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 Tibet. His son Max Lowe and his best friend, Conrad Anker, share their reflections on what it means to be a mountaineer and the true price of adventure. 

For more information on this episode, visit nationalgeographic.com/overheard.

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More information about Max Lowe’s documentary, Torn, can be found here: https://films.nationalgeographic.com/torn

The sport of rock climbing has a long and eventful history, this article explains some of climbing’s greatest moments. 

Check out our interview with Dawa Yangsum Sherpa, a Nepali climber who shares her thoughts on overcrowding on Mt. Everest. 

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The Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation was founded in memory of Alex Lowe and helps people living in remote parts of the world.

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