Posted: Aug 11, 2008 01:10 am EDT
Thursday August 31 climbers on K2 made themselves ready for an August 1 early morning summit push. A total eclipse of the Sun was to be visible from within a narrow corridor across half the Earth; a partial eclipse was to take place within a broader path which included Asia and the Mountaieers' mountain.

2 months earlier, the Dutch/International team Norit had been first to arrive the peak; initially complaining about later arrival's lack of help with the fixed ropes. Now, they were leading the summit push (their third this season), moving up the Cesen route. Over on the the Abruzzi ridge, A Korean team was approaching, trailed by a motley crew of international climbers.

The attack plan was for teams to meet in camp 4 where both routes merge, and jointly help to fix the remaining, upper part of the mountain.

The final summit groups

Combined with temporarily increasing winds; the solar eclipse spooked some climbers. Reports that the eclipse would affect the weather were denied by Norit's webmaster Maarten van Eck who, after double checking forecasts with the expedition's meteo team, assured that they were unchanged.

A smaller number of climbers still decided to not join the summit push - some due to the weather fears, others due to exhaustion. The Norit climbers continued up to C4 on the shoulder, along with Pakistan and Nepali climbers, the Korean, Italian, Vojvodinean and Norwegian teams, French Hugues d'Aubarede - and Spanish Alberto Zerain; a bit ahead of the others.

Comms safety preparations and weather disinformation

Some climbers opted to leave their satellite phones behind on the climb; Norit however charged all batteries and activated a 24-hour comm's net over the mountain, with pre-scheduled reports transmitted from the slopes to members in BC and on to the Netherlands.

Hugues webmaster asked people to not jam the climber's sat phone with SMS, as he would need the tool for his safety and non-urgent calls would deplete his batteries.

Italian Marco Confortola and Roberto Manni checked in from C4, noting that there were contradicting news on the mountain regarding the weather. Some teams reported beautiful conditions while others reported hard wind.

The first victim of the Bottleneck

By midnight and the early hours of August 1, all systems were go in reportedly clear skies. At 6 am local time, Norit wrote that Pemba Gyalje Sherpa was already high up in the bottleneck where Wilco van Rooijen, Gerard McDonnell and Cas van de Gevel had just arrived. Complaining about cold feet, the climbers were in fact ahead of schedule by two hours, expedition webmaster Maarten van Eck stated.

Team member Jelle turned back but 3 hours later; Wilco, Cas, Gerard and Pemba were reported above the serac-threatened Bottleneck and in the exposed and icy Traverse to the summit slopes - the final crux of the climb and a classic of mountaineering literature. Add bottomless snow, icy rock pitches, and terrifying exposure, this has always been the place for K2's greatest history of trimph and tragedy.

Most fatal falls have taken place in the Bottleneck and this is where K2 claimed its first victim also this season. News came from the Vojvodinean expedition that Serb climber Dren Mandic had fallen. In attempts to assist in the accident, which sadly turned out deadly, the Norit climbers were held up. In a later report, Wilco also said that a mix-up in rope fixing had delayed the climb. The accident was soon to be followed by another.

The second victim

Among the ones deciding to not go for the summit, reportedly in fear of shifting weather, was Swedish Fredrik Strang who later told his home media that upon hearing about the Serb's fall, he decided to go up and try lowering his remains. On K2, bodies have never been lowered in such situations, in order to not put at risk more lives.

Meeting exhausted and hypothermic people enroute, Fredrik reportedly "took command" but when a Pakistani guide in the group fell straight into the Swedish climber's back and then out into the void, "I yelled at him to do as he was told, but he wouldn't listen," Fredrik decided to abort the high altitude transportation.

Summit times

Hours passing by, it became clear that climbers on summit push encountered other problems enroute. Not feeling well, Norwegian Rolf Bae decided to not continue.

Spanish Alberto Zerain reportedly summited at around 3.00 pm. Next up at 5 pm were Cecilie Skog and Lars Naesse along with a number of yet un-identified climbers.

5.30 pm, five Korean climbers and two Nepali Sherpas summited. Among them Korean climber Go Mi-Sun, in her 6th 8000 meter success. At 7 pm, Gerard McDonnell called home from the top. Shortly thereafter, at 7.30 pm, French Hugues d'Aubarede arrived, along with Pakistan climber Karim Meherban. Last summiteers, at 8 pm were Wilco van Rooijen, Cas van de Gevel, and Pemba Gyalje Sherpa.

18 summits have been confirmed so far.

Against the odds

Statistically, triumphs on K2 are few. Only since the start of the new Millenium, the peak has been left entirely without summits in 2002, 2003 and 2005. In 2006, only four people topped out - and only two of those without oxygen; Italian Nives Meroi and Romano Bennet on the Abruzzi route. 2007 proved fruitful with 29 summits, thanks to joint logistics effort of international teams.

Said Nives to ExWeb about K2: "Well, it is a tough mountain - any route you climb. It includes difficult sections, it's very high, and the mountain is dangerous in itself: Avalanches and rock falls are a constant hazard, danger always lay ahead.” (ed note: four climbers died in an avalanche soon after Nives and Romano summited.)

“You must be completely sure about your skills,” said Nives, “you need to know exactly what you are doing and where you are going. Focusing on each step is not enough; you need to look up to the route above. And of course, you must know when to turn around."

With the late arrival on summit (normal cut-off time is 3-5 pm, although summits as late as midnight have been successful), concerns grew for the climbers on the mountain. Yet while the very last summiteers would make it back; other factors caused the looming tragedy – among the biggest in K2's history yet.

Tragedy strikes

Early morning Saturday August 2nd, at around 4 am local, Dutch expedition webmaster Maarten van Eck reported that a big chunk of ice had fallen below the summit (ed note: possibly from the big serac), taking a large part of the fixed lines with it. About 12 people were reported stuck above the Bottleneck.

In their second sleepless night, the Dutch home team struggled with the situation. Base Camp manager Roeland was in the Korean expedition tent organizing a joint rescue effort; in Holland Marteen updated the expedition website with a check list of climbers’ whereabouts on the mountain.

Spanish Alberto Zerain was reportedly already low down when Cecilie Skog and Lars Naesse were descending. By the time Cecilie Skog and Lars Naesse reached camp 4; Rolf Bae was missing. In a later report, Cecilie stated that he had disappeared in an avalanche.

Cas, Pemba, Gerard, Wilco and Marco were still coming down; their headlights seen from BC at the start of descent. French Hugues d'Aubarede and Pakistan Karim Meherban's whereabouts were unclear. Also some Korean, Nepalese and Pakistan climbers were unlocated.

In a later report to Montagna.org, Marco said that that he became disoriented on descent, and spent the first night in the open together with Gerard, both fearing that going down the steep slopes in the dark was too risky. Eventually they were joined by Wilco. Shortly after, a falling serac reportedly took Gerard. "I saw my friend Gerard's boots falling among the blocks of ice and snow," Marco said.

According to Norit, Wilco and Marco made a bivouac just above the serac at 8300 meters above the Bottleneck. They left again at around 11 am local time, after which their location became unknown. Reports indicated that the two climbers lost contact with each other at this point. Wilco also later mentioned that climbers had panicked.

Cas and Pemba had managed to climb all the way down to C4 without fixed ropes. The next day, Pemba climbed back up, locating Marco and saving his life, according to the Italian climber.

Meanwhile, K2 BC reported they saw 5-6 people climbing down the Bottleneck. Due to the topo of the route, radio contact with climbers high up was reportedly difficult at times. Late Saturday, the group of mountaineers reportedly came to a halt; word was a fall injury had happened to one of them.

Rescue attempts

The weather seemed to be holding, yet time was of essence. "This is a serious situation and all resources available on the mountain should be put towards it," wrote ExWeb in a call to the international teams who had not joined the summit push. "Good news is that previous fatal accidents on K2 were more often results of avalanches, sudden storms or disorientation before actual deterioration," ExWeb wrote.

Norit expedition webmaster Maarten van Eck urged people to not jam satellite phones, emails or other communication with general messages. The ground team worked fevereshly to assist the descending and stranded climbers.

Saturday: 10 people missing

Almost by a miracle, a sat phone call from Wilco arrived. The climber said he was on a "south facing" wall. Almost midnight, ExWeb woke up key people in US and started a chain of emergency requests to Thuraya for Wilco's position. When it arrived, ExWeb plotted Wilco's position on a K2 map, while Marteen enlisted local topographers in Holland.

Meanwhile, embassies and relatives feverishly emailed and phoned ExWeb and each other for information. By late Saturday local time it was clear that about 10 people were missing.

Sunday: “confirmed dead”

Expecting news about rescue attempts; early morning Sunday local time media news instead took off like a wildfire, reporting that the missing climbers had been confirmed dead. Source; Swedish Fredrik Strang reporting over satellite phone from BC straight to his home papers; his expedition leader Mike Farris doing the same to EverestNews, who published a story, headlined "List of dead on K2."

International media was filled with war stories about Strang carrying climbers, dead and alive, down the slopes on his back. In addition, the adventurer accused the victims of being inexperienced. Soon, ExplorersWeb had relatives on the phone, franticly asking about these "latest news."

Survivors

Yet the only “new” news were that Marco Confortola had been located in Camp 4. A climber in an orange suit had been spotted moving slowly between C4 and C3 on the Cesen route, at the GPS location Wilco's satellite phone had indicated. Cas and Pemba hurried down to try and catch up with him, while high altitude staff cared for Marco in C4.

Wilco was found alive below C4, incredibly surviving 3 nights of exposure on the high slopes of K2, and coming down by his own steam. Cas and Pemba brought him down to C3 where a support group which included their team mates Roeland (BC manager) and Jelle later met up and helped the climbers down to BC,Norit reported.

"We managed to rescue a Dutchman who had been lost for a long time; that felt really good," Strang told his home media.

Confirmed dead vs. Presumed dead

It was unclear if any climbers were trying to aid the stranded group in the Bottleneck; too high up for an aerial rescue. Details were not yet known about how or if Gerard, Hughues and Rolf had died. Neither did anyone know fates of the Sherpas, high altitude porters and Korean climbers high up on K2's slopes. All that was known for certain was that a Serbian climber had died from injuries suffered in his fall.

The Norit team, who had been leading not only the climb but also the information flow from the peak, still listed only one confirmed dead among a number of "unlocated" climbers.

"We don't have much information about what's going on the Abruzzi route," the battered expedition webmaster told ExplorersWeb, adding that his team focused on getting the survivors down - Marco from C4 and Wilco from C3. When ExWeb asked one of the sources direct, Mike Farris admitted that they only presumed climbers had died, but wouldn't know until 24 hours later.

A dance for scoops and fame to the tunes of a tragedy

Among all the speculations, few details were offered about rescue attempts going on high up.

"A dance for scoops and fame on peoples' graves," wrote ExWeb to stop the rumors. "To declare someone dead in normal life, you need a coroners' report or a judge. In the mountains, lacking proper authorities, you need an eyewitness or for sufficient time to have passed." Soon enough, two Austrian climbers who had been reported missing checked in from BC.

By Monday August 4, Wilco, Cas and Nabeen were evacuated to Skardu. Marco was still on his way down. The crew in BC was arranging a plane flyby, hoping to locate more missing climbers on both routes.

Tuesday August 5, also Marco Confortola managed to reach BC at last, reportedly helped down from C1 by two Pakistani porters, Mario Panzeri and Eric Meyer. In deteriorating weather; Pakistani pilots airlifted the climber to Skardu. “With the Italian rescued, we are packing up,” Strang said.

Injuries

In Skardu, doctors told media they feared that at least one of the Dutch was at risk for amputation. According to his home team, Marco Confortola was so badly frostbitten, he was barely able to put on his boots. ExWeb ran a special on Emergency Mountain Medicine expert Spaniard Dr. Jose Ramon Morandeira, who decided to specialize in treatment of frostbite and emergency mountain medicine for personal reasons.

“When I came home with frostbitten fingers after a climb, my Doctor wanted to amputate,” Morandeira told ExplorersWeb. “Without a doubt the physician had the best of intentions – among other things, he was my father.”

“But I refused to have my fingertips cut. I had the wounds treated and my fingers were eventually saved. Ever since then, I've specialized in frostbite treatment and research, to protect injured climbers from excessive amputations.”

Today, the doc has become an international authority in mountain medicine and even international climbers change their plane tickets to make a stop over in Zaragoza (northern Spain), hoping to be treated by him before returning home.

Later, Norit said their injuries were not as bad as initially feared. It will take about 3 months of healing however, before the full extent becomes clear.

A question of blame

With the smoke clearing, questions arrived: Had they messed up? Were they inexperienced, as Strang claimed? And who were the real heroes?

In addition to other Himalayan climbs – Wilco had scaled Everest without supplementary oxygen and already attempted K2 twice. He also had a number of spectacular polar expeditions to his credit. Another polar legend; Rolf Bae had topped out the technical Trango Tower in Pakistan just before his K2 expedition in a climb that lasted 27 straight days on the wall. Virtually all the climbers sported a large number of 8000ers; the Koreans had an impressive summit record as well.

Strang's expedition leader Mike Farris reported expedition success. Chiiring Dorje Sherpa was the only climber from his expedition to summit - in his 17th summit of an 8000er. Most of the climbers in the Farris led expedition instead had only one or two 8000er summits, by standard routes.

According to information available to ExplorersWeb; expedition leader Mike Farris has summited Gasherbrum 1, and so has Australian team member Chris Warner. Eric Meyer and Chris Klinke each summited Everest through the standard route on supplementary oxygen. Fredrik Strang has Everest in a guided expedition on supplementary oxygen and possibly Dhaulagiri.

Only Tim Horwath stood out with a Kangchenjunga North Face summit in 1998 and Everest standard route in 2004. Final member Paul Walters had G2, Dhaulagiri and Broad Peak. In fact, except for their expedition Sherpa summiteer; this expedition had a total score of 8000er summits barely equaling two of the Korean climbers.

When ExWeb checked Strang's credentials, it also turned out that according to ExWeb's notes and an email from Guinness Book of Records, the climber did not hold a "Seven Summits" world record as he claimed. Some of his summit claims were unrecorded with either AdventureStats or the Himalayan database and Strang's official statement that he is Sweden's best alpine climber was rejected by both fellow Swedish climbers as well as recorded facts. Overall, Fredrik Strang’s climbing record showed that he and his team mates were among the least experienced on K2.

As hard as we tried, ExWeb could finally not find Strang’s name mentioned in any of the published rescue reports from K2.

History repeating itself

Questions still remain about what happened to French Hugues d'Aubarede, along with the Korean, Pakistani and Nepalese climbers. Time will bring more details, along with corrections and lessons to take away for future climbers.

ExWeb ended the black weekend with a special report, headlined "A magic mountain named K2."

From the first expedition in 1902 and its ‘wickedest man on Earth’ Aleister Crowley; over the 1939 tragedy of K2’s first victims; and the first ascent when Walter Bonatti's life was wrecked by defamation until 50 years later Lino Lacedelli couldn’t face to take the truth with him to the grave.

ExWeb wrote about the Italian 2004 anniversary expedition which included a summiteer who would become yet another tragedy this year; Karl Unterkircher. We wrote about the Pirates who stole the show that same year on the Magic Line - in tribute to Bonatti.

We wrote about the Pakistani climbers, the "Messner factor" and the unclimbed West face finally conquered by Russian Jannu and Everest North Wall legends. There were the off-routes, there were the stats, and other K2 tales - all combined showing that much of what happened this year has happened before on K2. Proving that as always, history can serve as a great teacher to the wise.

Ed note: The above record has been compiled by ExplorersWeb from currently available expedition statements and ExWeb's own involvement in the events. Corrections may be have to be added with later reports.

Check in Monday for a second Week-in-review - wrapping up other news from the past two weeks.

 EMAIL   PRINT   SHARE   TEXT