From the Independent Producer Project and KCRW, I'm Bob Carlson and this is Unfictional.

Unfictional is a program of true stories, personal documentaries, and radio movies.

Conrad Anker is a man who's climbed some of the tallest peaks all over the world, but on one particular climb in 1999, he was high up the mountain Shishapanga in Tibet with two companions when there was an accident.

All of a sudden there was like this crack and we were off and running and we're trying

to we're fighting for our life. I saw the immensity of this avalanche come down and

I was like I'm gonna lay down before the avalanche hits.

And as I looked over I said David and Alex were

still upright and they were still running.

The avalanche lasted just a bit longer than it took you to listen to that clip,

but the snow through Conrad Anker 30 yards.

He was half buried and badly hurt. I remember standing up

and walking around and going over to where I had seen them and it's like

F. Alex and David are gone.

And it was as if some higher being

had just taken them away from the earth

and left it silent afterwards.

Alex Lowe was 40 years old.

David Bridges was only 29.

Those tragic events are recounted in the award-winning 2015 documentary film called

Maroo and on this episode of Unfictional it's an incredible kind of follow-up story.

It comes by way of a way of a podcast called The Document, which is also from KCRW.

And it's about documentary film, but not in a way you've ever heard before.

...