The Telegraph
August 10 , 2008
Mount Everest grabs the media attention, but K2 draws the fearless mountaineer.
Its lonely eminence in the remote Karakoram hides the fact that it is the most difficult mountain to climb.
The weather is notoriously unpredictable, the routes are dangerously exposed and prone to avalanches.
Three certain facts demonstrate why, among mountaineers, K2 is often called “the killer mountain’’.
It was first climbed by an Italian expedition in July 1954, when Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli summitted.
For the second ascent, the world had to wait till August 1977 when a Japanese expedition put seven climbers on the peak. While more than 300 people climb Everest every year, only about 280 people have been on top of K2.
Statistics show that for every three people who make it to the top of K2, one dies in the attempt. Thus, it is not surprising that last week the mountain revealed its savagery again while taking the lives of 11 climbers.
One principal factor behind the disaster was obviously adverse conditions, since at least nine of the climbers died after an icefall at 8,200 metres swept away the fixed ropes near a snow gully called the Bottleneck.
One principal factor behind the disaster was obviously adverse conditions, since at least nine of the climbers died after an icefall at 8,200 metres swept away the fixed ropes near a snow gully called the Bottleneck.
There is evidence, however, that human error or negligence may have played a part. One of the survivors, Wilco van Roojien, has alleged that the route to the upper reaches had been badly prepared with the fixed ropes wrongly strung up.
Many critical hours were lost in moving these ropes. This meant that those who made it to the summit did so at night. Descent became more difficult, and that is when disaster struck.
There is one other reason that must be considered. On this day, at least 22 climbers ascended K2; this gives some indication of the number of people who were on that mountain.
There are far too many people trying to conquer the high-altitude peaks, and not all of them are trained mountaineers.
Mountaineering has become a commercialized sport in which people pay money to a company to put them on top of Everest, K2 or Kanchanjungha.
In 1978, there was shock and consternation when two expeditions were allowed on K2. By 1986, it had increased to nine. Since then, the numbers have grown. Too many people on the slopes above 8,000 metres exposes climbers to risk at a height where the margin of error is very small.
The disaster will stoke controversy regarding tactic and ethics of climbing in the death zone. Should climbers go without ropes, Alpine-style or should they lay siege upon the mountain? Should climbers use easier routes of descent when they are available?
The disaster will stoke controversy regarding tactic and ethics of climbing in the death zone. Should climbers go without ropes, Alpine-style or should they lay siege upon the mountain? Should climbers use easier routes of descent when they are available?
What obligations do climbers of one expedition have towards members of another? Should the number of expeditions be restricted? These are some of the issues that mountaineers have been discussing.
The death of 11 of their peers gives a new urgency to their deliberations.
