AllMovie

We may never know what drives people to risk life and limb tackling the most dangerous peak in the world, but Nova is there investigating the hard science of what happens to human bodies once they enter "the death zone." Frozen, oxygen-depleted, dehydrated, buffeted by high winds and solar radiation -- "Everest: The Death Zone" measures all of the biological and mental effects of such an environment through the use of brain scans taken before and after an expedition. Follow a group of Himalayan climbers on their trek to the summit, and find out first-hand why Everest claims human lives so easily.