conflict.

The local police were pretty
concerned about our security.

Yeah, from here I think
we probably...

We just want to be,
like, in and out.

- You know, like...
- Low-profile.

We knew that it was
going to be difficult

- to travel to this place, right?
- Yup.

So now we just need to adapt,
just heads up.

If you see something weird,
you know,

everybody will be
just full-on alarm mode.

Yeah.

You're getting
these little tidbits

and, trying to, like,
read through them all

and figure out what the, like,
through line is

and whether it's safe.

We've heard if you're
on the road after 5:00 p.m.,

they like to sh**t at cars.

A couple of days ago,

there was another situation
with two soldiers wounded.

- Ah, for...
- Customs.

Customs is this way?

Then Uzgurush.

We just went through
a final military stop,

and it's just feels
completely different.

It's much more rural and...

Surrounded by huge peaks.

I'm starting to think
it's gonna be

a really hard hike tomorrow.

Had a few hiccups
along the way,

but we've arrived in Uzgurush.

And we're in the mountains,
and it feels amazing.

End of the road,
beginning of the trail,

and organizing all of our loads
for the next few weeks.

Adrian is
a high-altitude climber

and a mountain guide,

one of the best in the world.

I've summited 8,000-meter
peaks 17 times,

and I've summited Mount Everest
eight times,

including once
without supplemental oxygen.

Man, I can't believe I did it.

I'm just so gripped right now.

I was born
in Cheltenham, England.

My family wasn't
an outdoorsy family.

When we moved to America,

I think my parents thought
they needed to do things

like camping and fishing.

And we weren't very good
at it.

Just learned
to get comfortable

in, like, cold, wet
New England winter.

There's nowhere
where I feel the focus

towards a single goal.

You are not thinking
about anything else

except not getting k*lled
on that mountain.

Today we begin our approach
to the mountain.

We have 15 miles to cover

and 7,000 feet
of vertical ascent

as we go up and down
these passes.

That's just day one.

We still have
two more full days

with that much or more
to get to base camp.

I've planned for so long
and think I know so much about

from maps and photos
and Google Earth.

This is the moment
where reality sets in.

We're on our own.

We are trying to get
over this pass

before we get struck
by lightning.

And it seems to be

coming in fast, but we think

the safest thing
is up and over.

So we're gonna find out
if we're right.

The difference between
the lightning and thunder

was not even a second.

You could feel the static
electricity in the air.

Still going a little bit,
but it moved on.

- It was a little scary, though.
- It was definitely legit.

A little freaked out.

Kind of the first reminder
that we're in the mountains.

We have to anticipate
those storms are gonna come

every day we're on the wall.

They're gonna be
a significant challenge

of how to deal
with them safely.

Mountain experience is

they can be so beautiful
and so powerful

because of that
risk-reward equation.

It's also something
that I struggle with.

I was guiding
with a Sherpa partner

named Nima Sherpa,

that I'd worked with
since my first trips to Nepal.

And he caught one crampon on
the pant leg of his other leg

and fell off the ledge,
like, exactly in front of me...

What I would estimate to be

a, you know, 800-foot cliff.

And it was very real.

He had a six-year-old son
and a family.

This brought the whole reality
of this thing

that I was having
so much fun doing

into very stark, like,
different terms.

Whether it's worth it,
why I do it,

why we're doing it...

Like, it was so clearly
not worth it

to Nima's family.

My risk tolerance today
is incredibly different.

And this was the beginning
of that change.

I like my pack.

- I have full cold.
- My nose is clogged.

My ear's, like, doing
the popping thing.

It's mainly just around
my eyes and not in my nose.

In your nose yet,
or in your throat?

No, nothing.

It's definitely not normal
to me.

We say high
and angled, like, that way.

Pass number four
or five of the trip.

I can't even keep count.

That was hard for me today.

Wow, crazy.
We came from back there.

I don't think
I've felt that weak

on a day hiking in decades.

All the way through that hike,
I was telling myself

that, like, it felt hard
because we had been traveling

for a week
and I was still jetlagged.

I know my body,
and something is not right.

Okay.

Yeah,
it's definitely positive.

It's definitely positive?

It came out
within three minutes.

No question.

Like, Emily needs
to take one.

Let's see what it says.

But you should definitely
take another one.

Pretty sure.

- I'm so sorry, Ems.
- It's okay.

I mean,
it's no one's fault, right?

We were all negative
a few days ago, right?

Yeah.

Well, let's hope
it's a false positive.

- You took another one?
- Yeah.

You're still looking
negative, Em.

Yeah, I'm already positive...
Instantly.

f*ck.

f*ck.

I've taken a lot
of these tests.

I never thought I'd see that.

- We're all testing.
- We're all vaccinated.

Like, it's just
so unlikely-feeling, but...

I think we're all
in a little bit of disbelief.

Like, how could this
possibly happen?

We took COVID tests
before leaving,

while we were in Bishkek,
while we were in Osh.

And then here we were
on the track,

getting further
and further from hospitals,

from medical care,
from all these things.

And now we had one person
who was COVID-positive.

It all just comes
crashing down.

I think the first part
of the puzzle

is making sure the local staff
doesn't get COVID.

For sure.

Like, yeah,
I feel really strongly.

We have to ensure their safety.

Yeah,
this is f*cking out here.

It's kind of
my worst nightmare

to negatively affect
a local community.

If my case got worse,

or if other cases happened
in the group,

we might not be able to get
them to medical care quickly.

We've both worked
for almost two years

to get ready for this trip.

It took so much effort,

but it's just the way
the world is right now.

And it's just
a stupid climbing expedition.

It's, like,
not that big of a deal.

But it is to me.

It just felt so close.

Uh, yeah,
maybe a little bit better.

But sore throat,
difficult to swallow,

a little cough, congestion.

My oxygen saturation
had actually dropped

into the low 80s.

That's about the same
as in the tent.

At home, if you're saturations
were less than 90%,

you'd be in the hospital
on oxygen.

- What was yours?
- 92 to 94.

It's pretty normal
for this altitude, I think.

We made the decision
that the only safe option

was to go back
to the road head

and then see if we can
piece together the logistics

to still make an attempt.

But right now, an attempt
feels really far away.

That meant three days
of walking back

over all the passes we had
crossed on the way in,

and then taking
a 10-hour drive to Osh,

where we knew
there was medical resources

if one of us got even sicker.

It's gonna be okay.

I know, but this
is just such a nightmare.

I've sort of let go
of climbing at this point.

Just one step at a time.

I have officially lost
my sense of taste...

Just in case the two
positive COVID tests

and the saturations in the 80s

didn't tell us anything.

But I was
just so disappointed.

What did I do wrong?

And did I ruin this dream
trip for so many people

by being careless somewhere?

Adrian tested positive
for COVID,

and then I tested positive,
like, two or three days ago.

- Good news.
- None of our local staff

has shown any symptoms,

which is what we were
mostly afraid of,

since they're unvaccinated.

So that feels really good.

I think we have three or four
more days in isolation.

Thank you.
See you later on.

It actually took
a surprisingly long time

for Emily and I
to test negative.

We kind of came
to the realization

there was no way time-wise
that we could hike back in

and still have an opportunity
to climb the mountain.

We already tried that.

We had a bad experience
with COVID.

We're repeating the same
behavior that we did before.

So we started looking
at helicopter options.

And the helicopter options
in Kyrgyzstan

turned out to be really,
really complicated.

Just waiting for word

whether we can take
the Kyrgyzstan helicopter in.

We got a tiny glimmer
of hope, so...

Just hoping
for good news tonight.

I know you've been getting
bits and pieces

of updates from Topo's team

just as this
continues to unfold.

Situation right now,
we basically don't have

a viable helicopter option

to get everybody back up
into camp.

Just essentially
put an end to this expedition.

What we're gonna start doing,

kind of planning
the exit strategy.

My plan is to have that

kind of detailed out
for everybody

by the time you guys all
wake up tomorrow...

Tomorrow morning.

We were packing our bags
into the truck

when our local guide,
Yusef, came to us and said,

"We can make the heli work.
We can do it."

It doesn't seem like
we're gonna go home anymore.

Doesn't seem like we're
gonna go home anymore.

But we were gonna go home,
like, a half an hour ago.

Yeah, it's the restart
to our expedition.

Yeah, one step closer.
One step closer.

Yeah, I like that sound.

We've spent years dreaming
about this trip.

And then we spent
pretty much a month

trying to get
to the objective.

It was exciting.

It was more exciting
than it would have been

if everything had gone
as planned.

It really was unlike anything
I'd ever seen before.

You know, as a climber
it's sort of, like,

this idyllic-looking
challenge.

Look at that.

We were surrounded

by, like, some of the most
beautiful granite towers

I've ever seen in my life.

And that was gonna be
our home

for the next two weeks.

It was, like, really hot.

We spent the morning
setting up.

And then me and Em
have just been, like,

you know, caged up
for so long, we were like,

"We gotta go and at least find
the base of the wall."

- You see it?
- Oh, holy sh*t.

It's really intimidating,
actually.

I think we should move up
a little bit,

- and then we can look at a map.
- Yep.

The way you ascend
a big wall is,

you climb one rope length,
and you stop.

And then often times you swap.

And your belayer climbs
one rope length and stops.

And then you keep going up
like that.

In order to, like, do
a clean ascent,

each one of those rope lengths

she has to climb

without falling.

If she falls,
she has to go back down

to the beginning of that pitch

and do it again
until she doesn't fall.

And a lot of times,
that is how you fail.

You get stuck at a pitch
and you can't complete it.

You know, sometimes you
continue, and then you say,

"Well, I freed every pitch
except this one pitch."

But that wasn't my goal.

So in my ideal world,
we could free climb

the route in its entirety.

And you don't return
to the ground

until you've reached the top.

So we're going straight
underneath that wet streak.

And then it...
You're definitely gonna trend

over into that corner system
right there.

And that's where that...

I had a lot of doubts
on pitch two,

because it was
this really long pitch.

And there were lots
of difficult sections.

I've only climbed probably

three or four pitches
of that difficulty,

and they've all taken me weeks
of working on them.

So you see these big corners?

- Then it goes...
- And then it goes left.

I see the Kyrg Monster.

For me, the Kyrg Monster

was one of the hardest parts
of the climb.

It's named after
this famous pitch

on El Capitán in Yosemite
called the Monster Offwidth.

It's this type of climbing
called wide climbing.

It's something that I've
always struggled with.

You're literally having
to wedge your body

inside of it
and inch your way up.

And it's so, so uncomfortable.

I've spent 2 1/2 hours

on the Monster Offwidth
on El Cap.

It's a necessary evil

when it comes
to big-wall climbing.

Oh my God, it feels
so f*cking good to climb!

So I think it's probably
a mix of being so psyched

to be on the rock
after all this.

But also, it doesn't feel quite
as natural as it usually does.

Not 100% sure where to go.

This 3,000 feet or so
of climbing above us,

we're playing
on the first hundred feet.

This style of climbing
is called free climbing,

which means using
our hands and feet to ascend,

and the rope
only in case of a fall.

And so that's
not to be confused

with free soloing,
which is free climbing,

but without a rope.

- You all right?
- Yeah.

There is a risk of bad falls.

And the consequence
can be pretty high.

- You're on belay.
- We'll just start romping.

Okay, we'll hopefully romp.

I don't like the first pitch,
at least...

- Well, I love it, so...
- You do?

Between the two of us,
we're balanced.

Yeah, it's like one of
my favorite pitches actually.

Really?

So injury to the left elbow,
injury to the left leg.

- I can wiggle my feet.
- I can feel everything.

So I just got,
like, this text message.

"Emily fell.
It's not okay."

It was one of the hardest,
scariest moments of my life.

And like, I didn't know

my brain could think that much
in 30 minutes.

She slipped
and took a 50-foot fall,

and hit a ledge before
the rope caught her fall.

- No broken bones.
- No broken bones.

We don't think... no.

I think you got
a massive rope burn

around your neck.

It was
the most serious accident

I'd ever had in climbing.

But I walked away.
I got really lucky.

It's still in my head.

But at the same time,
it was my mistake.

You know, a lot of times,
things aren't in your control,

like rock fall.

You can be pretty
traumatized from that

because you don't know
when it's gonna happen again.

- What the f*ck?
- What's that noise?

Oh, my God.

- Rock!
- Oh!

Rockfall, or loose rock

on a big vertical
wall like this,

like, it's one of the ways
that I've come closest

to getting myself k*lled
in the mountains.

When anything comes down

from, like,
baseball-sized or bigger,

if it hits you
it will k*ll you.

- Oh, there it is.
- Look at it.

I just don't think
this rain is

the kind
that's gonna go away.

Topo, Tico, if you copy,

we're gonna begin
moving downwards, Emza.

Wisely done leading today.

You kind of have
to just keep forging ahead.

There are a lot of factors
that are out of our control.

I really don't think
it's rope draggy.

And then remind me...
Went pretty far right.

Rock!

I've spent the last


trying to avoid
uncontrollable risk.

There's no escape if we're
in the middle of that slope

when something falls
out of that gully.

It's the process
of analyzing the risk

and making decisions
around that risk.

If everything was perfectly
safe and comfortable and easy,

all of these things
would lose their allure.

Me and Emily ultimately
decided we were willing

to go through
the rockfall potential

one more time.

It was worth it for the goal

that we had worked
so hard for.

We're gonna take that risk,

but it doesn't mean
it goes away

in your brain or your heart.

I'm just gonna lay
like this.

I feel fine when I lay down.

I woke up with this really
weird, like, vertigo.

I just am really dizzy
if I move too fast

or move my head too fast.

And I can't get rid of it.

I'm leaning towards
still going,

just 'cause we only have
this short weather window.

It's taken a lot
of time and energy

just to get to this point.

I guess we got
good news and bad news.

The good news is, for the
first morning in six weeks,

there's not a cloud
in the sky.

- Bad news?
- I don't feel good.

Em's still having
some dizziness...

- I feel really dizzy.
- Stuff going on.

I'm trying to fight it
and pretend it's not there.

Just have to start
walking, maybe.

Yeah, let's do it.

Okay.

Fine with it.

It was nerves,
and it was stress.

It was really just my body
and brain freaking out.

You know, not trusting myself,
wanting to succeed too badly.

We were planning on...

Hoping to have
five days on the wall.

We wanted to spend one night
on a ledge at pitch eight,

and then set up camp
on the bare ledge up higher.

- Double back through both.
- Just back through.

Wow, f*ck, it's been
so long to get here.

- I feel like I might puke.
- I know, It's like nerves.

Yes, Adrian!
Perfect!

Stand up!
So good!

Now you step right.

- Nicely done, Adrian.
- f*ck, yeah.

- Good job.
- One down!

I followed and was actually
super stressed and nervous.

Got through it just fine
and arrived at the belay

and was like,
"Oh my God, this is gonna be

"a long climb,

'cause I am just not
feeling on."

Just takes so much
mental energy.

And I'm like,
I don't know if I have it.

Okay.

Pitch two is
a 45-meter face climb,

so there's no cracks.

The holds are all
really, really tiny.

- All right now.
- Nice and confident.

f*cking stop panicking.

It's really intricate
climbing.

Put your feet
in the right place

at exactly the right time
in the right order.

Everything has to be
pretty perfect.

I'm nervous.

Come on, Emily.

Now move to your left.

Relax, you can do it.

- Yeah!
- Oh, my God.

- That's f*cked up.
- Good work, Em.

I made it
through The Crux,

and there was this relief.

I think I can do this.

Off belay!

- f*ck yes.
- Oh, man. That was a fight.

Holy sh*t.

And then, you know, the fear
and anxiety sets in,

because you look up,
and you're like, "Oh, wow.

You know, I have another


I knew that pitch
was gonna be

very difficult
for me to ascend,

which I kind of knew
coming in,

but you never know
until you really get on it.

God.

It was too hard for me.

There was no way
we were gonna risk

missing this weather window.

The only way Em
was gonna have a shot

was if I backed off
and sacrificed

a little bit of my time.

We've got
a big mountain to climb.

I don't even know
if I can do it from there.

I don't think
you should be that bummed.

I thought it was f*cking hard.

I wanted every pitch still.

But if I didn't send a pitch,

I was willing to let it go
to make sure

the team could keep moving.

In a way, he was doing
what he does best,

which is helping other people

be successful
in the mountains.

Oh, I'm so happy for you.

- That was amazing.
- Thank you.

So proud of you.

I was in a mode
at that point.

I was moving well,
I was climbing well.

I was still very much trying
to not get ahead of myself.

Do it. Do it.

The pitches
are just so long.

If I'm feeling tired

or if I'm starting to feel
doubt creep in,

I try to block everything out
except for one word,

and that word is "yes."

I say that word in my head.

It helps me, like,
hold on tighter.

I don't know how else
to describe that,

but I've been doing it
since I was 12 years old.

I just call it
"the yes factor."

I'm scared.

Okay.
Looks like we're done.

And then the final pitch
of that day

was pitch seven,
the Kyrg Monster.

All right, you're climbing.

I had been thinking
about that pitch for days.

Take?

- Is that what you said?
- Yeah.

Gotcha.

I think I got 15 feet

before I was
completely exhausted

and like,
"This isn't working."

Can you lower?

You don't want
to think about it?

I just couldn't climb it.

You were climbing it.

No, I was barely moving.

- Like, you see how far I got?
- Yeah, no, of course I did.

It's one of those moments

where the doubt starts
to creep in.

What if I am not gonna get
through it?

It's still so hard.

And it's not gonna get
any easier.

So I just needed
to grit my teeth and do it.

Come on.

Come on.

- I don't feel safe.
- You're safe. I promise.

You're safe.

Do what you do.

Get it back and clip
or place your stake,

whichever one feels easier.

- Either one.
- Come on, Em.

I got through that section

and became really scared
that I was gonna fall.

And I didn't know
if I had the energy

or strength to repeat it.

- Come on, Em.
- Come on, come on.

You got it.

I was really afraid

that I was gonna blow it
on the final, final move

of this pitch that
I'd spent so much energy on.

But I couldn't really reach
the ending hold.

Emily, trust yourself!

f*ck yeah!

- f*ck yeah!
- Please don't break.

I'm so psyched.
I tried so hard.

Oh, my God.

And I knew that I didn't have
another try in me.

Oh, my God.

Oh, that was insane.

Jesus.

You know, that could have
resulted in a failure

on free climbing
the entire wall.

And having that under my belt
gave me a lot of confidence.

- You good?
- Yeah.

We're gonna set up camp
right here.

I'm tired and hungry and cold.

We've got a lot of work to do,

but it's kind of
just part of it.

There's a really unique
kind of fear that you have

when you realize that you're
capable of something...

- I might not move again.
- It's pretty nice.

You should try it.

- You haven't laid down here.
- I haven't.

I am laying down.

The desire to achieve it
is that much stronger.

I slept really good
in the ledges.

Maybe the best night of sleep
we've had so far.

- In five weeks or six weeks.
- Which is awesome.

Today, we're just
hoping to make it

up two pitches
with all our stuff

to establish
kind of our final camp.

Once you're getting
that high off the ground,

you're also adding
all these risks.

It has rockfall,
it has weather,

it has all these
additional facets.

- Rock!
- Ugh.

Let me know if you move
much further left.

Okay.

Think I'm in a good position.

Ropes don't get cut
very often,

but that's... pretty much
the only way

is through rockfall.

I lost a friend last year.

He was, like, standing on
a ledge clipped into a bolt,

and the ledge gave out
and cut his rope.

There was literally nothing

that could have been done
differently.

And there are things
that happen

that take people away from us,

and that could happen to us.

And it's part of the life
that we choose to live.

We've all come to accept that
in some way.

So we're at pitch 11 ledge.

I'd say we're now
officially halfway up.

We set up camp.

We got here with plenty
of time to kind of organize

and make it feel like home.

That said, it still does
drop off significantly

all the way to the ground.
I'm staying tied in.

Just to be clear.

Everything's going as planned,
which is weird.

I mean, every day
we've been here,

except the days
we were on the wall,

it's rained every day.

And so we feel pretty lucky.

The ledge
that we were sleeping on

basically was just sitting
under these teetering blocks

that was this next pitch.

Good work, Emily!

- f*ck.
- I'm right under it.

I was definitely, like,
knocking on things,

listening for hollow noises,

making sure that it was
in solid rock

and not the loose rock.

So a lot of times
in free climbing,

in order to find
a passage up the wall,

it entails having
to climb down.

You're climbing down,
and your feet feel the holds

before your hands feel
the holds.

It's just
a different movement,

and it's
a different kind of trust.

Another route
Emily had done,

called Golden Gate
in Yosemite,

we spent two days stuck
on the down climb

while she tried
to work it out.

Oh, I'm psyched.

After the down climb,

the route changes character
dramatically.

You feel so high up.

Come on, Emily.
That knot's good.

It's good.

The rock climbing is so good,

kind of what you want
in a granite pitch.

And it just so happened to be


in Kyrgyzstan.

We are four pitches
from the summit right now.

But it's a little late.

We're gonna go down
and spend one more night.

We had this really
big, nice ledge

that we'd set up camp at.

We repelled back down
and spent that night

and then were able to go back
up to our high point

the next day.

I'm really excited
to see the summit.

I feel
like we've been dreaming

about climbing this wall
for a while now.

And so being on the top
is gonna be pretty special.

Summit day.

Here on this corner, on this
arête, you just look out

and we can see base camp
all the way down there.

We were
at the high point yesterday,

and it's my turn this morning.

Go get it.

And we were just cruising.

But at the same time,

the clouds were building
up the valley.

And they were building fast.

There is no doubt
this weather is coming in,

and it's gonna be
an issue for us.

- Hey, Em.
- What?

We're getting pretty late.

You're gonna climb through.

Hopefully, Emily can make up
a little bit of time,

since she's obviously
a stronger climber.

I was getting
a little bit stressed,

feeling like we were gonna get
rained out and snowed on.

It hasn't looked this way
the last four days.

So we're definitely keeping
a heads up

and trying to move
relatively quickly.

Emily actually
had been sitting

in that belay thinking,

"Adrian's gonna say
it's too dangerous

and we have to go down."

I get up there.
I'm like, "Okay, I'm going."

And she just burst out crying.

"What if we can't summit?"

I'm like,
"We're going to the summit!"

His calm nature
is very much a part

of his background
as a mountain guide.

That's, again, where our
partnership shines in a way.

Holy sh*t.

Oh, my God.

- Dude!
- Whoo!

Yeah! Ha-ha!

Holy sh*t!

I'm so proud of you.

You're the first human being

to free every pitch
of that route.

How does that feel?

I don't know.

I'll be...
Ask me when I'm down.

My favorite moment is

when everyone's safe
in base camp.

And it's so close now.

And like, I can feel it.
Wow.

Okay, let's get out of here.

Yeah.

Just to actually get

to celebrate this, like,
wild accomplishment

for Emily
and for all the team.

Yeah!

Hi, guys.

I am truly happiest when
I've gone and done something

that feels full,

and sort of took me to all
the spectrums of emotion,

where I've been scared,
elated, uncomfortable,

or felt like I'm gonna fail.

Had to try really hard.

Honestly, it just feels
that much more rewarding.

I hope that that mentality
of exploration and curiosity

and adventure inspires
other people

to kind of find their own...

Find their own form of that.