PBS America: Starts Monday 15 December at 6.55pm

In 1975, an expedition led by Chris Bonington set out to achieve the impossible: to climb the South West Face of Everest and put the very first British mountaineers on her summit.

They faced overwhelming odds, from dwindling oxygen supplies to freezing winds, avalanche and frostbite. There was widespread public scepticism, the press reporting that failure was almost inevitable. Yet a British team ultimately succeeded where all others had failed.

When Doug Scott and Dougal Haston stood at 29,095 feet on the world’s highest mountain, they were the first Britons to do so – and it was many days before anyone else knew. This is a story of great leadership, teamwork, bravery, sacrifice and tragedy, with a remarkable outcome.