Human beings venture into the highest
parts of our planet at their peril.
Some might think that
by climbing a great mountain
they have somehow conquered it,
but we can only be visitors here.
This is a frozen alien world.
This is the other extreme -
one of the lowest hottest places
on Earth.
It's over a hundred meters
below the level of the sea.
But here a mountain is in gestation.
Pools of sulphuric acid are indications
that deep underground
there are titanic stirrings.
This is the Danakil Depression
in Ethiopia,
lying within a colossal rent
of the earth's surface
where giant land masses
are pulling away from one another.
Lava rises to the surface
through this crack in the crust
creating a chain of young volcanoes.
This one, Erta Ale,
is today the longest continually
erupting volcano on the planet,
a lake of lava that has been
molten for over a hundred years.
These same volcanic forces
also created Ethiopia's highlands.
70 million years ago
this land was just as flat and as deep
as the Danakil Depression.
Molten lava rising
from the earth's core
forced up a huge dome
of rock 500 miles wide,
the roof of Africa.
Over millennia,
rain and ice carved the rock
into a landscape
of spires and canyons.
These summits, nearly 3 miles up,
are home to some very
remarkable mountaineers -
Gelada baboons.
They are unique
to the highlands of Ethiopia.
The cliffs where they sleep
are for expert climbers only,
and Gelado certainly have
the right equipment.
The strongest fingers
of any primate
and an utterly fearless disposition.
But you need more than a head
for heights to survive up here.
A day in a Gelado's life reveals
how they've risen to the challenge.
For all monkeys morning is grooming time,
a chance to catch up with friends.
But, unlike other monkeys,
Gelados chatter constantly
while they do it.
It's a great way to network
while your hands are busy.
But these socials can't go on
for too long.
Gelados have a busy daily schedule
and there's work to be done.
Most monkeys couldn't live up here.
There's no food
and few insects to feed on.
But Gelados are unique -
they're the only monkeys in the world
that live almost entirely on grass.
They live in the largest assemblies
formed by any monkeys.
Some groups are 800 strong
and they crop the high meadows
like herds of wildebeest.
The Gelados graze
alongside Walia ibex,
which are also unique
to these highlands.
These rare creatures
are usually very shy
but they drop their guard
when the Gelados are around.
You might expect that grazers
would avoid each other's patch
but this is a special alliance
from which both partners benefit.
It's not so risky
to put your head down
if others are on the lookout.
Ethiopian wolves -
they won't attempt an attack
in broad daylight.
But at dusk the plateau becomes
a more dangerous place.
With the grazing largely over
there's a last chance to socialize
before returning to the sleeping cliffs.
An early warning system
puts everyone on the alert.
Their day ends as it began,
safe on the steep cliffs.
The Ethiopian volcanoes are dormant,
but elsewhere others still rage.
Volcanoes form the backbone
of the longest mountain chain on our planet -
the Andes of South America.
This vast range stretches 5,000 miles
from the Equator down to the Antarctic.
It formed as the floor of the Pacific Ocean
slid beneath the South American
continent, buckling its edge.
At the southern end
stand the mountains of Patagonia.
It's high summer,
but the Andes have the most
unstable mountain weather on the planet
and storms can erupt without warning.
Temperatures plummet
and guanacos and their newborn young
must suddenly endure a blizzard.
Truly, all seasons in one day...
A puma -
the lion of the Andes.
Pumas are usually solitary and secretive.
To see a group walking boldly
in the open is extremely rare.
It's a family -
a mother with four cubs.
She has just one brief summer
in which to teach them
their mountain survival techniques.
Rearing four cubs to this age
is an exceptional feat,
but she does have
an excellent territory,
rich in food and water.
Although the cubs are now
as large as their mother,
they still rely
on her for their food.
It will be another year
before the cubs can hunt for themselves.
Without their mother's
skill and experience
they would never survive
their first winter.
Battered by hurricane force winds,
these slopes are now lifeless.
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