Resistance to cold is one of the functions of the organism in responding to the extreme situations faced by the human body. A popular as well as specialised approach is to learn the symptoms and the possible treatments in case of severe frostbite and hypothermia: these are the issues dealt with in this episode of the series Aux limites du corps (To the limits of the body) by the group Arte and the production company ZED. The idea was to begin with an actual experience. A doctor has survived extreme cold in the Dolpo (Himalayas) when he was stranded at the top of a mountain for a whole night at minus 35 degrees. He had to make good use of all his knowledge of resistance to cold in order to survive to that dreadful night. What Arte was particularly interested in was to learn about the psychological reaction to the «white death», as it is the human that is one of the main elements in surviving the cold. This phenomenon is difficult, even impossible to understand for medicine, whereas experience, and only experience, reveals the answer to some of the questions. These films about cold and hypoxia star Emmanuel Cauchy, an emergency doctor, and François Bernard, a high altitude mountain guide.

Resistance to cold is one of the functions of the organism in responding to the extreme situations faced by the human body. A popular as well as specialised approach is to learn the symptoms and the possible treatments in case of severe frostbite and hypothermia: these are the issues dealt with in this episode of the series Aux limites du corps (To the limits of the body) by the group Arte and the production company ZED. The idea was to begin with an actual experience. A doctor has survived extreme cold in the Dolpo (Himalayas) when he was stranded at the top of a mountain for a whole night at minus 35 degrees. He had to make good use of all his knowledge of resistance to cold in order to survive to that dreadful night. What Arte was particularly interested in was to learn about the psychological reaction to the «white death», as it is the human that is one of the main elements in surviving the cold. This phenomenon is difficult, even impossible to understand for medicine, whereas experience, and only experience, reveals the answer to some of the questions. These films about cold and hypoxia star Emmanuel Cauchy, an emergency doctor, and François Bernard, a high altitude mountain guide.