Dream Chasers

It's a dream some say they're willing to die for. This year, Discovery Channel returns to Everest for another climbing season with legendary expedition leader Russell Brice and a new team of daring men and women taking on the world's highest mountain.

Last year, "Big Tim" Medvetz, the Hollywood biker, almost lost his life when summit fever left him exhausted 350 feet below the summit. "I wouldn’t wish Summit Day on my worst enemy," he said at the time.

Mogens  Jensen, an asthmatic from Denmark, attempted the climb without oxygen and crashed out, blind and disoriented in the Death Zone, "I just thought, '**** I’m gonna  die here.'"

But they're back with everything to prove and a backpack full of attitude that doesn’t sit well with Russell and his team of professional guides.

High-resolution Sherpa cams capture the action as Russell's elite team of Sherpas gamble on the weather as they attempt the earliest ever summit to fix three miles of safety ropes for the amateur climbers to follow.

Back at Base Camp, Brice pulls no punches as he realizes he's got his work cut out for him to get through this season without casualties. Along with Tim and Mogens, his team this year includes L.A. journalist Betsy Huelskamp, who hasn't climbed a mountain in 10 years, and a Japanese pensioner, Katsusuke Yanagisawa, who at 71 years old, wants to become the oldest man ever to summit.

London financier David Tait and Sherpa Phurba Tashi face almost impossible odds in their attempt of the world's first double traverse of the mountain – two summits back to back from different sides of the mountain.

As the Sherpas achieve a record-breaking early summit, the team members begin to realize what they're up against as they scan the mountain with telescopes and see two professional climbers from Kazakhstan fighting for their lives in the Death Zone. The climbers had followed in the Sherpas' footsteps, but it's late in the day and they're running out of time. Also, Russell finds out one team member hasn't been completely honest about their mountaineering experience.

PHOTO: Darius Vaiciulis (left) and Tim Medvetz scope two Kazakh climbers summiting early from ABC (Advanced Base Camp).