Lukas Wörle has a dream: to climb an eight-thousander without supplemental oxygen and without the support of a high-altitude porter — and then paraglide from the summit back down into the valley. Freedom doesn’t get more absolute than that.

 

In the summer of 2023, he sets out to climb Broad Peak, the neighboring mountain of the notorious K2, driven by this ambitious goal. But just below the summit, at over 8,000 meters, he encounters an injured Pakistani high-altitude porter who has been abandoned by his own expedition. Exposed to the elements, the man is fighting a hopeless battle for survival.

 

Without hesitation, Lukas gives up his own objective and tries to bring the injured climber back to camp. Alone, it is a near-impossible task — one that places him in grave danger himself.

 

The extreme physical and mental challenges he faces force him, once again, to question the excesses of commercial mountain tourism.

 

What happens to mountaineering when reaching the summit becomes more important than a human life — and when that decision carries no consequences?