Posted: Jul 24, 2007 10:41 am EDT
(K2Climb.net) “After the loud crack I knew exactly what had happened and what was about to happen next,” recalls Phil Crampton, leader of Mountain Madness expedition on GII. “I told the Italians to dig a quick hole and get in the self-arrest position, and as they did so I saw an immense amount of snow and ice cascade over top of the large serac that protects Camp II.”

Climber falling over

“This amazing site soon turned to horror as we saw climbing equipment, clothing and finally a climber topple over the top of the serac and down the mountain,” Phil said. “The Italians and I were never in any real danger because the avalanche didn't hit the route of the climb from Camp I to Camp II, but we did get covered in snow from the sheer blast of the avalanche. Part of the route down low was covered with small debris, but it was nothing compared to the huge ice blocks that covered the upper part of the mountain.”

“I immediately radioed Camp II and spoke with my good friend Ryan Walters (leader with FTA’s team), who had also just arrived Camp II, and immediately began to organize a rescue attempt to recover the injured climbers above Camp II, while I traversed the waist-deep snow to try and dig out one of the buried climbers,” he said.

“This story and the events that followed have already made their way to many newspapers and websites, so I won’t get into great detail about what all happened thereafter, but briefly, out of the five climbers who were caught in the slide, two were killed and three seriously injured. I was unable to recover the climber in the buried debris, but was able to recover some clothing for the family back home.”

Pilots sent directly by President Musharraf

“A dramatic helicopter rescue from Camp II had to be aborted and a long wait from extraction from Camp I was only made possible by the intervening of the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, giving the order for two helicopters to land at Camp I to assist in the rescue,” Phil reported.

“Climbers from the U.S., Britain, Australia, Switzerland, Germany and Pakistan all worked together for three days to produce an amazing rescue of two seriously injured climbers who are now recovering in a hospital. We pass along our condolences to the families of the climbers who lost their lives.”

Jamie’s report: 36 agonizing hours

“It was with great relief and some tears that we watched Hiro being airlifted out from Camp 1 on Friday,” wrote Project-Himalaya’s team leader Jamie McGuinness. “It had been an agonizing 36 hours, both for Hiro, and the people rescuing him.”

“Climbing up to Camp 3, perhaps half way from Camp 2, the avalanche happened when Dirk, Amical guide, was pulling fixed lines out of deep snow for his team following, and apparently by doing this, he triggered a slab avalanche,” Jamie suggests.

Four of five climbers rescued in minutes

“Three of the four climbers caught stopped only around 200m from the upper Camp 2, luckily at the same level,” Jamie said. “Mike, leader of Kobler’s expedition, and Merhban and Jahan Beg (Project Himalaya’s high-altitude porters) immediately grabbed shovels and ‘ran’ along, over crevasses, and pulled out Hiro, who was partly (or fully?) upside-down and would have suffocated quickly if he hadn't been rescued. Others soon roped up and headed over. One other person was pulled out with a broken leg, and Dirk was mostly on the surface, just an arm stuck in the snow. The fourth person apparently slid further Down.”

“It was the Swiss Kobler Partners team of Guide Mike, the team’s doctor and climber clients who got huge praise from everyone there; they supported from start to finish, handling the emergency with professionalism.”

Everybody’s mission: Keeping Hiro alive

McGuinness has posted a detailed account on the rescue labors, with Hiro badly injured, another climber dying, and leader Dirk in despair.

“The first job was moving the two injured climbers from the upper Camp 2 to the lower Camp 2, a task carried out by many teams, including high-altitude porters,” he said. “Either Amical or Kobler Partners had one bottle of oxygen available and Kobler Partners had a huge medical kit there. Despite intensive treatment, one of the climbers pulled from the avalanche died at lower Camp 2.”

“Later Ryan Waters at Camp 2 communicated with Dave Elmore at Base Camp and acted as go-betweens with the liaison officer, who arranged the heli rescue with the Pakistan Army,” Jamie said. “FTA provided a very useful foldable stretcher.”

First rescue attempt failed — Hiro in deep pain

“Everyone really hoped that the heli could pick up Hiro that same day (July 18), and the Pakistan Army pilots circled and tried for an hour or more, giving up only at 7 p.m. when they would be flying into the evening on the return journey,” Jamie said. “Helmut from the private German team dropped from C2 to C1 through the still-fresh debris and climbed back up to Camp 2 so that Hiro had oxygen for the night.”

“On July 19, the thought of having to be lowered to Camp 1 probably absolutely horrified Hiro, as much as it did everyone else. He obviously had internal injuries that, while he had stabilized a little, still needed oxygen, and he was in horrible pain when moved, even on strong drugs. The rescue team persevered and did get him to the flat area before Camp 1, where they hoped it was possible to land a helicopter. It was a long and hot wait in the fierce sun, under two small shades, until finally they were told there would be no rescue that evening.”

A crevasse-burial and 24 hours in the sun

“Therefore Hiro was moved to Camp 1 proper, with every jolt in intense pain,” Jamie said. “Other teams also partly cared for him there, and oxygen was provided by the Japanese and one other team.”

“The German climber who died was buried in the afternoon: Amid many tears, as he was lowered into a crevasse,” he said. “It was very sad, but also a courageous decision by the family not to risk more lives in the moving of a dead body.”

Finally, the rescue — chopper landing in C1

“Finally on the morning of the 20th, we welcomed news of two helicopters coming. This time, with a quick fly over, one helicopter landed cautiously and Hiro was loaded in,”Jamie said. “The stretcher being too long, he was lifted in, but perhaps the elation of rescue dulled the pain. After the first chopper took off, the second landed and picked up a despondent Dirk, who was still limping and bruised — he had fallen around 300m.”

Thanks to all

“The atmosphere here at BC is one of great sorrow and relief,” reported Dave Elmore (with FTA's team) after Hiro was airlifted. “Those members at Camp 2 who shared the responsibilities of keeping the critically injured member alive for 48 hours straight and working cooperatively to lower all patients from 6,400m to 5,900m, are greatly appreciated. Special thanks go to Ryan Waters, Blair Falahey, Phil Crampton, Javier Martinez, Javier Zabalo, Bruno and his Swiss expedition, Japanese members Katayama Ukyo, Usami EIIchi and their sherpas Phura Cheri, Tul Bahadur. FTA porters Taki and Akbar and all AMICAL staff. Also, thanks to Ali Sarwar and Major Kaini.”

All teams have published reports, and all are basically thanking each other for the collaboration provided in the aftermath of the avalanche. Most of all, Amical team is grateful to all those who ran and gave a hand. The German outfitting has published detailed, transparent press releases on a daily basis from the day the avalanche struck, until Hiro and Dirk were airlifted.

On July 18, 2007 members of Amical's expedition were hit by an avalanche on GII. The accident took place above C2 at around 6,700m, when an avalanche struck four climbers. Team leader Dirk Groeger managed to reach the surface by his own power. Members from other expeditions inmediately set off from C2 and hurried up to help Amical's climbers, rescuing two. Hirotaka survived; while the second climber died of his injuries. A fourth climber has not yet been recovered.

Born in Tokyo in 1971, Hirotaka Takeuchi summited Everest and K2 back to back in 1996 at the age of 25. At the time, he became the youngest person to have summited the two tallest peaks on Earth. He next went on to summit Makalu, Nanga Parbat, Annapurna, GI, Shisha Pangma (first traverse), Kangchenjunga, and latest Manaslu.

Earlier this year, Hiro summited Manaslu together with regular climbing mate (and Amical's owner) Ralf Dujmovits. Being his ninth 8,000er, Hiro Takeuchi stepped up to the top of the Japanese rankings of 8,000ers (living) summiteers, sharing the post with Osamu Tanabe. This summer Hiro hoped to summit GII and Broad Peak.

At 8,034m, GII is the lowest 8000er in the Karakoram Range and number 13 in altitude on the overall list of the fourteen 8,000m peaks in the world. Statistically, GII is among the “safest” of all 8,000ers. The normal route is considered straightforward and not particularly exposed to avalanche.

GII is located in Pakistan on the upper reaches of the Baltoro glacier, the main access route to the mountains which cuts through the center of the Karakoram Range.

Links to teams on the Gasherbrums:

FTA's Gasherbrum dispatches | Project-Himalaya's Gasherbrum II dispatches | Alex Gavan's GI & GII expedition website | Hiro Takeuchi's blog (Japanese) | Slovak GI/GII expedition website (Slovak) | Valles al GII (Catalan) | Mario Merelli GI's news(Italian) | Mountain Madness | Kari Kobler (German)

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