BBC World Service’s new season of Amazing Sport Stories ‘Chasing Mountains’ follows five female climbers as they aim to defeat the world’s 14 highest peaks.

Journalist Joanna Jolly and rock climber Kathy Karlo co-present the four-part series of the Amazing Sport Stories podcast, following the stories of the five mountaineers who are trying to become the first woman to reach the summits of the 14 highest mountains in the world, BBC World Service said in a press release yesterday.

In a gruelling and potentially deadly quest, spanning years, these women risk their lives for the ultimate challenge. All 14 peaks are more than 8000 metres high in the Karakoram and Himalayan mountains, comprising some of the harshest environments on earth. The race is set, but everything may not be as it seems.

In the series are mountaineers Edurne Pasaban from Spain, Gerlinde Katlernbrunner from Austria and Nives Meroi from Italy. They are joined by South Korean climbers Oh Eun-sun and Go Mi-young, all determined to claim the title.

This is a story about chasing dreams, personal struggles, and the things that make us human, including mental health.

Jolly is a writer, producer and former BBC correspondent in Nepal. Over the series, Jo reflects on her own role in the story, reporting on the elite women climbers taking huge risks to achieve their goals. While the tantalising prospect of a race created great headlines, Joanna reflects on the realities of these women, who the media pitched against one another.

Karlo is a rock climber, podcaster and writer. Kathy draws on her experiences to help listeners understand the challenges elite athletes face as they push the mental and physical boundaries of their sport ever further and higher.

Jolly in the statement says: “Back in 2010 when I was in Nepal reporting on this story, I was focused on who was going to win the race. But ‘Chasing Mountains’ tells the story of the enormous mental and physical challenges that these women overcame – and it’s made me realise that being first isn’t that important.”

The first episode of ‘Chasing Mountains’ will be available as a podcast on BBC Sounds on April 15 and more widely available on other podcast platforms from April 22. Episodes will be released weekly. The show will air weekly on BBC World Service radio from June 26.

‘Amazing Sport Stories: Chasing Mountains’ is a Bespoken Media production for the BBC World Service.