PLANET EARTH Mountains

Wolves have made a kill giving other hunters a chance to scavenge. The worst of the blizzard brings success for the snow leopard, but having descended so far to make the kill she has a grueling（紧张的，疲惫的） climb to get back to her lair. The cub must be patient. It'll be a year before it has the strength and skill to kill for itself on these difficult slopes. The snow leopard is an almost mythical creature, an icon of the wilderness, an animal few humans have ever glimpsed for its world is one we seldom visit.



The Karakoram lie at the western end of a range that stretches across a tenth of our planet - the Himalayas. These, the highest mountains of the world, like other great ranges, were created by the collision of continents. Some 50 million years ago India collided with Tibet thrusting up these immense peaks, which are still rising.



This vast barrier of rock and ice is so colossal it shapes the world's climate. Warm winds from India, full of moisture, are forced upwards by the Himalayas. As the air rises so it cools, causing clouds to form and the monsoon is born. At high altitudes the monsoon rains fall as snow.