Watch K2: The Italian Mountain

As the men travel half-way across the globe and begin their daredevil ascent, personalities clash, jealousy and mistrust begin to seep through what should be a tight-knit fabric. Yet team spirit ultimately wins out, with each climber showing remarkable determination and willpower as they brave storms, avalanches, altitude sickness and violent personal conflicts.

It had been beckoning for centuries: the world's second-tallest mountain, known under different names, feared and revered more demanding than Mount Everest. Despite several attempts giant had repulsed every attempt by even the most skilled and 1954 be the year of its conquest?