Himalaya: Kingdoms of the Sky (2018)

As the highest mountain range in the world, the Himalaya are known as the "roof of the world." They stretch 1500 miles from western Pakistan, through India, and then Nepal, Bhutan, and China. The Himalaya are home to ancient cultures like the village of Kibber in northern India at over 14,000 feet, and Tibetan monasteries. There are crazy creatures like the snub-nosed monkeys with bright pink lips, and the Bactrian camels with their two humps. Everything struggles to survive in a remarkably hostile climate and territory that include high altitude deserts, Indian monsoons, and temperatures of 40 below zero. The last part of the film features the Everest Marathon that starts at 17,000 feet base camp, where the oxygen level is only half of what it is at sea level, and then — no surprise, mountaineers who summit the highest place on the planet — Mt. Everest at 29,029 feet. This one-hour documentary is the second of three episodes called "Kingdoms of the Sky" that were made by PBS in conjunction with the BBC. The superb production quality is just what you would expect. This really is television at its best. The other two episodes explore the Rockies and the Andes. I watched all three movies via streaming on the PBS website.