Vladimir Savin I once enjoyed watching movie named "Vertical Limit" - a true hint of mountaineer's consciousness and spirit. Only this time the highest Mountain will put mens' guts to the test you can find nowhere else. The cameramen-sherpas have done outstanding job so the viewer is literally on the mountain with the expedition members witnessing their pain and struggle, defeat and victory. Plus the panorama views are almost to die for. This is the rarest scenery I have seen in my life so far! Both seasons are strongly recommended! However, may be, people who have never been to the mountains themselves will not be able to appreciate in full this excitement, almost awe of the mens' spirit. :(Overall, for me it's like the final breakthrough of Tim Robbins in "Shawshank Redemtion" only this time there are real people not just movie characters.

jmspiers First, let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed the helmet cams and scenery and the triumph of the ordinary men and women over extraordinary obstacles. Hence, the 7 out of 10 rating.However, there are a couple of things that really bugged me about the show. I am in Season 2 right now and will watch Season 3, but I felt I had enough background now to write this review.Pet Peeves: 1. Fact checking. This is by FAR my number 1 peeve! 8 people died on the South Col in "the worst disaster in Everest's history"? By that I assume they mean 1996, when ONE person, not eight, died on the South Col. (The reason I think they are referring to 1996 is because they have mentioned that as the worst disaster several times, interspersed with photos of Scott Fischer and Rob Hall.)South Col is a "graveyard"? As far as fatalities go it is one of the least deadly areas of the mountain. Hardly a graveyard.1 out of 3 people who reach the summit die? Maybe 50 years ago. Now it's less than 3% (that statistic is pulled from AdventureStats; other mountaineering sites may have slightly different numbers, but no one comes even close to 1 out of 3 (Note that I do not count various news articles and random Web sites that claim incredibly high fatality rates without citing their sources).These types of glaring errors make the show very difficult to enjoy.2. Consistency. I'm in season 2 right now, and in one episode they say pulmonary edema is the worst danger to climbers, and in another they say it's cerebral edema. Which is it?3. Giving everybody fatal illnesses. It seems that every climber who gets tired is suddenly diagnosed with cerebral edema (HACE) or pulmonary edema (HAPE). Those two illnesses are definitely real dangers at high altitude, but I have trouble believing that every climber who's struggling to breathe trying to reach the upper camps from ABC is on the verge of death.In season 1 they show someone who is severely affected by cerebral edema. He's very sick, on the verge of death; he's not sitting in the snow saying he's tired and wondering "if it's a cerebral thing." I understand the severity of HAPE and HACE can vary, but at some point the script writers should step back and realize that they literally try to give HAPE or HACE to everyone who plays a central role in the episodes and is going up the mountain.4. Last, but not least, the spooky narrator voice. Just let the mountain tell its story. You don't have to hype it up. Trust me, it'll sell without the annoying radio commercial style narrating. Yes, a narrator is needed, but no, he does not need to sound like his day job is advertising used cars on my local classic rock station.Summary:Worth watching? Yes (mostly for the helmet cams and seeing the various climbers with disabilities or injuries summit). But if they just let the mountain tell its story without trying to hype it up then it would be a lot, lot better.

Vic_max This show was amazing - highly recommended if you're interested in what it's like to climb Everest. Not for the faint of heart. It's all here - great storytelling, visuals, characters and events - and it's all real.This 6 episode mini-series is brilliantly edited. Every episode keeps a brisk pace as you follow a team of climbers from base camp up the mountain. All of the episodes were engrossing as you follow the struggles and travails of the climbers ... all leading to the final 2 pulse-pounding episodes.I really got a great appreciation of how major an undertaking climbing the mountain really is - even if you're in a commercial expedition like this (about $40K per person) and 'think' your life is going to be made a little easier. This show depicts what it's really like and it's tough - should be left to the best climbers.The visuals are fantastic - you get a precise understanding of the camps locations, routes and topography by use of great 3-d graphics. Most spectacular is the use of cameras attached to various climbers' headgear ... you can see what's happening to the climbers all the time. Also fascinating was listening to the dialog (or lack thereof) with all the climbers via constant radio contact.One more thing about the visuals - we've got a telescopic view from advanced base camp looking up at them so we can see where they are in relation to various parts of the mountain - how cool is that? The climbers were also pretty interesting (though this series didn't really need it). They were all more or less amateurs. Among the climbers were a former Hell's Angels motorcycle designer, doctor, legless man (a double-amputee), and an asthmatic (climbing without oxygen supplement). They all come with different backgrounds and goals. It's kind of amazing to watch their mental and physical faculties drop as they get more and more oxygen deprived. This gives one a glimpse of how tough it is up there.Without a doubt, this is one of the best reality shows I've seen - great intensity and learning involved - highly recommended.

linearvelocityb this show is produced excellently. My girlfriend and I started TiVoing it at the beginning and now it's become a must watch on Tuesday nights. the fact that a film crew is following these climbers to a location that normal people can't even think of doing is just Amazing. Last nights drama (12/12/06 episode) kept me on the edge of my sofa.....Cant' wait for next weeks episode......Tim turn your dumb ass around.......... Ten lines is to much......I said what I wanted to say and adding anymore is as if you are forcing words into my mouth.....how would you feel if someone was trying to force you to say more than you felt was pertinent to the thoughts you had.......simple, to the point is better than crappy filler that just rambles on........sorry. you forced me to write this!