All language subtitles for 9CB1719E7E804704D551BB1A5871A6FE_eng

Over one third of our planet
is frozen. And yet the icy

worlds of the Arctic and
Antarctic are as alien to most of

us as the surface of another planet.

They are places of superlatives,
from ice caps that hold

nearly 80% of our planet's
fresh water to frozen forests

that encircle the entire globe.

These are places that feed
our imaginations, places that

seem to be borrowed from fairy
tales. They are dominated and

shaped by the ice, both by
its coming and by its going.

This is our planet's last true
wilderness, and one that is

changing just as we're
beginning to understand it. In this

series, we'll be travelling
to all parts of these lonely

lands, both north and south,
to witness its wonders, perhaps

for the last time, and to
discover some extraordinary

examples of survival against
all the odds, as can be found

anywhere on the planet.

The poles are permanently
capped with ice. Nowhere

is colder, windier or
more hostile to life.

I'm standing at the North
Pole, the very top of the Earth.

Up here, it's easy to see why
the polar regions are so cold.

The sun never rises high
enough in the sky to warm my

back, and those rays that do
strike the surface are mostly

reflected back from this
great whiteness. But the

fundamental problem is that
there's no sun here at all for

half the year. The polar
winter is unrivaled in its

harshness, a night that lasts
for months. Only the toughest

day, as temperatures plunge
to minus 70 degrees centigrade.

And yet, the greatest
challenge to life here is not the

cold, but the extreme swings
between the seasons. When the

sun finally returns, an
extraordinary transformation begins.

This frozen world begins to melt away.

The polar spring brings
a brief opportunity for life.

By summer, the sun no longer sets
and works its magic for 24 hours a day.

Now it's a race to breed
before the sun departs.

By autumn, all but the hardiest abandon
the poles and the ice extends its grip.

Land and sea close down for the long polar
winter until, once again, the sun returns.

It's spring in the high
Arctic, and the sun illuminates

a giant frozen ocean, the
first stop on our journey.

The most powerful land
predator is on the prowl.

A male polar bear is searching for a mate.

Willing females are few
and far between, and the sea

ice on which he travels
will soon melt and vanish.

He's running out of time to find
a mate in this vast frozen desert.

Ten miles ahead, a single female without
cubs. Exactly what the male is seeking.

He seems to relish her
scent even though she's

miles away. This is
an exciting prospect.

She's clearly giving off the right signals.

He locks onto her tracks,
eager not to lose her trail. It's

easier to tread in the
compacted snow of her footprints.

This pursuit could last for days.

The female eventually comes
into view. The search is finally over.

For the female, only half his
weight, this must be a nerve

-wracking encounter. The
male could kill her if he chooses.

But he has other intentions,
and she is ready and willing.

She leads him to higher ground.

It seems that courting polar
bears prefer privacy, often

leaving the sea ice and
heading for the hills to avoid the

prying eyes of rival males
who might disturb them.

Few have witnessed this
moment. For the male, his

only tender encounter in
an otherwise solitary life.

But it doesn't last long. A rival suitor
has also caught the female's scent.

Courtship has to be put on
hold. He must fight for his rights.

He sees off this first
challenger without injury

to either party. But
bloodier battles are to come.

Another battle won. Though
he has been slightly injured. He

hurries back to his mate, but
now she seems to have lost her

enthusiasm. Female polar
bears are high maintenance.

Wherever she goes,
he will follow, mating with

her when she allows and
guarding her at all times.

Over the next two weeks,
the male sees off many

rivals, but the battles
take their toll on him.

He is almost spent, but he has ensured that
no other bears have mated with his female.

It's time for the couple to go
their separate ways. She will

give birth to his cubs alone in
nine months time, and he may

never see her again. He
returns to the frozen ocean, no

doubt relieved to resume
his solitary ways. And just in

time, the ice beneath
his feet will soon be gone.

Each spring, the Arctic Ocean
undergoes an extraordinary

transformation. An area of
sea ice the size of Europe melts,

exposing the rich waters beneath.

Short-tailed shearwaters have travelled
10,000 miles from Australia to be here.

18 million visitors
darken the skies, the

largest gathering of
seabirds on the planet.

Humpback whales have
come all the way from the

equator to feed in
these rich polar waters.

Their giant tails are five metres across.

Simply raising them above
the surface gives the whales

enough downward momentum
to reach the great swarms of Trill

and Herring below.

The shearwaters follow the giant's lead.

For those who can get here in
summer, these waters provide

a feast of epic proportions.
But the good times will be very

short, a problem that faces
all life in the polar regions.

Journey south across the
Arctic Ocean, the first land you

reach is Greenland, the largest
island in the world. Despite

its name, Greenland is
mostly white, covered by a giant

ice sheet six times the
size of the United Kingdom.

In the middle of the
island, the ice is nearly

two miles thick. It's
a bleak, quiet world.

Sapphire blue melt lakes are the first
sign that a dynamic process is underway.

Each lake forms in a
matter of days, expanding

until it's miles across
and starts to overflow.

The spill water then carves
its way through the ice.

The water courses through
an icy delta like blood along

the arteries of a cold-blooded
monster. A monster that is

stirring.

And without warning, the water
suddenly plunges down an open

shaft, falling a vertical
mile into the heart of the ice

sheet.

This melt water has a
surprising effect. It lubricates the

junction between the ice and
the rock floor beneath, so the

entire ice sheet is now on the
move, sliding downhill into the ocean.

This, Jakobshaven Isbre,
is the fastest flowing glacier

on our planet, moving as
much as 40 meters a day.

As it advances, it destroys
everything in its path, even

cutting its way through Greenland's
great mountain ranges on

its drive downwards towards the sea.

When speeded up, these solid rivers of
ice seem to flow just like liquid rivers.

This is the titanic
force that cuts down

mountains and levels
the surface of continents.

The ice is now entering the
last stage of its descent. As

it gains speed, huge crevasses
open that extend down to its

very core.

It's reached the ocean,
and millions of tons of

ice have lost the
support of their rocky bed.

Something must give.

These ice falls are an
ominous sign of what is

about to happen. A rupture
deep within the glacier.

A colossal iceberg is born.

This single block of ice,
many hundreds of meters

across, would dwarf the
biggest of mankind's buildings.

Every year, tens of thousands
of icebergs are spawned

by Greenland's glaciers,
and their number is steadily

increasing as the
climate continues to warm.

The break-up of the bergs
fills the bays of the Arctic with

exquisite ice sculptures. It
also releases great volumes of

cold, fresh water into the
sea. Greenland's meltwater

influences the course of the
ocean currents, which in turn

has an effect on the
weather around the world.

The Arctic is closer to home
than many of us realize. It

includes the northernmost
parts of the three continents on

which most of us live, Europe,
Asia, and North America. The

first bare land we reach on
our journey south is a bleak,

treeless wilderness known as Tundra.

Each spring, animals travel
up from the south to be ready

for the rich grazing that
will be unveiled by the spring

melt. For the caribou, the
timing is critical. Arrive early,

and a winter storm could kill
you. Delay too long, and you

may fail to lay down the fat
needed to survive a polar winter.

For the south still
and stooped shrouded

figures end the flat
monotony of the Tundra.

This is the tree line, the
first place on our journey with

sufficient warmth and liquid
water to enable a tree to grow.

Surviving here is so
crushingly difficult that it can take

hundreds of years for a
seedling to grow into a stunted

shrub.

But even small trees can
provide cover for a predator.

Wolves. These in northern
Canada are the largest and most

powerful in the world, and
they're setting out to hunt.

The pack is 25 strong, a sign that
the prey they're seeking is formidable.

These bison are even bigger
than their southern cousins and

the largest land animals in
North America. For generations,

wolves and bison here have
been shaped by their battles with

each other, making each the
most impressive of its kind. The

bison will not stay long among
the trees. They're not safe here.

The wolves are closing in,
but their chance of ambushing

the bison in the woods has
passed. Their prey are now in the

open and grouped together for safety.

The wolves will need to work
as a team if they're to make a kill.

They circle the herd, try
to unsettle it and split it up.

But the bison are armed and
dangerous. They will be safe as

long as they stick together.

The wolves up their game,
harrying the herd, a ploy to

trigger a stampede and split
away one of the smaller ones.

The bison form a defensive circle around
their young, horns pointing outwards.

The wolves need a bison to break rank.

But the tables are turning, and
now the wolves have to retreat.

The pack focus their attention on the rear
of the herd, and the bison begin to panic.

A young bison falls behind.

Even this yearling dwarfs the wolves.

Running, the young bison
rushes to the herd. Looking

head down, the herd's
only thought is escape.

A stroke of luck for the wolves.

The kill will feed the pack
for several days, but then they

will have to resume the
chase. At the frozen ends of our

planet, the struggle
for survival never eases.

South of the tree line, the
winters are shorter, so trees

grow faster and taller, and
forests begin to appear. As the

warm, humid air from the
south meets the cold arctic air,

the moisture it carries
crystallizes, and snowflakes fall.

They fall from the sky.

Each crystal forms
around a particle of dust.

All have a six-fold
symmetry, but no two have

ever been found with
exactly the same shape.

Their variety and
complexity is breathtaking.

Each snowflake is water
waiting to be released in spring.

For this reason, snow is
the lifeblood of these silent

forests, and all that live here
depend on it in one way or another.

Some,

like the great gray
owl, appear in spring for

the boom times, then
vanish like phantoms.

Others, like their lemming
prey, are here year-round

beneath the snow, insulated
from the cold air above.

The northern forests are a
crossroads for seasonal visitors

and arctic specialists. But
they are so much more than this.

Together, they make up the
taiga, an unbroken belt of forest

that stretches 7,000 miles
around our planet and contains

one-third of all the trees on Earth.

The taiga forest marks the
end of our journey through the

Arctic, from the frozen ocean
down across the lands that

surround it.

The other end of our
planet, the Antarctic, is starkly

different, a frozen continent
completely surrounded by

ocean.

Icebergs here are so large
that they're measured in miles,

not meters. They're the only
obstacles in the path of giant

waves which circle around the
continent unchecked by other lands.

These seas may be cold and storm-wracked,
but they're bursting with life.

No bird is more at home in water,
and they are masterful surfers.

Penguins are found only in
the southern hemisphere. They

can't fly, but they don't need
to. There are no polar bears

here.

These are gentoo penguins.
Each spring, they come ashore

to lay their eggs and rear
their young. Their hungry chicks

demand so much seafood that
both parents have to go fishing.

And fishing can be dangerous.

A southern sea lion.

It uses the speed of a breaking
wave to catch up with the gentoos.

Sea lions normally eat
fish, so he's used to catching

streamlined swimmers. But
the gentoo seem more than his

match out at sea. He must change tactics.

Perhaps it will be easier in the shallows.

But no, it seems penguins
are uncatchable in water.

How about on land? The
penguin's wings, so powerful for

swimming, are of no help
when it comes to running. Now,

surely, the sea lion has a chance.

But on the beach, both
are like fish out of water.

Every summer, over 40 million penguins
take to the southern ocean to feed.

They're joined by thousands
of whales. Minkies are the most

numerous. They all come here
to harvest the richest ocean on

earth. Carrying on south, we get our
first glimpse of the frozen continent.

Southern humpbacks, after
traveling 4,000 miles from

the equator, are finally
arriving in Antarctica.

Humans have long felt the
lure of this mysterious world,

yet it was only a hundred
years ago that the first explorers

walked inland and
were confronted by the

highest, driest, and
coldest territory on earth.

Every year, the continent
is transformed as the

sea ice that surrounds
it begins to disappear.

This melt halves the size
of Antarctica. It's the most

spectacular seasonal change
occurring anywhere on our

planet.

The remnants of the
sea ice are occupied by

sunbathing seals that
have been here all winter.

But new arrivals are
following the retreating

ice edge, and they
have come here to hunt.

Killer whales, the ocean's
top predator. Killers are

like wolves, for they will
hunt animals far larger than

themselves. But even smaller prey
are a problem if you can't reach them.

The solution is teamwork.

Swimming in perfect
formation, they flick their tails

in unison and create a
wave that cranks the ice.

They regroup and assess the damage.
A more powerful wave is needed.

The ice flow is breaking up.
Now they're close enough to get

a good look at their target.
The seal is a crab eater, sharp

-toothed and feisty. Not their favorite.

The wolves of the sea move
on in search of easier quarry.

A whittle seal, that's better. These
are more docile and easier to tackle.

The pod stays close
together and travels silently.

This time, they unleash a far more powerful
wave, and with astonishing accuracy.

These big waves are not
intended to break the ice, but

to knock the prey into the
water. And they rarely fail.

The seal is now where the
killers want it. But the hunt

is far from over. They need
to grab their prey by the tail

while avoiding its
snapping jaws. Only then

will they be able to
pull it down and drown it.

Side swipes create violent
underwater turbulence, a new tactic.

Blowing bubbles gives cover for
others to lunge at the seal's tail.

Somehow the seal manages
to reach a tiny ice floe.

The killers could easily
grab it, but now this seems to

become a game. The seal's
life hangs on a roll of the ice.

Yet again, the pod joins
forces to dislodge the seal.

The seal sees a chance to escape.

Exhausted, it no longer
has the energy to pull

itself to safety. And
the killers are moving in.

Game over.

Although such team hunts are
rarely seen, scientists believe

they may be the most complex
ever documented in the natural

world. They were first witnessed
by Captain Scott and his

men when they came to
explore Antarctica 100 years ago.

Journeying further south,
the fragmenting ice is replaced

by a permanent sheet that
doesn't melt even at the height of

summer. It's a barrier that
many creatures find impossible.

It repels even powerful minke
whales. They have to turn back

if they can no longer reach
the air they need to breathe.

Under the ice, life has to
be extremely specialized to

survive. Few of us will ever
experience this strangely still

world. And as yet, no
one knows much about it.

The crystalline surface of
the ice stalactites provides

a home for ice fish whose
bodies are full of antifreeze.

The ceiling of ice shields
those living below it from the

violent polar weather that
rages above. Little here has

changed for millions of years.

The cold allows animals to grow
very slowly and become giants.

The relative of the woodlouse
is the size of a dinner plate.

And this so-called sea
spider has legs that span half a

meter.

Now, explorers are revealing other worlds
that lie hidden beneath the ice on land.

These smoking towers are the
gateway to a network of caves.

Each contains an extraordinary assembly
of ice crystals unlike any other on earth.

Like snowflakes, every crystal is unique.

Some are taller than a man.

Others are thought to harbor
life seeded by strange bacteria

that thrive in these extreme
conditions. The breeze that

gently sways these crystals
is responsible for making them.

It's steam from the molten
heart of Mount Erebus, the most

southerly volcano on our planet.

It's now thought that the
ice caves fringing this crater

may even be a home for
hitherto unknown life forms.

From this oasis of warmth at
the edge of the continent, our

journey continues inland to
the far east. We head towards

the South Pole. The
first great hurdle is the

formidable trans-Antarctic
mountain range.

We're following the route
taken by Scott and Amundsen as

they struggle to become the
first humans to reach the South

Pole.

They were traveling on foot,
and their first sight of these

mountains must have been
daunting indeed. In front of them

stretched one of the world's
longest ranges, spanning

2,000 miles from one side
of the continent to the other.

The winds up here are the fastest on earth.
They reach speeds of 200 miles an hour.

An ice-capped mountain
bears the scars of the

gales, bizarre sculptures
carved from solid ice.

It's not only the ice that
yields. This sculptured spire

is the remnant of a mountain
eroded from all sides by the

ferocious elements.

Beyond, a wholly unexpected
landscape, the dry valleys.

Only 1% of Antarctica is free of
ice, and most of that bare rock is here.

The dry valleys are more like the surface
of Mars than is any other place on earth.

The floor is covered with
extraordinary natural sculptures,

created by the same winds
that help to keep these valleys

free of snow.

Over time, entire boulders
are weathered from

the inside out until
just a shell remains.

At the head of these valleys,
ice is making a breakthrough.

Millions of tons are tumbling
in slow motion into the valley.

These ice blocks are
the size of skyscrapers.

And this is the
Beardmoor glacier, which

Scott and his men
somehow traversed on foot.

It's over 100 miles long and one
of the largest glaciers on earth.

But nothing could have
prepared those early

explorers for what they
were about to encounter.

The Antarctic ice cap, the
largest expanse of ice on the

planet. It's three miles thick
in places and imprisons 70%

of the world's fresh water.

From here to the South Pole, 700
miles away, there is nothing but ice.

I'm at the South Pole at the
end of my journey. Although

it's mid-summer, the temperature
here is a bone-chilling 35

degrees below freezing. It's
exactly 100 years, almost the

day, that the first human
being saw ice. I stood right here,

Amundsen followed by Scott.
In those days, reaching the

poles was regarded as the
ultimate in human endeavor and

endurance and a source of
great national pride. Today, the

polar regions have a rather
different significance because

now we've come to understand
that what happens here and in

the North affects every one
of us, no matter where we live

on this planet.

The greatest challenge for
the team-making frozen planet

was the extreme remoteness
of their locations. Many of the

shoots lasted months at a time and
needed a number of crews to join forces.

One location that would
require such siege tactics was

Mount Erebus, Antarctica's
most active volcano. This magical

mountain does not give
up her secrets easily.

To capture the full story
of Mount Erebus from

top to bottom required
four different film crews.

The cave team has dropped off
at 12,000 feet close to the crater.

In howling winds and thin
oxygen, their challenge is to find

a way into the volcano itself.
They are venturing into the

unknown. Somewhere below
are spectacular ice caves melted

out by volcanic steam. Getting
the team safely underground

is a relief for director Chad
and Hunter. Excellent, it's a

lot warmer down here. It's
freezing up there, minus 29. With

him is cameraman Gavin
Thurston. You sort of forget being in

here. You are actually inside a
volcano. You know, above us,

there's, and below us, there's
bubbling lava. And you've got

all these gases seeping up
through here, which is how these

caves are made. So there's
also increased carbon dioxide in

here. As the cave team head
deeper, dangerous volcanic gases

made breathing difficult.
The clock is ticking. They

will not have long to
find the caves of crystals.

Above ground, the aerial team
is pushing for the summit of

Erebus. Series producer
Vanessa Berlowitz directs from the

front seat, while aerial
cameraman Michael Kellum controls

the camera attached to the
nose. We're going to be around 14

,000 feet. We're going to be
at the performance limits of

this aircraft. Any bad weather
comes in up there, you're

pretty much screwed really.
You've got to get off the

mountain fast. Above 10,000
feet, the pilot must breathe

oxygen through a plastic
tube in his nostrils. Approaching

the crater, conditions do not
look good. Today, Erebus is

belching out steam and gases,
making flying extremely risky.

Up here, the air is so thin,
the helicopter can't hover and

must keep moving.
This is aerial filming at its

most extreme. They
struggle to get a clear view.

We're just coming up to 14,000 feet. You
can actually look right into the lava lake.

That's looking really good,
Mike. Just hold that there. The

cameraman captures a rare
shot of the molten lava, but it's

soon obscured again.

The volcano is temperamental.
The team have seized a rare

opportunity to see into its
molten heart. But now they must

descend to safety. As
the weather closes in

above, the cave team
are making progress below.

It's Christmas Day, and the
crew are dressed for the occasion.

Just watch my back on these icicles.
I don't want to snap that top one off.

Right, how strong are these
pillars of ice, Matt? How big

a round is it? It's about
that round, about five. Really

strong. So if I squeeze
past, it's not going to snap

it. Gavin is reassured by
advice from the scientist.

I'm sorry. It's
terrible. Oh, look. You

know, it fits perfectly,
look. Look at that.

Fortunately, these crystals
are made of frozen water and

can grow back in weeks. Got
these beautiful clear glass-like

pillars. And right
next to it, this really

delicate, look how thin
that filament is there.

As the cave team explore
deeper, each chamber reveals

ice crystals more strange
and spectacular than the last.

No one on the team
imagined a single Antarctic

mountain could house
so many wonders.

Down at the foot of Mount
Erebus, a third crew, the dive

team, plan to explore the
volcano's lower slopes, which

extend beneath the frozen
sea. On board is underwater

cameraman Hugh Miller. The
problem is we don't actually know

what's under the ice here,
so who knows? It's a bit of an

adventure. Old-fashioned
tools still work best. First, a

hand chisel to create an
opening, then a saw to widen the

hole. Ice diving in the coldest
waters on the planet should

be taken extremely seriously.
This dive's going to be a lot

of things. Warm is not on
that list. Insulated suits will

keep them alive under the
ice for only 60 minutes. Once

the helicopter departs,
there's no margin for error.

The dive team begin to
explore the lower slopes of

Erebus, discovering a hidden
world rarely seen by humans.

Patrolling the icy shores of
the volcano are killer whales,

the most southerly in the world.
Trekking them from above is

the orca team.

They need a helicopter
to get ahead of the

whales and to land them
on the fragile sea ice.

Cameraman Jamie McPherson
must pick his spot carefully. His

aim is to get the cameras
as close to the killer whales as

possible without disturbing them.

He uses a film camera to
capture the action in slow motion.

And the orcas come right by
him. Even in the extreme cold,

a film camera proves to be
rugged and reliable, provided

there's enough film in the camera.

End of the rock. No!

I got him coming out, I just
didn't get him going back in.

Below the sea ice, the dive
team is setting up an underwater

studio. Using a range of
waterproof lights and time-lapse

cameras, they hope to capture the growth
of bizarre underwater ice formations.

Over the coming weeks, the
dive team would go below the ice

over 100 times to film the
extraordinary secret world on the

lower flanks of Mount Erebus.
On top of the ice, the orca

team has repositioned. Their
new goal is to get underwater

shots of the whales. They
don't dare to get in the water

with orcas because they're
afraid of them. With orcas,

attaching a camera to
a pole is a safer option,

provided the whales
aren't put off by it.

No one is prepared for what happens next.

The entire pod arrives.

Riddle it.

Eyeball to eyeball, this
is about as close to killer

whales as it's possible to get.
By using multiple crews and

cameras, the frozen planet
team have been able to capture

the full Erebus story, from
the fire at its crater down to

the whales that patrol
its frozen shores. It's quite

a privilege to feel a
whale breath on your face.