Mongolia’s Iron Winter: A Race to Save an Ancient Tradition

Two young horse herders revive Mongolia’s most dangerous winter ritual to save their community’s ancient way of life.

In Mongolia’s remote Tsakhir Valley, horses mean survival. For generations, herders protected them from winter storms by gathering a vast herd and nominating their bravest young men to protect it. But mounting environmental pressures forced the centuries-old tradition to be abruptly abandoned in 2019, sparking fears that the rite of passage would be lost forever.

Determined to reclaim their heritage, village elders pledge to revive the winter herd and place the daunting responsibility on two teenage friends to safeguard the horses through what becomes Mongolia’s deadliest winter on record. Over several brutal months, the boys battle blizzards, exhaustion and doubt, discovering that in the Iron Winter, nothing can survive alone.