友善谨慎的新西兰领队罗布·霍尔（杰森·克拉科 Jason Clarke 饰），他的队伍名为“冒险顾问”；而斯科特·费雪（杰克·吉伦哈尔 Jake Gyllenhaal 饰）则风趣搞怪，他带领来自西雅图的“疯狂山脉”登山队。他们相互竞争，又彼此帮助。
两支队伍中的勇士们来自各行各业，他们中有邮差、记者、医生，还有一名来自日本的职业女性。这些登山者看似平凡, 但每个人背后都有一个属于自己的梦想，激励着他们前往海拔8000米以上、氧气稀薄的珠峰。在攀登过程中，他们的身体机能急速下降，在应对体力衰竭、缺氧、雪盲的同时，他们又极为不幸地遭遇了一场剧烈的暴风雪，因此命悬一线。
影片改编自1996年的一次真实探险经历。

1 "South Island" July 18, 2011
Bear Grylls must fling himself out of a plane and parachute to safety to reach this remote area. Crossing the country's highest mountain range and starting a fire in a waterlogged forest are just some of the unpredictable things he faces in this terrain.
2 "Fire And Ice" July 25, 2011
Bear Grylls is dropped on an ice cap covering an active volcano. In blizzard conditions he struggles to make headway, and the barren land offers little food. Can he reach civilization when faced with swollen river crossings and ever present flash floods?
3 "Red Rock Country" August 12, 2011
Bear Grylls is in red rock country - southern Utah. Armed only with a lasso, he descends a rock pinnacle and gets trapped in a narrow gorge. Crossing an arid wilderness, he's left hanging 100 ft above a ravine. And Bear's craziest airplane stunt ever!
4 "Land of The Maori" August 19, 2011
Over 100 people drown each year in New Zealand, and Bear must cross a raging river on a tree trunk to head toward civilization. On his journey to safety he runs out of water, is forced to climb up active volcanic ranges and scale down a waterfall.
5 "Working the Wild" November 29, 2011
Bear Grylls takes the viewer behind the scenes to meet the crew that follows his every step. Whether he's jumping from helicopters or eating the unimaginable, the camera is never far away from the action. Now the crew gets to tell their side of the story.