1 00:00:01,875 --> 00:00:03,000 [William Shatner] Deadly mountain ranges 2 00:00:03,208 --> 00:00:04,625 that draw thousands 3 00:00:04,792 --> 00:00:06,875 of ambitious thrill-seekers. 4 00:00:07,042 --> 00:00:09,500 Boiling hot eruptions 5 00:00:09,667 --> 00:00:11,292 whose lethal beauty 6 00:00:11,458 --> 00:00:15,167 lures scientists to the edge of imminent peril 7 00:00:15,333 --> 00:00:17,958 and a lush mysterious island 8 00:00:18,042 --> 00:00:20,583 that hides the prospect of 9 00:00:20,708 --> 00:00:22,458 certain death. 10 00:00:22,583 --> 00:00:23,750 [man screams] 11 00:00:23,917 --> 00:00:25,792 All over the globe, 12 00:00:25,958 --> 00:00:28,500 there are places so hazardous, 13 00:00:28,708 --> 00:00:31,292 volatile and precarious, 14 00:00:31,458 --> 00:00:34,833 visitors are urged to "keep out." 15 00:00:35,042 --> 00:00:37,792 And yet, despite monumental challenges, 16 00:00:37,917 --> 00:00:39,667 unmistakable signs of peril 17 00:00:39,833 --> 00:00:42,500 and even deadly consequences, 18 00:00:42,708 --> 00:00:46,375 there are those who are compelled to push fear aside 19 00:00:46,542 --> 00:00:50,125 and rush headlong into the unknown. 20 00:00:50,292 --> 00:00:52,667 Why are some people willing to risk their lives 21 00:00:52,833 --> 00:00:56,625 for the thrill of experiencing a dangerous place? 22 00:00:57,625 --> 00:01:00,292 Well, that is what we'll try and find out. 23 00:01:00,458 --> 00:01:02,417 ♪ ♪ 24 00:01:14,792 --> 00:01:18,250 [Shatner] Every day, we all face a certain level of risk 25 00:01:18,375 --> 00:01:20,417 in life's normal routines. 26 00:01:20,542 --> 00:01:23,000 We trust other drivers on the road 27 00:01:23,125 --> 00:01:24,958 and fly in airplanes 28 00:01:25,125 --> 00:01:27,333 at 30,000 feet. 29 00:01:27,458 --> 00:01:31,292 We even take our chances walking on a flight of stairs, 30 00:01:31,458 --> 00:01:35,292 a simple activity that claims around 12,000 lives each year. 31 00:01:35,458 --> 00:01:39,958 But while danger is an inescapable part of life, 32 00:01:40,083 --> 00:01:43,833 there are those who choose to deliberately 33 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,167 put themselves in unmistakable jeopardy. 34 00:01:47,375 --> 00:01:48,667 [Ken Carter] There are 35 00:01:48,792 --> 00:01:51,292 some people who are sort of drawn towards 36 00:01:51,417 --> 00:01:52,958 dangerous things over and over again 37 00:01:53,125 --> 00:01:55,292 without really considering the risks. 38 00:01:56,292 --> 00:01:57,500 You would think that danger 39 00:01:57,667 --> 00:01:59,542 would sort of suppress curiosity. 40 00:01:59,667 --> 00:02:03,167 But for some people, the danger actually heightens it. 41 00:02:03,292 --> 00:02:04,500 I would never want to go 42 00:02:04,708 --> 00:02:07,125 off of a cliff or cliff dive or skydive, 43 00:02:07,292 --> 00:02:10,083 jump out of a perfectly good airplane. 44 00:02:10,250 --> 00:02:12,875 What would make someone want to do that kind of thing? 45 00:02:13,042 --> 00:02:14,583 And I think really, 46 00:02:14,708 --> 00:02:16,917 it's sort of who they are as a person, 47 00:02:17,083 --> 00:02:19,167 as part of their identity. 48 00:02:20,167 --> 00:02:22,000 [Shatner] Through human evolution, 49 00:02:22,167 --> 00:02:25,750 our brains have become programmed to prioritize 50 00:02:25,875 --> 00:02:29,500 self-preservation and survival above all else. 51 00:02:29,667 --> 00:02:32,292 So what is really going on in the minds of those 52 00:02:32,458 --> 00:02:34,667 who seem to be all too willing 53 00:02:34,833 --> 00:02:37,125 to put their lives at risk? 54 00:02:39,458 --> 00:02:40,833 The psychological concept is called 55 00:02:40,958 --> 00:02:42,333 sensation seeking, and there are 56 00:02:42,458 --> 00:02:43,792 different components to it. 57 00:02:44,875 --> 00:02:47,208 One is called thrill and adventure seeking. 58 00:02:47,375 --> 00:02:50,125 These are dangerous situations that are more physical. 59 00:02:51,125 --> 00:02:53,875 Like skydiving, bungee jumping. 60 00:02:54,042 --> 00:02:56,750 But there's also experience seeking. 61 00:02:56,917 --> 00:02:59,333 That's sensations of the mind and of the senses. 62 00:02:59,542 --> 00:03:02,667 The really interesting thing about high sensation seekers 63 00:03:02,792 --> 00:03:05,000 is they have different kinds of chemical alarms 64 00:03:05,083 --> 00:03:06,333 that may go off in their body 65 00:03:06,542 --> 00:03:09,167 during these really chaotic situations. 66 00:03:10,208 --> 00:03:13,042 When we're around things that are dangerous, 67 00:03:13,208 --> 00:03:16,417 we have that fight, flee or freeze response. 68 00:03:17,458 --> 00:03:18,708 It gets our body ready to either 69 00:03:18,875 --> 00:03:20,875 fight the danger directly, 70 00:03:21,042 --> 00:03:23,417 freeze to avoid detection, 71 00:03:23,542 --> 00:03:26,333 or flee from those dangerous situations. 72 00:03:26,500 --> 00:03:29,667 And that's set off by a chemical called cortisol in our body. 73 00:03:29,833 --> 00:03:32,333 The high sensation seekers, when they're around these really 74 00:03:32,542 --> 00:03:34,667 chaotic experiences, don't have that much cortisol, 75 00:03:34,792 --> 00:03:37,250 so they're pretty calm in those situations. 76 00:03:38,292 --> 00:03:41,333 What they do have is an increase in a chemical called dopamine. 77 00:03:41,542 --> 00:03:43,542 It's a pleasure neurotransmitter. 78 00:03:43,750 --> 00:03:46,500 So, when they're in these really highly chaotic situations, 79 00:03:46,667 --> 00:03:48,208 they're feeling a lot more pleasure, 80 00:03:48,375 --> 00:03:51,000 but less stress than average people. 81 00:03:51,167 --> 00:03:55,208 The world is full of danger and-and new things to explore. 82 00:03:55,417 --> 00:03:58,083 If we-we only had people who were low sensation seekers, 83 00:03:58,292 --> 00:03:59,833 we would never explore those things. 84 00:04:01,042 --> 00:04:03,292 [Shatner] Could unique brain chemistry be the difference 85 00:04:03,458 --> 00:04:04,833 between a risk taker 86 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:07,500 or someone who plays it safe? 87 00:04:07,667 --> 00:04:11,000 And while the pursuit of a dopamine rush may trigger 88 00:04:11,167 --> 00:04:12,417 certain dangerous behavior, 89 00:04:12,583 --> 00:04:15,333 the prospect of a life of adventure 90 00:04:15,500 --> 00:04:17,292 is also motivation 91 00:04:17,458 --> 00:04:20,875 for those who seek their next thrill. 92 00:04:22,375 --> 00:04:24,458 I've had this conversation many times with friends. 93 00:04:24,667 --> 00:04:27,500 "How did you end up being this guy 94 00:04:27,708 --> 00:04:30,375 "who wanted to go off and do these crazy things? 95 00:04:30,583 --> 00:04:34,833 To go off into the wild blue yonder and risk it all?" 96 00:04:35,042 --> 00:04:40,583 It was born into me. Something started very early, 97 00:04:40,750 --> 00:04:45,042 and it would often be fueled by the books that I read 98 00:04:45,250 --> 00:04:46,917 of adventurers and mountain climbers 99 00:04:47,125 --> 00:04:49,333 that I aspired to be like. 100 00:04:49,500 --> 00:04:52,458 And come hell or high water, 101 00:04:52,625 --> 00:04:55,833 I found a way to go find some amazing adventures. 102 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,833 There's a certain type of person 103 00:05:00,042 --> 00:05:01,333 who's just looking for adrenaline. 104 00:05:01,542 --> 00:05:03,708 I'm more interested in the unknown. 105 00:05:03,875 --> 00:05:07,667 I think I was born with extra curiosity, 106 00:05:07,833 --> 00:05:10,792 and when I go to these places, it's gonna be dangerous. 107 00:05:10,875 --> 00:05:13,417 And I'm like, "Woo-hoo, this is cool." 108 00:05:13,583 --> 00:05:15,167 'Cause I don't want my last few minutes 109 00:05:15,333 --> 00:05:17,208 to be filled with terror, 110 00:05:17,417 --> 00:05:19,458 if they are my last few minutes. 111 00:05:19,625 --> 00:05:22,167 I do have less fear than most people. 112 00:05:22,375 --> 00:05:24,667 So, I think that's not normal. 113 00:05:25,708 --> 00:05:29,417 [Shatner] For some, walking in the footsteps of their heroes, 114 00:05:29,542 --> 00:05:34,417 or simply experiencing the unknown, is a rush. 115 00:05:34,542 --> 00:05:37,167 But is it also possible that some adventurers are just 116 00:05:37,333 --> 00:05:39,958 addicted to danger? 117 00:05:40,125 --> 00:05:42,667 [Victor Vescovo] I feel most comfortable and happiest 118 00:05:42,833 --> 00:05:45,167 when I'm pushing the edges of risk. 119 00:05:45,292 --> 00:05:47,667 I don't know if I was destined for adventure, 120 00:05:47,875 --> 00:05:49,042 but it certainly was a 121 00:05:49,208 --> 00:05:51,625 intense compulsion to explore. 122 00:05:51,792 --> 00:05:53,208 And it became somewhat addictive. 123 00:05:54,250 --> 00:05:57,250 The Explorer's Grand Slam is climbing the highest mountain 124 00:05:57,458 --> 00:05:58,875 on all seven continents 125 00:05:59,042 --> 00:06:01,500 and skiing at least 126 00:06:01,667 --> 00:06:03,833 100 kilometers to the North and South Poles. 127 00:06:04,042 --> 00:06:05,458 I've done that. 128 00:06:06,417 --> 00:06:07,958 That took me on this 129 00:06:08,167 --> 00:06:09,667 25-year path to climb 130 00:06:09,875 --> 00:06:11,125 the Seven Summits. 131 00:06:11,250 --> 00:06:13,042 But after I climbed those, 132 00:06:13,208 --> 00:06:15,042 then I was very curious 133 00:06:15,208 --> 00:06:16,750 about the Poles. 134 00:06:16,958 --> 00:06:19,292 What would it be like to go for a long distance 135 00:06:19,417 --> 00:06:22,083 in extremely difficult conditions? 136 00:06:22,208 --> 00:06:26,333 I've been able to go into high altitudes in aircraft. 137 00:06:26,500 --> 00:06:29,292 I've been to space on a rocket that exploded 138 00:06:29,458 --> 00:06:31,792 a couple of months after I went up in it. 139 00:06:31,917 --> 00:06:34,417 I've been to the bottom of the ocean 140 00:06:34,542 --> 00:06:36,708 with my submersible. 141 00:06:36,833 --> 00:06:38,500 It takes four and a half hours 142 00:06:38,708 --> 00:06:40,125 to go from the surface to the bottom. 143 00:06:41,917 --> 00:06:43,292 If there was any kind of catastrophic failure 144 00:06:43,458 --> 00:06:44,792 with the submersible, 145 00:06:44,958 --> 00:06:46,333 you would be gone 146 00:06:46,500 --> 00:06:48,667 before your brain could even register it. 147 00:06:49,708 --> 00:06:51,833 It was one of the most dangerous things I've ever done. 148 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:53,500 These are things 149 00:06:53,583 --> 00:06:56,625 that are not normal, and yet 150 00:06:56,750 --> 00:06:59,292 I have to explore or I'm bored. 151 00:07:00,333 --> 00:07:02,250 [Carter] One of the concepts we look at for sensation seeking 152 00:07:02,417 --> 00:07:04,292 is called "boredom susceptibility," 153 00:07:04,458 --> 00:07:06,708 how easy it is for a person to get bored 154 00:07:06,875 --> 00:07:09,708 and how irritated they get when they get bored. 155 00:07:09,875 --> 00:07:12,333 I worry a lot about high sensation seekers 156 00:07:12,458 --> 00:07:14,292 who get bored really easily. 157 00:07:14,458 --> 00:07:15,875 Those are the people who are gonna try 158 00:07:16,042 --> 00:07:17,917 the next thing, the next thing and the next thing. 159 00:07:19,208 --> 00:07:20,625 [Shatner] While elite explorers 160 00:07:20,792 --> 00:07:22,500 and highly trained athletes venture into 161 00:07:22,708 --> 00:07:25,625 hazardous environments for a variety of reasons, 162 00:07:25,708 --> 00:07:28,625 remarkably, there's a growing trend 163 00:07:28,750 --> 00:07:32,750 where inexperienced people risk their well-being 164 00:07:32,917 --> 00:07:37,542 in a dangerous pastime known as extreme tourism. 165 00:07:39,208 --> 00:07:41,875 [Johnston] Extreme tourism is 166 00:07:42,042 --> 00:07:44,542 people wanting to go into an environment 167 00:07:44,708 --> 00:07:46,500 that they are not qualified to enter. 168 00:07:46,667 --> 00:07:49,500 Whether you're going into space, 169 00:07:49,708 --> 00:07:52,125 you're running hardcore white water, 170 00:07:52,292 --> 00:07:54,000 you're going to high altitude. 171 00:07:54,167 --> 00:07:55,625 This is someone who, 172 00:07:55,792 --> 00:07:57,875 without the infrastructure and the guide, 173 00:07:58,042 --> 00:08:00,667 cannot survive in that environment. 174 00:08:00,792 --> 00:08:02,750 It's quite dangerous. 175 00:08:02,917 --> 00:08:05,458 Extreme tourism makes an opportunity 176 00:08:05,625 --> 00:08:07,208 that was never there before, 177 00:08:07,417 --> 00:08:09,708 but it also means that anyone can say, 178 00:08:09,875 --> 00:08:12,958 "I've always had a dream to be able to go up into space." 179 00:08:13,167 --> 00:08:16,792 And so, if you have the money to be able to finance the trip, 180 00:08:16,958 --> 00:08:19,667 then you don't have to have all the training of an astronaut. 181 00:08:20,708 --> 00:08:22,500 I mean, it's always been a dangerous thing 182 00:08:22,667 --> 00:08:25,208 to do, when you strap someone to a big tube 183 00:08:25,333 --> 00:08:29,708 full of fuel and then you shoot them rocketing up to space. 184 00:08:29,875 --> 00:08:32,000 And now, more and more people can do that. 185 00:08:33,375 --> 00:08:35,417 [Ben McGee] Some people will spend money 186 00:08:35,583 --> 00:08:37,542 to travel halfway across the world 187 00:08:37,708 --> 00:08:40,542 to go visit something like the Claw at Chernobyl. 188 00:08:41,625 --> 00:08:43,458 This was a grappling fixture 189 00:08:43,625 --> 00:08:45,500 which was meant to move material around 190 00:08:45,667 --> 00:08:49,333 and got intensely contaminated with a lot of radiation. 191 00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:51,708 That can cause human health problems. 192 00:08:51,875 --> 00:08:53,958 Not just cancer, but a breakdown 193 00:08:54,083 --> 00:08:57,000 of the cardiovascular system, Alzheimer's-like effects. 194 00:08:57,208 --> 00:08:59,125 And, well, there are people 195 00:08:59,292 --> 00:09:01,583 who travel all the way around the world to see this, 196 00:09:01,750 --> 00:09:03,917 and, in some cases, sit on it. 197 00:09:04,875 --> 00:09:06,625 Tourists are lining up all over the world 198 00:09:06,833 --> 00:09:08,958 to visit abandoned minefields. 199 00:09:09,125 --> 00:09:12,417 They could be war zones or places where 200 00:09:12,583 --> 00:09:14,958 there have been natural disasters. 201 00:09:15,125 --> 00:09:18,000 I think people are drawn to places where they shouldn't be. 202 00:09:18,208 --> 00:09:22,292 This is a kind of exploration of ourselves. 203 00:09:22,458 --> 00:09:24,625 If I had a box that said "do not open," 204 00:09:24,792 --> 00:09:26,625 there are certain people 205 00:09:26,792 --> 00:09:28,792 that are gonna want to open it to see what's inside. 206 00:09:34,750 --> 00:09:37,625 [Shatner reads on-screen text] 207 00:09:38,625 --> 00:09:40,167 Breaking above the horizon like a jagged 208 00:09:40,333 --> 00:09:44,000 20,000-foot granite tooth is Mount McKinley. 209 00:09:45,042 --> 00:09:47,083 It is considered the most dangerous mountain 210 00:09:47,208 --> 00:09:51,000 in North America, having claimed over 130 lives. 211 00:09:51,208 --> 00:09:54,875 In 1994, mountaineer and filmmaker Thom Pollard's 212 00:09:55,042 --> 00:09:58,417 attempt to scale McKinley took a sudden turn 213 00:09:58,583 --> 00:10:00,833 when his high-climbing adventure 214 00:10:01,042 --> 00:10:03,958 became a harrowing tale of survival. 215 00:10:05,417 --> 00:10:07,375 [Pollard] I was guiding a trip on 216 00:10:07,583 --> 00:10:11,958 a semi-technical route called the West Rib, and 217 00:10:12,125 --> 00:10:14,708 we became aware that 218 00:10:14,875 --> 00:10:17,000 there was gonna be bad weather coming in. 219 00:10:17,208 --> 00:10:20,292 -[wind whistling] -And that storm came in 220 00:10:20,458 --> 00:10:24,125 like a complete firestorm. 221 00:10:24,292 --> 00:10:27,417 The winds were over 100 miles an hour. 222 00:10:27,542 --> 00:10:29,250 Our tent was completely destroyed. 223 00:10:30,542 --> 00:10:35,458 So we started digging a small snow cave. 224 00:10:35,583 --> 00:10:37,625 And we crawled into this snow cave, 225 00:10:37,792 --> 00:10:40,792 and the winds were so high, 226 00:10:40,958 --> 00:10:44,167 it literally shook the mountain. 227 00:10:44,333 --> 00:10:46,333 And we thought, well, 228 00:10:46,542 --> 00:10:48,292 we very well could die here. 229 00:10:48,417 --> 00:10:51,458 It is terrifying to think 230 00:10:51,583 --> 00:10:54,750 the force of nature, how great it was. 231 00:10:54,875 --> 00:10:58,625 But we emerged the following morning with our toes, 232 00:10:58,792 --> 00:11:01,125 with our fingers, with our lives. 233 00:11:01,333 --> 00:11:03,500 And it was after that storm 234 00:11:03,667 --> 00:11:05,625 that I thought to myself, 235 00:11:05,792 --> 00:11:08,417 all right, I had all the qualities 236 00:11:08,542 --> 00:11:10,667 that I could ever imagine needing 237 00:11:10,875 --> 00:11:12,875 to go and climb a big mountain. 238 00:11:13,042 --> 00:11:15,042 I'm ready for Mount Everest. 239 00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:21,000 [Shatner] Why would someone who had just narrowly escaped death 240 00:11:21,167 --> 00:11:24,875 want to take on an even bigger and riskier expedition? 241 00:11:26,542 --> 00:11:27,667 Mount Everest, 242 00:11:27,875 --> 00:11:29,667 located high in the Himalayas 243 00:11:29,833 --> 00:11:32,500 on the border of Nepal and Tibet. 244 00:11:32,708 --> 00:11:35,583 It is the world's tallest peak. 245 00:11:35,708 --> 00:11:37,833 At over 29,000 feet, 246 00:11:38,042 --> 00:11:41,375 Everest rests just below the cruising altitude 247 00:11:41,542 --> 00:11:43,542 of most commercial jets. 248 00:11:43,708 --> 00:11:46,417 There have been around 12,500 attempts 249 00:11:46,583 --> 00:11:51,167 to summit this iconic mountain, which in many ways 250 00:11:51,375 --> 00:11:53,417 represents the height 251 00:11:53,583 --> 00:11:56,000 of physical human achievement. 252 00:11:57,208 --> 00:12:01,458 Mountain climbers are willing to risk hypoxia, death or injury 253 00:12:01,625 --> 00:12:04,000 to have the sensations that they're after. 254 00:12:05,042 --> 00:12:08,167 Do they have a death wish? They say they don't. 255 00:12:08,375 --> 00:12:11,708 And the fear is just enough to help them to feel alive. 256 00:12:11,875 --> 00:12:14,167 It's something spiritual in terms of 257 00:12:14,375 --> 00:12:16,500 what they're seeing, that sense of awe 258 00:12:16,708 --> 00:12:19,208 because they're just after that experience. 259 00:12:20,208 --> 00:12:21,500 [Shatner] It's safe to say that anyone 260 00:12:21,667 --> 00:12:23,333 that gazes up at this titanic 261 00:12:23,500 --> 00:12:25,875 heap of rock would know that 262 00:12:26,042 --> 00:12:29,208 climbing it would be unspeakably dangerous. 263 00:12:29,375 --> 00:12:33,625 But just how deadly is Mount Everest? 264 00:12:33,792 --> 00:12:35,625 [Johnston] I think it's just over 300 people 265 00:12:35,833 --> 00:12:37,708 that have died on Everest, 266 00:12:37,917 --> 00:12:40,375 most of whom are still on the mountain. 267 00:12:40,542 --> 00:12:42,750 Because there are places on Everest where if you fall, 268 00:12:42,917 --> 00:12:44,875 you're falling thousands and thousands of feet. 269 00:12:45,042 --> 00:12:47,458 We're just not gonna find you. So that happens. 270 00:12:47,667 --> 00:12:49,500 But people that die on a route 271 00:12:49,667 --> 00:12:52,917 generally are found by other people climbing that route. 272 00:12:53,083 --> 00:12:56,833 It's hard to get a body down from that altitude. 273 00:12:56,958 --> 00:12:59,500 [Vescovo] Things can happen very quickly on Everest 274 00:12:59,708 --> 00:13:01,000 that will kill you. 275 00:13:01,208 --> 00:13:03,417 It is like playing Russian roulette. 276 00:13:03,583 --> 00:13:05,000 You can go hypothermic. 277 00:13:05,208 --> 00:13:08,292 If the weather is bad, it can be 278 00:13:08,458 --> 00:13:10,292 very dangerous very quickly. 279 00:13:10,375 --> 00:13:12,583 And then, of course, there's avalanche. 280 00:13:12,750 --> 00:13:15,333 You cannot outrun an avalanche. 281 00:13:17,500 --> 00:13:19,833 Even at base camp of Everest, 282 00:13:19,958 --> 00:13:22,750 avalanches have struck 283 00:13:22,875 --> 00:13:25,542 and killed people out of nowhere. 284 00:13:34,083 --> 00:13:37,417 If you do not clip in your rope and you slip, 285 00:13:37,542 --> 00:13:38,958 you are going to die. 286 00:13:39,875 --> 00:13:41,667 70% of accidents happen on the way down 287 00:13:41,792 --> 00:13:43,167 because you're exhausted. 288 00:13:44,708 --> 00:13:47,667 And so, Mount Everest is a brutal place. 289 00:13:47,792 --> 00:13:50,000 It is not for the faint of heart. 290 00:13:51,458 --> 00:13:54,625 [Shatner] And no place on Everest is as brutal 291 00:13:54,792 --> 00:13:57,083 as above 26,000 feet, 292 00:13:57,250 --> 00:13:59,167 which is known as the death zone. 293 00:14:00,125 --> 00:14:03,583 With shearing, hurricane-force winds, 294 00:14:03,750 --> 00:14:05,917 minus-30-degree temperatures, 295 00:14:06,083 --> 00:14:08,083 and too little oxygen for humans 296 00:14:08,250 --> 00:14:11,000 to survive without supplemental air, 297 00:14:11,083 --> 00:14:15,708 it's certainly earned its menacing nickname. 298 00:14:15,875 --> 00:14:18,167 There's a lot up there that can take your life away 299 00:14:18,375 --> 00:14:20,833 when you're going up into the death zone. 300 00:14:20,958 --> 00:14:24,458 And it is almost impossible to understand 301 00:14:24,625 --> 00:14:27,667 the bitter cold at that altitude. 302 00:14:27,792 --> 00:14:31,542 If you were to take off your glove 303 00:14:31,667 --> 00:14:34,417 for even just a few moments 304 00:14:34,583 --> 00:14:36,958 in a bitter wind up there, 305 00:14:37,125 --> 00:14:40,000 you could easily lose your fingers to frostbite 306 00:14:40,167 --> 00:14:42,167 in just a few moments. 307 00:14:42,292 --> 00:14:46,792 Because of that high, cold, thin air, 308 00:14:46,958 --> 00:14:50,167 your body is literally dying up there. 309 00:14:50,292 --> 00:14:53,250 [Shatner] Not only do people face avalanches, 310 00:14:53,375 --> 00:14:56,583 falls and bitter cold on Everest, 311 00:14:56,750 --> 00:14:59,208 climbers are also at risk for developing 312 00:14:59,375 --> 00:15:04,333 a mysterious mental affliction known as "summit fever." 313 00:15:04,542 --> 00:15:07,167 [Carter] Summit fever is a psychological phenomenon 314 00:15:07,333 --> 00:15:08,542 that happens 315 00:15:08,708 --> 00:15:11,042 when climbers are so focused 316 00:15:11,208 --> 00:15:13,250 on getting to the summit 317 00:15:13,417 --> 00:15:16,792 that they don't consider the apparent risks 318 00:15:16,958 --> 00:15:18,542 that they're experiencing. 319 00:15:18,708 --> 00:15:20,292 Because they're so focused, they're not listening 320 00:15:20,458 --> 00:15:22,958 to those obvious signals of danger 321 00:15:23,083 --> 00:15:24,792 that might be around them. 322 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,125 Um, people that are telling them to turn back 323 00:15:27,250 --> 00:15:30,500 or even physical sensations that they're ignoring 324 00:15:30,708 --> 00:15:32,208 in order to achieve their goal. 325 00:15:33,542 --> 00:15:36,083 [Johnston] The human mind drives people 326 00:15:36,250 --> 00:15:38,125 beyond what they should do. 327 00:15:38,292 --> 00:15:41,917 And they ignore where they are, they ignore what time it is, 328 00:15:42,042 --> 00:15:44,042 they ignore how much water they've had, 329 00:15:44,208 --> 00:15:46,500 how much food they've had, so that summit fever, 330 00:15:46,667 --> 00:15:49,458 it blurs people's judgment. 331 00:15:50,625 --> 00:15:53,458 [Shatner] Summit fever's dangerous psychological effects 332 00:15:53,583 --> 00:15:57,083 can overwhelm a mountaineer with the compulsion 333 00:15:57,250 --> 00:16:00,833 to completely ignore their survival instincts. 334 00:16:01,042 --> 00:16:04,833 And perhaps even more frightening is the uncertainty 335 00:16:05,042 --> 00:16:09,333 of who will be caught in its fatal grip. 336 00:16:10,708 --> 00:16:12,833 I've been on mountains before 337 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:14,792 where all hell breaks loose 338 00:16:14,917 --> 00:16:17,708 and I've seen people completely collapse 339 00:16:17,875 --> 00:16:21,667 and lose all senses of themselves. 340 00:16:21,875 --> 00:16:23,667 But here's the deal. 341 00:16:23,792 --> 00:16:27,083 You don't know until something happens. 342 00:16:27,292 --> 00:16:30,292 The only way to find out is to go there 343 00:16:30,458 --> 00:16:32,625 and learn if you have what it takes. 344 00:16:34,042 --> 00:16:37,375 Standing on the top is great, but believe it or not, 345 00:16:37,542 --> 00:16:40,958 when you are in those times that are trying, 346 00:16:41,125 --> 00:16:43,333 that test you, those are the times 347 00:16:43,500 --> 00:16:46,208 that I feel most connected on the mountain. 348 00:16:47,208 --> 00:16:51,167 Climbing Mount Everest is not only a monumental achievement 349 00:16:51,292 --> 00:16:54,417 in mountaineering, it's also an unparalleled thrill 350 00:16:54,625 --> 00:16:57,542 that contains a very real possibility that the mountain 351 00:16:57,708 --> 00:17:01,333 could become an adventurer's eternal resting place. 352 00:17:01,542 --> 00:17:05,417 But there's another beautiful location 353 00:17:05,625 --> 00:17:06,833 in the wilds of New Mexico 354 00:17:06,958 --> 00:17:11,417 that is possibly even more dangerous, 355 00:17:11,583 --> 00:17:14,250 where unwitting travelers seem to vanish 356 00:17:14,417 --> 00:17:16,250 without a trace. 357 00:17:20,708 --> 00:17:23,625 [Shatner] The Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico. 358 00:17:23,792 --> 00:17:25,833 This wild and scenic landscape 359 00:17:26,042 --> 00:17:28,458 draws upwards of a million visitors every year, 360 00:17:28,625 --> 00:17:31,125 making it one of the most popular outdoor 361 00:17:31,208 --> 00:17:33,833 recreational areas in the state. 362 00:17:34,875 --> 00:17:39,042 But this breathtaking wilderness has also drawn law enforcement 363 00:17:39,167 --> 00:17:42,458 and independent investigators to solve 364 00:17:42,625 --> 00:17:45,333 the mystery of a dangerous expanse 365 00:17:45,542 --> 00:17:50,042 known in local folklore as the Pecos Triangle. 366 00:17:51,083 --> 00:17:53,750 The Pecos Triangle is a dangerous place 367 00:17:53,875 --> 00:17:56,542 because of the natural phenomena 368 00:17:56,708 --> 00:17:58,917 that you can experience while you're there. 369 00:17:59,042 --> 00:18:02,083 You have cave systems, you have sinkholes, 370 00:18:02,250 --> 00:18:04,583 you have weather patterns 371 00:18:04,708 --> 00:18:07,625 -that change within seconds. -[thunder crashing] 372 00:18:07,792 --> 00:18:10,125 And what's interesting about this place is 373 00:18:10,292 --> 00:18:13,125 that there are some people who have gone missing 374 00:18:13,208 --> 00:18:14,833 that have never returned. 375 00:18:15,875 --> 00:18:18,417 [Shatner] While you won't find the Pecos Triangle on a map, 376 00:18:18,625 --> 00:18:21,292 locals define it as a region stretching from 377 00:18:21,458 --> 00:18:23,417 north-central New Mexico, 378 00:18:23,542 --> 00:18:25,417 and roughly bounded by Santa Fe, 379 00:18:25,625 --> 00:18:27,792 Taos and Las Vegas. 380 00:18:27,958 --> 00:18:31,667 At least 15 people that we know of 381 00:18:31,792 --> 00:18:33,917 have mysteriously disappeared 382 00:18:34,083 --> 00:18:37,333 in this 6,000-square-mile zone. 383 00:18:38,333 --> 00:18:41,833 [Allan Pacheco] A classic example would be Mel Nadel. 384 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,750 This is September the 6th, '09. 385 00:18:47,417 --> 00:18:50,333 He's with some hunters, and Mel says, 386 00:18:50,500 --> 00:18:52,208 "I'm gonna go down into these trees here, 387 00:18:52,375 --> 00:18:53,667 "I'm gonna set up a blind. 388 00:18:53,875 --> 00:18:55,875 You guys, head on out." 389 00:18:56,042 --> 00:18:57,708 So, they come on back. 390 00:18:57,875 --> 00:18:59,083 It's dusk. 391 00:18:59,250 --> 00:19:00,667 Mel's not there. 392 00:19:00,792 --> 00:19:02,333 It's getting dark. He doesn't show. 393 00:19:02,542 --> 00:19:04,000 They go to the ranger station, 394 00:19:04,125 --> 00:19:05,458 have to call the state police. 395 00:19:05,667 --> 00:19:07,042 Get a big search there. 396 00:19:07,208 --> 00:19:09,833 This search has professional trackers, 397 00:19:09,958 --> 00:19:12,625 cadaver dogs, Cessnas. 398 00:19:12,792 --> 00:19:14,375 Since that time, 399 00:19:14,542 --> 00:19:18,000 no bone, no clothing has been found of this guy. 400 00:19:18,125 --> 00:19:21,583 Another missing person was Emma Tresp. 401 00:19:21,750 --> 00:19:26,500 She vanished in the Pecos Triangle in 1998. 402 00:19:26,625 --> 00:19:28,833 She had gone to Pecos many times before 403 00:19:29,042 --> 00:19:30,625 so she knows the area. 404 00:19:30,792 --> 00:19:33,250 They find her car up there on this dirt road. 405 00:19:33,375 --> 00:19:36,667 And her footprints go around the car, 406 00:19:36,875 --> 00:19:38,333 and that's it. 407 00:19:38,500 --> 00:19:39,833 They don't go up the road, go down the road, 408 00:19:40,042 --> 00:19:41,292 go to either side. 409 00:19:41,458 --> 00:19:42,875 And people want to say, oh, well, 410 00:19:43,042 --> 00:19:44,375 she just ended on up going into the wilds 411 00:19:44,583 --> 00:19:47,208 and, uh, dying and succumbing. 412 00:19:47,375 --> 00:19:49,000 Well, how come there's no body? 413 00:19:49,167 --> 00:19:52,042 There's no sign of struggle, of an animal 414 00:19:52,208 --> 00:19:53,708 or whatever taking her. 415 00:19:53,833 --> 00:19:56,792 How come her tracks just end right there? 416 00:19:59,292 --> 00:20:01,042 Despite extensive searches, 417 00:20:01,250 --> 00:20:03,583 no one knows the circumstances surrounding some of 418 00:20:03,708 --> 00:20:07,042 the baffling disappearances in the Pecos Triangle, 419 00:20:07,208 --> 00:20:08,875 which is why researchers 420 00:20:09,042 --> 00:20:11,000 continue to risk their own safety 421 00:20:11,125 --> 00:20:13,042 in this mysterious wilderness 422 00:20:13,208 --> 00:20:16,000 to identify why people seem to just 423 00:20:16,125 --> 00:20:18,958 vanish into thin air. 424 00:20:19,125 --> 00:20:21,417 The facts surrounding these two disappearances 425 00:20:21,583 --> 00:20:23,208 aren't normal. 426 00:20:23,333 --> 00:20:25,708 So when I started to review national park reports 427 00:20:25,875 --> 00:20:27,500 and U.S. Forest reports, 428 00:20:27,708 --> 00:20:30,875 immediately, I started to see that the New Mexico State Police 429 00:20:31,042 --> 00:20:32,917 would bring K-9s to the scene 430 00:20:33,083 --> 00:20:35,583 and the K-9s wouldn't be able to pick up a scent. 431 00:20:35,750 --> 00:20:38,750 Or they brought professional trackers in. 432 00:20:38,917 --> 00:20:41,333 Well, in a vast majority of these cases, 433 00:20:41,458 --> 00:20:43,667 they can't find tracks either. 434 00:20:43,833 --> 00:20:45,625 So, when you have an instance where someone's missing 435 00:20:45,750 --> 00:20:48,500 and there's no tracks and there's no scent trail, 436 00:20:48,583 --> 00:20:51,750 that points to something highly unusual. 437 00:20:53,083 --> 00:20:55,625 [Pacheco] As far as this so-called Pecos Triangle, 438 00:20:55,792 --> 00:20:58,792 I've, uh, been on different searches, investigations, 439 00:20:58,958 --> 00:21:02,542 and those scenarios never made sense to me. 440 00:21:02,750 --> 00:21:04,208 You say to yourself, how can this person 441 00:21:04,375 --> 00:21:06,875 vanish into thin air 442 00:21:07,042 --> 00:21:08,167 and there be 443 00:21:08,333 --> 00:21:11,042 no clues? Gone. 444 00:21:11,208 --> 00:21:13,042 [Shatner] With no tangible leads 445 00:21:13,208 --> 00:21:15,250 for investigators to follow, 446 00:21:15,458 --> 00:21:18,000 some researchers have turned to native folklore 447 00:21:18,208 --> 00:21:20,000 surrounding the area, 448 00:21:20,208 --> 00:21:23,000 where the history and beliefs of the local Indigenous people 449 00:21:23,167 --> 00:21:26,250 may provide surprising insights 450 00:21:26,417 --> 00:21:29,458 into the forest's dangerous nature. 451 00:21:30,542 --> 00:21:33,000 [Thompson] The Pecos Triangle has had a very, 452 00:21:33,208 --> 00:21:35,167 very interesting and tragic history. 453 00:21:35,333 --> 00:21:37,750 It was once known for the Pecos Pueblo, 454 00:21:37,958 --> 00:21:39,417 where the Pecos people 455 00:21:39,583 --> 00:21:41,667 had a very, very large and thriving city, 456 00:21:41,875 --> 00:21:45,000 drawing people in from all over to discuss things 457 00:21:45,167 --> 00:21:47,708 about spirituality, the cosmos. 458 00:21:47,875 --> 00:21:50,833 But after, you know, attacks by the Spanish, 459 00:21:50,958 --> 00:21:53,667 violent attacks and diseases during the 16th, 460 00:21:53,875 --> 00:21:56,542 17th and 18th century, this pueblo was abandoned. 461 00:21:57,583 --> 00:21:59,833 So this once had a major civilization here 462 00:21:59,958 --> 00:22:02,875 and that has all been sort of wiped from the map. 463 00:22:03,042 --> 00:22:07,125 And so some of the legends and the mystique of this area 464 00:22:07,333 --> 00:22:09,333 is that it regularly does claim people. 465 00:22:09,542 --> 00:22:11,708 People have gone in there and not come out. 466 00:22:13,417 --> 00:22:15,500 [Jeff Williams] The Native Americans do have 467 00:22:15,583 --> 00:22:19,333 these folklore stories about shadow people 468 00:22:19,458 --> 00:22:22,375 and giant snakes that live there in the forest, 469 00:22:22,542 --> 00:22:25,042 whispers in the night, 470 00:22:25,208 --> 00:22:27,833 luring people off of the trail. 471 00:22:27,958 --> 00:22:29,250 These are the things that 472 00:22:29,417 --> 00:22:31,375 you can't rationalize or put a finger on, 473 00:22:31,583 --> 00:22:34,667 and this only adds to the fear 474 00:22:34,833 --> 00:22:36,625 and the confusion when you're out there. 475 00:22:36,792 --> 00:22:39,125 [Shatner] Are supernatural forces 476 00:22:39,292 --> 00:22:41,458 behind the bizarre disappearances 477 00:22:41,625 --> 00:22:45,417 in this foreboding section of the Santa Fe National Forest? 478 00:22:47,667 --> 00:22:50,792 Allan Pacheco has ventured into the Triangle himself, 479 00:22:50,958 --> 00:22:54,583 and based on his own unsettling experience, 480 00:22:54,750 --> 00:22:58,458 he believes these perplexing vanishings 481 00:22:58,583 --> 00:23:02,375 may involve visitors from another world. 482 00:23:03,708 --> 00:23:06,375 I have seen UFO activity on up there. 483 00:23:07,375 --> 00:23:09,875 I saw this bright light coming on down. 484 00:23:10,042 --> 00:23:12,167 Fire, fire, fire. White, white bright light. 485 00:23:13,208 --> 00:23:16,917 And in it was this purple triangular-type of shape. 486 00:23:18,042 --> 00:23:21,125 As far as the vanishings in Pecos, there is 487 00:23:21,292 --> 00:23:24,167 something there that is intelligent 488 00:23:24,375 --> 00:23:27,667 that takes out people. 489 00:23:27,875 --> 00:23:31,375 As far as some of the unusual things that are seen 490 00:23:31,542 --> 00:23:35,542 around the area where Mel and Emma disappeared, 491 00:23:35,708 --> 00:23:38,625 one of the consistencies are orbs. 492 00:23:38,750 --> 00:23:41,542 They're various colors. 493 00:23:41,708 --> 00:23:44,250 And imagine just a ball of light. 494 00:23:45,292 --> 00:23:48,833 These orbs have been seen where people have disappeared. 495 00:23:49,042 --> 00:23:51,167 But to explain 496 00:23:51,292 --> 00:23:53,000 how they disappeared, 497 00:23:53,167 --> 00:23:54,333 it's impossible at this point. 498 00:23:54,500 --> 00:23:56,000 The Santa Fe National Forest 499 00:23:56,083 --> 00:23:58,833 is a dangerous place. It's a complete mystery. 500 00:23:59,833 --> 00:24:02,875 Could the vast landscape of the Pecos Triangle 501 00:24:03,042 --> 00:24:06,667 be hiding the remains of lost visitors, 502 00:24:06,833 --> 00:24:11,083 or is something far stranger at work in this desolate area? 503 00:24:11,250 --> 00:24:12,500 We may never know. 504 00:24:12,708 --> 00:24:16,333 But there are far more dangerous places 505 00:24:16,542 --> 00:24:19,500 that continue to draw brave visitors every year 506 00:24:19,583 --> 00:24:23,167 like the openings in Earth's crust, 507 00:24:23,333 --> 00:24:25,250 that at any moment can rain down 508 00:24:25,417 --> 00:24:27,875 a deadly storm of fire and ash. 509 00:24:32,708 --> 00:24:35,000 [Shatner reads on-screen text] 510 00:24:39,042 --> 00:24:42,667 The top of this active volcano explodes in a jet of ash 511 00:24:42,833 --> 00:24:46,625 rising several miles into the atmosphere. 512 00:24:47,583 --> 00:24:49,708 Hundreds of villagers flee for their lives 513 00:24:49,875 --> 00:24:52,875 as an unstoppable torrent of destruction 514 00:24:53,042 --> 00:24:55,875 moves towards their communities. 515 00:24:57,875 --> 00:25:01,167 There's no shortage of ways for a volcano to kill you. 516 00:25:01,375 --> 00:25:04,042 You can have lava erupting. 517 00:25:05,958 --> 00:25:08,292 You can have pyroclastic flows, 518 00:25:08,458 --> 00:25:11,875 which are giant, broiling clouds of ash 519 00:25:12,042 --> 00:25:14,667 at upwards of 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit. 520 00:25:14,875 --> 00:25:17,208 You can have toxic gasses be released 521 00:25:17,333 --> 00:25:19,333 and that can asphyxiate you, 522 00:25:19,500 --> 00:25:21,958 even if the burning doesn't get you. 523 00:25:22,125 --> 00:25:23,958 Volcanoes can also generate firebombs. 524 00:25:24,083 --> 00:25:27,792 They're ejecting rocks that can smash people, 525 00:25:27,875 --> 00:25:29,792 and some of them are huge. 526 00:25:29,958 --> 00:25:33,292 Maybe the size of a car, a house. 527 00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:34,875 And so, any of these things can 528 00:25:35,042 --> 00:25:37,208 just take you out like you weren't there. 529 00:25:38,250 --> 00:25:39,875 [Shatner] It's estimated that around the world, 530 00:25:40,042 --> 00:25:43,375 upwards of 800 million people live within 62 miles 531 00:25:43,542 --> 00:25:45,500 of a dangerously active volcano. 532 00:25:45,625 --> 00:25:48,333 And history's littered with tragic 533 00:25:48,500 --> 00:25:52,500 volcanic eruptions that have extinguished countless lives, 534 00:25:52,667 --> 00:25:55,542 from the buried residents of Pompeii 535 00:25:55,750 --> 00:25:59,042 after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD 536 00:25:59,167 --> 00:26:02,917 to the largest eruption in human history in 1815, 537 00:26:03,083 --> 00:26:08,417 when Indonesia's Mount Tambora claimed 100,000 souls. 538 00:26:08,625 --> 00:26:11,667 With such perilous prospects of human loss, 539 00:26:11,875 --> 00:26:15,500 why do people continue to live near these 540 00:26:15,667 --> 00:26:18,375 unpredictable mountains of fire? 541 00:26:19,417 --> 00:26:22,875 [Oppenheimer] We often focus in on the catastrophe, 542 00:26:23,083 --> 00:26:24,917 but people live on volcanoes for centuries 543 00:26:25,125 --> 00:26:27,875 or millennia between eruptions, and in that time 544 00:26:28,042 --> 00:26:30,458 they're living with the volcano, 545 00:26:30,625 --> 00:26:32,375 they're benefiting from 546 00:26:32,542 --> 00:26:35,167 the fertility of the volcanic soil. 547 00:26:35,333 --> 00:26:37,792 The crops are very productive. 548 00:26:37,958 --> 00:26:40,083 And you can go up at altitude 549 00:26:40,250 --> 00:26:43,000 and have a nice environment to live in. 550 00:26:43,167 --> 00:26:46,000 [Lance Geiger] People like to live on the sides of volcanoes 551 00:26:46,167 --> 00:26:48,375 because, I mean, there's just a natural beauty 552 00:26:48,583 --> 00:26:50,375 that occurs around volcanoes. 553 00:26:50,542 --> 00:26:53,625 There's reasons why you would go to where we knew a volcano was 554 00:26:53,750 --> 00:26:55,083 to see the flora and the fauna 555 00:26:55,292 --> 00:26:57,333 and the geology and all that sort of stuff. 556 00:26:57,500 --> 00:26:59,750 But any volcano that's been active 557 00:26:59,875 --> 00:27:02,917 in the last 50,000 years could become active tomorrow. 558 00:27:03,125 --> 00:27:05,167 And there's inherent risk to that. 559 00:27:06,375 --> 00:27:08,125 [Shatner] Despite the benefits, 560 00:27:08,292 --> 00:27:11,500 we can't predict when a community 561 00:27:11,625 --> 00:27:14,042 might be decimated by lava and ash. 562 00:27:14,208 --> 00:27:17,208 It's a fragile existence to be sure, 563 00:27:17,333 --> 00:27:20,583 but there are those who embrace the danger 564 00:27:20,750 --> 00:27:23,917 like the risk-takers who seek to witness 565 00:27:24,083 --> 00:27:26,417 a volcano when it erupts. 566 00:27:28,083 --> 00:27:31,208 [McGee] A volcano is you watching that act of creation, 567 00:27:31,375 --> 00:27:33,042 geologic creation happen live. 568 00:27:33,208 --> 00:27:36,667 There's a little bit of the thrill of the power, 569 00:27:36,833 --> 00:27:39,833 just glimpsing what the Earth is capable of. 570 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,458 And then there's also a desire to see 571 00:27:42,625 --> 00:27:45,833 and understand more about these processes as they're happening. 572 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,583 The opportunity to see something happening 573 00:27:48,750 --> 00:27:51,583 raw can just be too compelling 574 00:27:51,750 --> 00:27:54,042 to ignore, even if there's risk. 575 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,708 [Oppenheimer] I think of volcanoes, 576 00:27:56,875 --> 00:27:59,208 in some ways, they're windows, they're apertures 577 00:27:59,375 --> 00:28:02,833 into the deep Earth, from the Earth's interior. 578 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,250 A volcanic eruption is-is such 579 00:28:05,375 --> 00:28:06,708 an extraordinary spectacle, 580 00:28:06,875 --> 00:28:10,167 to see the fireworks go into the sky 581 00:28:10,375 --> 00:28:13,000 and ash clouds roiling up into the atmosphere. 582 00:28:13,208 --> 00:28:16,167 Sonically, the detonations, 583 00:28:16,375 --> 00:28:19,042 the whistles, the roars, the wailing 584 00:28:19,208 --> 00:28:24,167 from gas vents to the biggest explosive eruptions 585 00:28:24,333 --> 00:28:26,500 where you can feel the rumbling earth 586 00:28:26,708 --> 00:28:29,083 through your feet, the seismic energy, 587 00:28:29,208 --> 00:28:33,542 and you can smell and taste the gases. 588 00:28:33,708 --> 00:28:36,500 So volcanoes assail all the senses and-and 589 00:28:36,667 --> 00:28:38,125 you can't take your eye off them. 590 00:28:39,542 --> 00:28:42,833 [Shatner] An erupting volcano is truly a profound sight, 591 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:46,375 but it's not the only reason why scientists are so willing 592 00:28:46,542 --> 00:28:49,667 to risk their lives in these explosive environments. 593 00:28:49,875 --> 00:28:52,667 For centuries, fundamental questions about 594 00:28:52,875 --> 00:28:54,417 the nature of these earthly cauldrons 595 00:28:54,542 --> 00:28:58,083 has drawn researchers directly into harm's way. 596 00:28:59,042 --> 00:29:01,833 As a volcanologist, I'm always humbled when I read 597 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:04,833 scientific works from 200 years ago, 598 00:29:05,042 --> 00:29:07,500 and they're asking the same questions we're asking now. 599 00:29:07,667 --> 00:29:08,917 Why did the volcano erupt? 600 00:29:09,083 --> 00:29:11,500 Why did it explode in that particular way? 601 00:29:11,625 --> 00:29:13,333 We're asking the same questions, 602 00:29:13,458 --> 00:29:16,167 and we have, of course, much more sophisticated tools. 603 00:29:16,292 --> 00:29:19,000 We can watch volcanoes from space. 604 00:29:19,208 --> 00:29:21,625 But there's still so much that we don't understand. 605 00:29:21,833 --> 00:29:23,083 And so, 606 00:29:23,250 --> 00:29:25,167 if we look at the historical record, 607 00:29:25,333 --> 00:29:27,667 we have eruptions that are more than a hundred times bigger 608 00:29:27,875 --> 00:29:29,042 than anything we've seen. 609 00:29:29,167 --> 00:29:31,708 We call them super eruptions, 610 00:29:31,875 --> 00:29:33,542 and these can change the global climate. 611 00:29:33,708 --> 00:29:37,333 They can have enormous impacts on pasture and crops. 612 00:29:37,542 --> 00:29:40,833 [Andrew Collins] You have supervolcanoes around the world 613 00:29:40,917 --> 00:29:44,375 that have the potential to destroy human life on Earth. 614 00:29:44,542 --> 00:29:45,708 I mean, this happened 615 00:29:45,875 --> 00:29:48,750 around 70,000 years ago 616 00:29:48,917 --> 00:29:52,375 with the Mount Toba eruption 617 00:29:52,542 --> 00:29:54,875 in the Pacific region. 618 00:29:55,042 --> 00:29:59,458 90% of humanity were actually wiped out. 619 00:29:59,625 --> 00:30:01,708 So that could happen again. 620 00:30:01,875 --> 00:30:04,417 That's why what the volcanologists are doing 621 00:30:04,583 --> 00:30:07,667 is just so important to the future of humanity. 622 00:30:07,875 --> 00:30:10,042 [Shatner] Let's face it, there's probably 623 00:30:10,208 --> 00:30:13,917 no safe place on the planet if a supervolcano explodes. 624 00:30:14,083 --> 00:30:16,917 And it's believed that there are between 12 and 20 625 00:30:17,042 --> 00:30:19,000 active supervolcanoes across the Earth. 626 00:30:19,208 --> 00:30:22,042 But by putting themselves in peril, 627 00:30:22,208 --> 00:30:25,125 perhaps scientists can discover the secret signs 628 00:30:25,333 --> 00:30:30,000 to predict future apocalyptic eruptions. 629 00:30:30,167 --> 00:30:32,750 [Oppenheimer] When it comes to forecasting volcanic eruptions, 630 00:30:32,917 --> 00:30:34,333 there are things we can do. 631 00:30:34,542 --> 00:30:36,833 Gases will leak out, and we can detect those signals 632 00:30:37,042 --> 00:30:39,292 and try and make an assessment 633 00:30:39,417 --> 00:30:41,500 of how likely an eruption is to take place 634 00:30:41,625 --> 00:30:43,208 in a certain time frame. 635 00:30:43,375 --> 00:30:46,167 But there are so many processes involved, 636 00:30:46,375 --> 00:30:47,958 that we will never know with certainty-- 637 00:30:48,125 --> 00:30:49,583 how would I forecast it 638 00:30:49,750 --> 00:30:52,833 to forestall a future disaster? 639 00:30:53,042 --> 00:30:55,000 So, there are so many secrets yet 640 00:30:55,125 --> 00:30:57,542 to, uh, discover and unveil. 641 00:31:00,333 --> 00:31:03,375 Until scientists can actually predict a volcanic eruption, 642 00:31:03,542 --> 00:31:06,000 when it comes to such a destructive force of nature, 643 00:31:06,167 --> 00:31:08,958 it's probably wise to keep your distance. 644 00:31:09,958 --> 00:31:12,333 But there's a remote and forbidden island 645 00:31:12,500 --> 00:31:16,542 in the Indian Ocean where danger is not caused by Mother Earth 646 00:31:16,708 --> 00:31:20,417 but rather by mysterious inhabitants who think nothing 647 00:31:20,542 --> 00:31:24,417 of killing unwelcome visitors on sight. 648 00:31:29,667 --> 00:31:32,167 [Shatner] The Andaman Islands. 649 00:31:33,208 --> 00:31:35,833 This chain of over 300 islands off the coast of India 650 00:31:36,042 --> 00:31:39,333 is a true tropical paradise, 651 00:31:39,500 --> 00:31:43,042 attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. 652 00:31:44,833 --> 00:31:47,250 But, in stark contrast, 653 00:31:47,458 --> 00:31:50,125 at the remote southwestern edge of this archipelago, 654 00:31:50,292 --> 00:31:54,000 lies one of the most dangerous places on Earth-- 655 00:31:54,208 --> 00:31:57,208 North Sentinel Island. 656 00:31:58,625 --> 00:32:00,375 North Sentinel Island is really 657 00:32:00,542 --> 00:32:02,833 a little speck of land, relatively. 658 00:32:03,042 --> 00:32:04,833 It's just about ten miles across, 659 00:32:05,042 --> 00:32:06,917 about the size of the island of Manhattan. 660 00:32:07,083 --> 00:32:09,625 It's almost impossible to, 661 00:32:09,792 --> 00:32:11,208 even from the air, see much 662 00:32:11,333 --> 00:32:13,917 of what's going on on this island. 663 00:32:14,083 --> 00:32:16,792 It really looks the part of a mysterious, 664 00:32:16,958 --> 00:32:19,375 impenetrable place. 665 00:32:19,583 --> 00:32:21,792 [Everett] The North Sentinel Island is 666 00:32:21,958 --> 00:32:23,292 one of the most isolated places 667 00:32:23,458 --> 00:32:26,833 in terms of difficulty of access in the world. 668 00:32:26,958 --> 00:32:29,667 It's surrounded by coral, there's no natural harbor, 669 00:32:29,833 --> 00:32:31,000 so ships can't really 670 00:32:31,208 --> 00:32:32,833 dock there, and it's very dangerous 671 00:32:33,042 --> 00:32:35,167 to get too close to the island. 672 00:32:36,208 --> 00:32:37,750 [Shatner] While the waters surrounding 673 00:32:37,875 --> 00:32:39,625 North Sentinel Island are treacherous, 674 00:32:39,792 --> 00:32:44,333 the real danger lies with its mysterious inhabitants, 675 00:32:44,500 --> 00:32:48,000 the most isolated Indigenous people in the world, 676 00:32:48,167 --> 00:32:51,750 known as the Sentinelese. 677 00:32:51,917 --> 00:32:55,250 [Everett] The Sentinelese people of North Sentinel Island, 678 00:32:55,375 --> 00:32:56,833 they're unique because no one has ever 679 00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:58,500 successfully contacted them. 680 00:32:58,708 --> 00:33:00,833 They've probably been there for 50,000 years 681 00:33:01,042 --> 00:33:02,583 or something along those lines, 682 00:33:02,750 --> 00:33:06,000 but we know next to nothing about the people. 683 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:08,750 We know that they're hostile. 684 00:33:08,875 --> 00:33:12,417 They've tried to kill most people who've landed there. 685 00:33:13,375 --> 00:33:15,042 [Thompson] This is, in some ways, 686 00:33:15,208 --> 00:33:16,625 the most dangerous place to be an explorer. 687 00:33:16,792 --> 00:33:19,667 Number one, uh, as an outsider coming there, 688 00:33:19,792 --> 00:33:21,375 you'd probably be killed. 689 00:33:21,542 --> 00:33:23,458 Right? They-they very often kill, uh, intruders. 690 00:33:23,542 --> 00:33:26,417 They shoot arrows at people who come too close regularly. 691 00:33:26,542 --> 00:33:29,333 The North Sentinelese have adamantly 692 00:33:29,458 --> 00:33:31,458 distanced themselves from the outside world. 693 00:33:31,583 --> 00:33:34,542 It's something that you're never gonna be allowed to study. 694 00:33:34,708 --> 00:33:37,417 [Shatner] In 1956, the Indian government, 695 00:33:37,542 --> 00:33:39,250 which maintains territorial control 696 00:33:39,375 --> 00:33:41,417 of North Sentinel Island, 697 00:33:41,583 --> 00:33:45,042 made it illegal for non-Sentinelese people 698 00:33:45,208 --> 00:33:47,167 to even set foot on the island. 699 00:33:48,167 --> 00:33:50,208 But when did the outside world 700 00:33:50,417 --> 00:33:55,000 first become aware of this deadly tribe? 701 00:33:55,208 --> 00:33:57,167 The first time that anyone from the outside 702 00:33:57,375 --> 00:34:00,375 is recorded as having landed on North Sentinel 703 00:34:00,542 --> 00:34:04,208 and interacted with the local people was in 1867, 704 00:34:04,375 --> 00:34:07,500 when a merchant ship was actually shipwrecked 705 00:34:07,667 --> 00:34:09,458 just off the coast of the island, 706 00:34:09,583 --> 00:34:14,250 and about 80-some passengers and 20 crewmen 707 00:34:14,375 --> 00:34:16,583 got safely to the beach 708 00:34:16,792 --> 00:34:19,958 and promptly, some native people came out 709 00:34:20,125 --> 00:34:22,208 with bows and arrows, and as they told it, 710 00:34:22,375 --> 00:34:26,875 began to attack these survivors of the shipwreck. 711 00:34:27,042 --> 00:34:28,667 They put up with attacks, regular attacks 712 00:34:28,792 --> 00:34:30,833 from the Sentinelese, 713 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:32,792 until they were rescued by a larger boat. 714 00:34:32,958 --> 00:34:34,333 So, they wrote up reports, 715 00:34:34,542 --> 00:34:37,417 and we learned that this is a very hostile island. 716 00:34:37,583 --> 00:34:40,792 It has probably been hostile to outsiders 717 00:34:40,917 --> 00:34:43,875 for probably thousands of years. 718 00:34:44,917 --> 00:34:46,542 [Shatner] Experts estimate that there are around 719 00:34:46,708 --> 00:34:49,833 50 to 100 Sentinelese 720 00:34:50,042 --> 00:34:52,625 currently living on the island, 721 00:34:52,792 --> 00:34:55,917 but for the most part, this isolated culture 722 00:34:56,083 --> 00:34:58,375 remains a complete mystery. 723 00:34:59,375 --> 00:35:02,375 It's both extremely dangerous and illegal 724 00:35:02,542 --> 00:35:06,208 to visit North Sentinel Island. 725 00:35:06,333 --> 00:35:10,458 So, why have people continued to risk their lives 726 00:35:10,625 --> 00:35:14,833 to visit these deadly shores? 727 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,708 [Goodheart] A lot of people in the rest of the world 728 00:35:16,833 --> 00:35:19,125 first became aware of North Sentinel Island 729 00:35:19,292 --> 00:35:22,917 in 2018, when the news broke globally 730 00:35:23,083 --> 00:35:26,417 that a young American had been killed on the beach there. 731 00:35:26,542 --> 00:35:29,167 The man's name was John Allen Chau, 732 00:35:29,375 --> 00:35:32,208 and he had gone there with the intention 733 00:35:32,375 --> 00:35:36,000 of bringing Christianity to the native inhabitants. 734 00:35:36,208 --> 00:35:39,042 He befriended some of the local fishermen, 735 00:35:39,208 --> 00:35:41,500 and then he went in a small fishing boat. 736 00:35:41,667 --> 00:35:44,583 He launched a little portable kayak 737 00:35:44,792 --> 00:35:49,583 and paddled onto the beach holding a waterproof Bible. 738 00:35:49,792 --> 00:35:52,000 He got out of his boat, 739 00:35:52,125 --> 00:35:54,208 waited for some native people to approach, 740 00:35:54,375 --> 00:35:56,000 and then opened the Bible 741 00:35:56,125 --> 00:35:59,250 and began reading to the Sentinelese. 742 00:35:59,458 --> 00:36:01,417 Then a young boy came up 743 00:36:01,583 --> 00:36:04,583 and, at point-blank range, 744 00:36:04,750 --> 00:36:07,333 drew his bow 745 00:36:07,542 --> 00:36:09,583 and shot the arrow into this waterproof Bible 746 00:36:09,750 --> 00:36:12,458 that Chau was standing there reading from. 747 00:36:14,542 --> 00:36:18,333 And so, he backed off, he got back into his kayak, 748 00:36:18,500 --> 00:36:22,208 and he then returned the next day. 749 00:36:23,208 --> 00:36:25,417 What happened to him next is a mystery. 750 00:36:25,583 --> 00:36:28,833 Because the fishermen who had brought him to the island 751 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:31,958 circled back around to that beach a few hours later 752 00:36:32,125 --> 00:36:33,833 and saw the Sentinelese 753 00:36:33,958 --> 00:36:37,167 dragging his lifeless body across the beach 754 00:36:37,333 --> 00:36:39,833 and burying it in the sand. 755 00:36:40,042 --> 00:36:44,375 So, that concern for possible outsiders coming 756 00:36:44,542 --> 00:36:47,708 continues to worry me to this day. 757 00:36:47,875 --> 00:36:50,500 [Everett] I was interested at one time in going 758 00:36:50,667 --> 00:36:52,750 to North Sentinel Island and studying the Sentinelese. 759 00:36:52,917 --> 00:36:55,917 It's exactly what I do: study hunter-gatherers. 760 00:36:56,125 --> 00:36:59,458 But, uh, knowing now what I know about the North Sentinelese, 761 00:36:59,542 --> 00:37:01,667 no, I don't have any desire to go there at all. 762 00:37:01,875 --> 00:37:05,292 North Sentinel Island is a dangerous place 763 00:37:05,458 --> 00:37:07,375 if you're not Sentinelese. 764 00:37:08,417 --> 00:37:10,750 We see this group of people on this island 765 00:37:10,917 --> 00:37:12,667 that we don't know anything about. 766 00:37:12,875 --> 00:37:14,333 It's a mystery, sure, 767 00:37:14,542 --> 00:37:16,375 but there are a lot of mysteries in the world, 768 00:37:16,542 --> 00:37:18,542 and some of them we have no business trying to figure out. 769 00:37:24,042 --> 00:37:26,333 [Shatner reads on-screen text] 770 00:37:26,542 --> 00:37:28,875 Along the country's Atlantic coast 771 00:37:29,042 --> 00:37:31,333 is a 300-mile stretch of deadly coastline 772 00:37:31,500 --> 00:37:34,458 that has conjured unbridled fear 773 00:37:34,625 --> 00:37:37,833 in the hearts of sailors and seafarers for centuries. 774 00:37:38,042 --> 00:37:40,917 It's one of the largest graveyards for ships 775 00:37:41,125 --> 00:37:42,625 in all the world, 776 00:37:42,792 --> 00:37:46,375 known as the Skeleton Coast. 777 00:37:47,500 --> 00:37:49,208 [Rebecca Simon] Today, the Skeleton Coast has become 778 00:37:49,375 --> 00:37:52,833 a huge tourist destination for the elite 779 00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:56,333 who might want to have some sort of dangerous expedition. 780 00:37:56,500 --> 00:37:59,125 No one is even allowed to attempt to go 781 00:37:59,250 --> 00:38:01,250 to the Skeleton Coast on your own. 782 00:38:01,417 --> 00:38:03,667 You literally have to cross these gates 783 00:38:03,833 --> 00:38:06,333 that have a huge skull and crossbones 784 00:38:06,542 --> 00:38:09,083 because it's probably the most inhospitable place 785 00:38:09,250 --> 00:38:10,667 in all of Africa. 786 00:38:10,750 --> 00:38:13,000 And it's known as the Skeleton Coast 787 00:38:13,208 --> 00:38:15,625 because it's always been littered with the skeletons, 788 00:38:15,792 --> 00:38:18,500 literally, of things like whales... 789 00:38:19,417 --> 00:38:20,875 ...other animals... 790 00:38:22,083 --> 00:38:23,708 ...and of shipwrecks. 791 00:38:23,875 --> 00:38:27,333 Thousands of ships have crashed along the Skeleton Coast 792 00:38:27,500 --> 00:38:29,542 for centuries. 793 00:38:29,708 --> 00:38:33,625 The coastline is extremely dangerous. 794 00:38:33,833 --> 00:38:36,708 It gets very, very windy, which means if you're sailing, 795 00:38:36,875 --> 00:38:39,042 the wind is blowing these really choppy waves 796 00:38:39,167 --> 00:38:40,833 against the ship. 797 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:45,000 And also, really, really dense fog builds up 798 00:38:45,167 --> 00:38:47,000 very frequently along the coast, 799 00:38:47,167 --> 00:38:49,000 creating zero visibility. 800 00:38:49,167 --> 00:38:50,375 [ship horn blows] 801 00:38:50,542 --> 00:38:52,750 It's a perfect recipe 802 00:38:52,917 --> 00:38:54,792 for all kinds of disasters to happen. 803 00:38:54,958 --> 00:38:57,583 [Geiger] It's not a good place to get shipwrecked, 804 00:38:57,750 --> 00:38:59,792 because essentially, it is a very hot, 805 00:38:59,917 --> 00:39:02,667 very dry desert right up into the ocean. 806 00:39:02,833 --> 00:39:05,833 And so, if you happen to swim off your boat, 807 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:07,458 when you get to shore, 808 00:39:07,625 --> 00:39:09,250 there's a very good chance that you're going to die 809 00:39:09,375 --> 00:39:11,958 of thirst or starvation before anyone can come and help you. 810 00:39:13,542 --> 00:39:14,833 [Shatner] While the Skeleton Coast 811 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:16,208 is undoubtedly an extremely dangerous 812 00:39:16,375 --> 00:39:17,708 natural environment, 813 00:39:17,875 --> 00:39:20,958 based on local folklore, some have wondered, 814 00:39:21,042 --> 00:39:23,042 might the true peril of this place 815 00:39:23,208 --> 00:39:26,917 be of a supernatural nature? 816 00:39:28,542 --> 00:39:29,792 The two Indigenous groups 817 00:39:29,958 --> 00:39:31,792 who live closest to the Skeleton Coast 818 00:39:31,958 --> 00:39:33,875 are known as the Himba and the Khoisan. 819 00:39:34,042 --> 00:39:35,708 According to the Himba, 820 00:39:35,875 --> 00:39:40,208 the Skeleton Coast is a place for angry spirits, 821 00:39:40,375 --> 00:39:42,042 evil spirits, 822 00:39:42,250 --> 00:39:44,208 and other kind of 823 00:39:44,375 --> 00:39:46,958 deadly supernatural phenomena to occur. 824 00:39:47,083 --> 00:39:50,667 The Khoisan, the Bushmen of the region, 825 00:39:50,833 --> 00:39:54,208 they believe that the gods deliberately created the area 826 00:39:54,375 --> 00:39:57,500 as a forbidden zone. 827 00:39:57,708 --> 00:39:59,250 The Skeleton Coast has been referred to 828 00:39:59,417 --> 00:40:01,875 as "the land God made in anger." 829 00:40:03,167 --> 00:40:05,625 [Shatner] Whether or not this savage shoreline 830 00:40:05,750 --> 00:40:08,333 is inhabited by hostile spirits may be debatable, 831 00:40:08,542 --> 00:40:10,792 but there's no denying the Skeleton Coast 832 00:40:10,917 --> 00:40:15,167 is an extremely deadly environment. 833 00:40:16,083 --> 00:40:17,833 And like with so many dangerous places 834 00:40:18,042 --> 00:40:19,667 around the world, people continue 835 00:40:19,875 --> 00:40:22,625 to risk their lives to experience them 836 00:40:22,792 --> 00:40:26,500 because maybe facing death 837 00:40:26,667 --> 00:40:29,167 is the most profound reminder 838 00:40:29,292 --> 00:40:31,708 that we are alive. 839 00:40:32,708 --> 00:40:36,500 The world is full of danger and-and new things to explore. 840 00:40:36,708 --> 00:40:39,250 Things like volcanoes, 841 00:40:39,375 --> 00:40:41,667 places like Mount Everest. 842 00:40:41,875 --> 00:40:45,083 I think that visiting these dangerous places 843 00:40:45,250 --> 00:40:48,167 is an exploration of ourselves. 844 00:40:48,333 --> 00:40:50,917 It's an exploration of our fears. 845 00:40:51,792 --> 00:40:53,792 [McGee] I think, nowadays, 846 00:40:53,875 --> 00:40:56,583 so much of our world has gone virtual, 847 00:40:56,750 --> 00:40:59,417 the idea that you could get out into the world 848 00:40:59,583 --> 00:41:01,583 and actually risk something-- 849 00:41:01,708 --> 00:41:04,125 get close to heat, 850 00:41:04,292 --> 00:41:06,792 ice, 851 00:41:06,917 --> 00:41:08,583 space-- 852 00:41:08,708 --> 00:41:10,708 I think this is gonna have a deeper and deeper draw 853 00:41:10,875 --> 00:41:14,208 the more that our day-to-day experience 854 00:41:14,375 --> 00:41:19,792 lacks the kind of fundamental thrill of being human. 855 00:41:21,875 --> 00:41:26,583 Why are humans attracted to dangerous places? 856 00:41:26,750 --> 00:41:29,083 Is it an unquenchable thirst for knowledge 857 00:41:29,250 --> 00:41:32,917 or to simply go where few have dared to tread? 858 00:41:33,083 --> 00:41:35,542 Maybe it's the physical and mental challenges 859 00:41:35,708 --> 00:41:38,667 these locations provide? 860 00:41:38,792 --> 00:41:41,792 Some may claim it's to escape boredom, 861 00:41:41,958 --> 00:41:44,167 get that adrenaline rush and be the first 862 00:41:44,375 --> 00:41:45,958 to make a great discovery. 863 00:41:46,083 --> 00:41:47,333 Whatever the reason, 864 00:41:47,542 --> 00:41:49,542 how each of us measures 865 00:41:49,708 --> 00:41:52,625 the risk versus the reward of entering 866 00:41:52,792 --> 00:41:57,000 hazardous, threatening and perhaps deadly terrain 867 00:41:57,125 --> 00:42:00,333 remains unexplained. 868 00:42:00,417 --> 00:42:02,250 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS