The approach

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Adriana Brownlee is a mountaineering pioneer. The British woman became the youngest female to summit K2 - the second-highest mountain on Earth - in 2022. But mountains are changing and becoming more unpredictable because of climate change. High mountain areas are warming faster than the rest of the planet, meaning glaciers are shrinking and permafrost holding mountain faces together are disappearing. How are mountaineers like Adriana adapting and what implications are there for communities living in the foothills of these mountains? Adriana investigates by visiting Chamonix in France, the mountaineering capital of Europe and home to Mont Blanc. She learns that the disappearing glacier there is an inescapable symbol of our warming planet. After speaking to other mountaineers, glaciologists and meteorologists, she asks herself if she is doing enough as a mountaineer to prevent the planet from warming further. Image: Adriana Brownlee (Credit: Adriana Brownlee)