No Way Down, Life and Death On K2 (2010) (13 page)

The Serbian climber Dren Mandic, shown in foreground at right in one of the mess tents at K2 Base Camp in 2008. Mandic fell to his death among the crowds at the top of the Bottleneck on the morning of August 1.
(Predrag Zagorak)

 

After the first two deaths, the line of climbers continues on the diagonal ascent beneath the serac toward the summit snowfields. The Basque mountaineer Alberto Zerain, the first to summit and the only climber to descend in daylight, is visible at top left.
(Chris Klinke)

 

Two South Korean climbers struggle to climb the last ice lip from the route beneath the serac onto the summit snowfield. Three members of the South Korean expedition and one of their Nepalese Sherpas would die on the descent; another Sherpa would lose his life trying to rescue them.
(Lars Flato Nessa)

 

Climbers arrive at the summit of K2 in the late afternoon of August 1. After fifteen hours or more of continuous climbing, the descent is one of the most dangerous parts of any attempt on K2—of the nearly 70 men and women killed on K2 over the course of its history before 2008, more than a third died on the way down after having successfully reached the summit.
(Lars Flato Nessa)

 

Frenchman Hugues d'Aubarède pictured at K2 Base Camp with Qudrat Ali (left), the American climber Nick Rice (right), and Karim Meherban. Most climbers work as members of a larger expedition. D'Aubarède traveled to K2 as an independent climber, though he employed three Pakistani high-altitude porters and joined forces with Rice at Base Camp.
(Raphaele Vernay)

 

 

Cecilie Skog and her teammate Lars Flato Nessa stand together on the summit of K2. Skog was the first woman to summit the tallest peaks on all seven continents, and reach both the North and South Poles.
(Lars Flato Nessa)

 

The Basque climber Alberto Zerain gazes up toward the serac. On his way down from the summit, Zerain passed the line of climbers still ascending. He warned them the ascent was going to be difficult.
(Alberto Zerain)

 

Representatives from different expeditions pose for a team photograph after one of the cooperation meetings at Base Camp. Wilco van Rooijen, the Dutch leader, kneels in the front row, fourth from right. The American Eric Meyer is middle row third from left; Chhiring Dorje stands to his left. Go Mi-sun kneels front row, third from left. Rolf Bae of Norway stands on the back row at far right. After the meeting, Bae commented to Lars Nessa that he had a feeling something was bound to go wrong.
(Lars Flato Nessa)

 

Early evening, August 1: from left to right, Hugues d'Aubarède, Karim Meherban, Gerard McDonnell, and Wilco van Rooijen celebrate at the summit. Only one of the four would survive.
(Wilco van Rooijen)

 

At 61, Hugues d'Aubarède was the second oldest person to summit K2. From the top of the mountain, he called home to Lyon: “It's minus 20. I am at 8,611 meters. I am very cold. I am very happy.”
(Raphaele Vernay)

 

The Italian climber Marco Confortola. Italy had a long association with K2: in 1954, two Italian climbers were the first to reach the summit.
(Marco Confortola)