episode-header-image

Jun 2023

10m 5s

Tragedy on Everest

Bbc World Service

About this episode

Michael Groom is one of the survivors of a tragic climbing expedition to Mount Everest in Nepal.

In 2010, Jonny Hogg spoke to Michael Groom about the moments that went badly wrong when a storm struck the world's highest mountain on 10 May 1996.

(Photo: Michael Groom on Everest in 1993. Credit: Guy Cotter)

Up next

Ni Una Menos women’s movement in Argentina

On 3 June 2015, tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital, Buenos Aires, and in dozens of cities and towns demanding an end to violence against women. There were demonstrations in Chile and Uruguay in solidarity too. Argentina was reporting a female murder rate of one e ... Show More

Argentina’s national genetics bank created to identify stolen babies

In 1982, Argentine geneticist Victor Penchaszadeh was living in exile in New York when he received a call that would change the course of his career. Two founding members of the campaign group, the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, were asking for his help to find their kidnappe ... Show More

The mystery of Evita’s corpse

When Eva Peron, Argentina's most famous First Lady, died in 1952, her body was embalmed. Three years later, her widower, Juan Peron, was deposed in a coup. But military officers feared her corpse would become a rallying point of protest against the new government. So they stole i ... Show More

Recommended Episodes

Scaling Everest, the highest mountain in the world

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes focusing on Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. It's 70 years since Edmund Hillary with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, became the first people to reach the summit of Everest in 1953. We hear about som ... Show More

BBC OS Conversations: Mount Everest

It’s 70 years since a New Zealand mountaineer and his Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer guide reached the highest point on Earth. There have been celebrations in Nepal in recent days to mark the anniversary. Thousands of people have followed in their footsteps but this climbing se ... Show More

Summiting the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain

K2, a mountain in the Kashmir region of Asia, is the second highest peak on Earth and yet more dangerous than Mount Everest, especially in the winter. But in January 2021, a group of Nepali climbers attempted to accomplish what people thought was impossible. Team co-leader Mingma ... Show More

Mount Everest Pt. 1: The Blizzard of 1996

In 1996, two climbing groups set out to reach the peak of Mount Everest, the highest point on planet Earth. A sudden, unexpected blizzard would leave them stranded on the mountain's summit, where the freezing cold and lack of oxygen slowly killed them off, one by one. Learn more ... Show More

Everest '96: Trapped in the Death Zone | Mountain Madness | 1

In May 1996, two expert mountaineers and their clients set off to climb the world’s tallest peak — Mount Everest. Many of the clients have no high altitude experience and have paid upwards of $65,000 to be guided up the mountain by competing companies: Adventure Consultants and M ... Show More

The Price of Adventure

Renowned mountaineer Alex Lowe had reached the summit of his career by 1999, scaling some of the planet’s most challenging peaks. Just a few months after he was featured in National Geographic as “one of the world’s finest all-around climbers,” he was killed in an avalanche in Ti ... Show More

10 Well-Known Dead Bodies on Everest

There are over 200 dead bodies left on Mt. Everest. Today's episode is about why the bodies are not retrieved and the 10 most "famous" dead bodies on Mt. Everest. The 10 most "famous" dead bodies on Mt. Everest include George Mallory, Marco Siffredi, Green Boots, and Sleeping Bea ... Show More

Special: My Indian Life

“I’m in love with the mountains.” A special episode from Kalki Presents: My Indian Life. Savita Kanswal was an inspirational climber, who had scaled Mount Everest. At the age of 26, she was tragically killed in an avalanche in the Himalayas. Kalki Presents: My Indian Life explore ... Show More

S1 E1: Ant Middleton: The extreme adventurer who has no limits

Ant Middleton doesn’t sit still for long. He’s a former marine and sniper, perhaps best known for his role as chief instructor in SAS Who Dares Wins. In 2019 he conquered one of the biggest challenges known to man - climbing Mount Everest. This year he attempted a dangerous climb ... Show More

Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami