No Way Down, Life and Death On K2 (2010) (25 page)

CHAPTER EIGHT

Good detailed descriptions of avalanches are provided by David McClung and Peter Schaerer's
The Avalanche Handbook
(Seattle: Mountaineers, 2006); Phil Powers's
Wilderness Mountaineering
(Mechaniscsburg, PA.: Stackpole Books, 1993), is a great account of the dangers of the mountains. Details of the Norwegians' descent are drawn from interviews with Cecilie Skog and Lars Nessa.

CHAPTER NINE

The 1953 expedition is recounted in Curran's
K2: The Story of the Savage Mountain
, Isserman and Weaver's
Fallen Giants
, as well as in Bernadette McDonald's
Brotherhood of the Rope: The Biography of Charles Houston
(Seattle: Mountaineers, 2007).

See Jim Curran's
K2: Triumph and Tragedy
(New York: Mariner Books, 1987) for the full story of the 1986 tragedy.

CHAPTER TEN

Eric Meyer and Fredrik Strang provided the account of their time spent in the tent at Camp Four; Chris Klinke provided details of his strobe light. Chhiring Dorje and Meyer supplied information on Dorje's descent, and on his background. Chhiring Bhote offered an account of his climb up the Shoulder with Pasang Bhote; details of Chhiring Bhote's life were drawn from interviews with him, as well as with Virginia O'Leary and Judy Aull. Details of Kim Jae-soo's climb came from interviews with Kim and Chhiring Dorje and from reports in the South Korean press.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Cas van de Gevel's descent from the summit and his encounter with Hugues d'Aubarède on the Traverse was described to me by Van de Gevel. I am indebted to Raphaele Vernay for the use of the blog as a source. Nick Rice, who was with d'Aubarède for many days at Base Camp, and Serge Civera, who visited him at Base Camp, gave insights into his character and state of mind, as did Mine Dumas. Qudrat Ali also offered background and insights. Chris Warner described the death of Stefano Zavka. Van de Gevel described his sighting of Hugues's fall. His description of the encounter with the two Sherpas or HAPs matches Chhiring Bhote's account of his ascent toward the Shoulder with Pasang Bhote. The phone conversation between Cas and Roeland van Oss was related by both men. For details on the effects of high altitude, I consulted Charles Houston's
Climbing Higher
and Mike Farris's
The Altitude Experience: Successful Trekking and Climbing Above 8,000 Feet
(Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press, 2008) as well as other medical experts.

Details of Pasang Bhote and Chhiring Bhote's rescue of Go Mi-sun were related by Go and Chhiring Bhote.

CHAPTER TWELVE

The description of Jumik Bhote's leading the Korean team from the summit was drawn from interviews with Go Mi-sun and Chhiring Dorje. Marco Confortola described what is likely the collapse of the serac or an avalanche that caught Bhote and the remaining Korean climbers. Both Wilco van Rooijen and Confortola offered descriptions of the Korean climbers and the likely series of events that led to their being trapped in the ropes. Virginia O'Leary and Judy Aull provided insight into Jumik's life and his character and his relationship with the Korean team. O'Leary's blog was another wonderful resource: http://ginnynepal.blogspot.com On the blog, she described the actual puja ceremony for Jumik in Kathmandu, on which my own description was based.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Details of Marco Confortola and Gerard McDonnell's bivouac were related by Confortola and Agostino da Polenza. Wilco van Rooijen provided the account of his meeting the other two men and their decision to stay overnight above the serac. Annie Starkey, Sajjad Shah (the Norit team's Base Camp manager in 2008), Eric Meyer, Cecilie Skog, Wilco van Rooijen, Cas van de Gevel, Roeland van Oss, and Jelle Staleman all offered insight into McDonnell's time on K2, as did his brief blog.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The details of Wilco van Rooijen's descent were drawn from my interview with him in Voorst, his conversations with my own fact-checker, Mark van de Walle, as well as from interviews he gave to wire services and magazines in the wake of the disaster. He also outlines his long climb down in his own book. Maarten van Eck, Roeland van Oss, and Chris Klinke provided descriptions of his telephone calls from the mountain.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The description of Gerard McDonnell and Marco Confortola's struggle to save the trapped Korean climbers and Jumik Bhote was provided by Confortola's official post-accident statement, his book, and several interviews I conducted with him. For the controversy surrounding Confortola's account, please see the Epilogue.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The scene at Camp Four on the morning of Saturday, August 2, was drawn from interviews with Eric Meyer, Fredrik Strang, Paul Walters, Lars Nessa, Cas van de Gevel, Chhiring Dorje, Chris Klinke, and Roeland van Oss. Meyer also provided insight into Pemba Gyalje's condition and conversation. Various climbers, including Walters and Dorje, recalled seeing the figure above the serac. The decision by the five climbers to go down to Base Camp was recounted by Meyer.

Cas van de Gevel provided the account of the return up the Shoulder with Pemba Gyalje. Chhiring Bhote and Pasang Bhote's progress up the Shoulder and Bottleneck was described by Chhiring Bhote and Chhiring Dorje, Pemba Gyalje offered an account of his discovery of Marco Confortola, which Annie Starkey backed up with records of the radio calls; she also offered insight into Pemba's thinking at the bottom of the Bottleneck. For the descriptions of the avalanches, I relied on testimony by Gyalje, and interviews with Chhiring Bhote and Marco Confortola. Confortola detailed the return to Camp Four.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The scene at Base Camp, and the location of the climber in orange on the south face of the mountain, was drawn from interviews with Chris Klinke, Roeland van Oss, Jelle Staleman, and Maarten van Eck. The various climbers' descents came from Alberto Zerain, Nick Rice, Cecilie Skog, Lars Nessa, Mike Farris, Chuck Boyd, and Andy Selter. Jerome O'Connell and Pat Falvey provided information on the McDonnell family's vigil in Ireland. Eric Meyer described his fall above Camp One.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The description of Wilco van Rooijen's further attempt to descend, and the effort by Cas van de Gevel and Pemba Gyalje to locate him, was based on interviews with Van Rooijen, Van de Gevel, Roeland van Oss, Chris Klinke, Jelle Staleman, and Maarten van Eck. Chuck Boyd and Andy Selter also provided information on the rescue effort at Base Camp.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The account of Wilco van Rooijen's rescue was related by Van Rooijen, Cas van de Gevel, Chris Klinke, Roeland van Oss, and Maarten van Eck. Marco Confortola provided details of his descent. The description of Cecilie Skog in Base Camp was based on interviews with Skog, Lars Nessa, Chuck Boyd, and Andy Selter. The descent of Van Rooijen, Van de Gevel, and Pemba Gyalje was described by Roeland van Oss, Jelle Staleman, Van Rooijen, Van de Gevel, and Sajjad Shah.

Details of the scene in the medical tent were drawn from Eric Meyer, Chris Klinke, Lars Nessa, Wilco van Rooijen, Sajjad Shah, Fredrik Strang, and Strang's film,
A Cry from the Top of the World
.

CHAPTER TWENTY

For the account of the climbers' departures from the mountain, I relied on the Norit team's blog, and on interviews with Roeland van Oss, Wilco van Rooijen, Cas van de Gevel, Chris Klinke, Eric Meyer, Chuck Boyd, and Andy Selter. Lars Nessa, Sajjad Shah, and Chris Klinke described the visits to the Gilkey Memorial. For the account of the Koreans' departure, I drew from various Korean press reports, as well as on my interviews with Eric Meyer, Lars Nessa, Chuck Boyd, and Andy Selter. The description of the helicopter journey and the military hospital in Skardu (where Gerard McDonnell recovered in 2006, and Wilco van Rooijen, Cas van de Gevel, and Marco Confortola were treated in 2008) was based on my experiences in the Karakoram in 2009.

The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature of your e-book reader.

 

Aasheim, Stein Peter, 69

Abruzzi, Duke Luigi Amedeo, Prince of Savoy-Aosta, 5–7, 95, 231n

Advance Base Camp, 175, 189, 208

“Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven” (Yeats), 214–15

Agence France-Presse, 234n

Alaska's Malaspina glacier, 5

Ali, Deedar, 138, 189

Ali, Qudrat, xvii, 27, 115, 229n, 232n, 235n

altitude (high altitude), 232n

Abruzzi's desire for record, 5, 7

dangers of Camp Four, 160, 163

deaths from altitude sickness, 8

Death Zone, 17, 28

effects of, 5, 8, 14, 15, 16, 9, 28, 93–94, 113–14, 141, 235n

“Khumbu cough,” 231n

mountain sickness, 5

progressive camps and, 15

survival above 22,000 feet, 4

survival above 28,000 feet, 8

treatment for, 32, 114, 160, 164

warning signs of sickness, xxi, 17, 28

American Alpine Club, 5, 36

American K2 International Expedition 2008, xvi, xix–xxviii

Chhiring Dorje as only member to reach the summit, 97–98

Chhiring Dorje's descent, 98–105

cook Deedar Ali, 137, 189

K2 ascent, August 1, 2008, xix–xxv, 71

K2 descent, August 1, 2008, back to Camp Four, xxvi

K2 descent, August 2, 2008, to Base Camp, 163–64, 189

no oxygen used by, 17

radios with, 98

Sherpas with, 24, 58, 71

Ang Chhiring Sherpa, xviii

Annapurna I, 7

Arnette, Alan, 229n, 234n

Askole village, 3, 12, 42, 197, 210, 224

Association of Olympic Athletes, 216

Aull, Judy, 229n, 235n

avalanche, 100, 234n

calving, 81–82

death of Bernard Constantine on Kang Guru, 116

death of Rolf Bae, 86–89

death of Big Pasang, Jumik Bhote, and Koreans, 168, 169, 200

death of McDonnell, 200, 221

description of, 81

K2 serac and, xxvi, 132, 155, 156–57, 168, 235n, 236n

loss of ropes in Bottleneck and, 79, 89, 99, 101, 106, 112–13, 119

1986, deaths on K2, 55

types of, 81–82

 

Bae, Rolf, xv, 47–48, 53, 174, 225, 233n

Cecile Skog and, 83–84

decision to turn back, 47, 60–61

Great Trango Tower climb, 46, 83–84

ice fall and death of, 86–89

K2 ascent, August 1, 18, 20, 46–48, 58

K2 descent, August 1, 82–83, 85–86

notification of parents, 175

previous K2 attempt, 46–47

rules of, 60, 89

use of oxygen, 46

Baig, Jahan, xvii, 27–28, 115, 174, 205, 232n

clothing worn on August 1, 22, 27

K2 descent, August 1, 27–28, 29–30

fall to death, 30–31, 232n

signs of high-altitude sickness, 28, 30, 232n

Baig, Shaheen, xvi, 16, 18, 22, 27

Baltoro glacier, 3, 4, 204, 210, 224

Baraldi, Barbara, 216, 217, 229n

Barrard, Liliane and Maurice, 60

Base Camp, 13, 233–34n

advice on rescuing Mandic from, 24

altitude of, 173

ascent from, 42

August 2, return of climbers, rescue efforts, 173–82, 237n

author at, 224–25

Cecile Skog in, 84

dismantling, 208–9, 210, 211

food for expeditions, 14

helicopter transport and, 203–4

McDonnell and Confortola at, 134

Norit K2 Dutch team in, 52–54, 134

rainy weather and delay, xxvi

return of Zerain, 174

return of Gyalje, Van de Gevel, and Van Rooijen, 198–202

return of Rice, 175–76

return of Skog, Nessa, and Stangeland, 192–93

Serb leader Erdeljan in, 12

Van Eck's call about Van Rooijen to, 148

Van Oss in, 118

Basque independent climber K2 2008 (Zerain), xvi

Baume, Louis C., 231n

bergschrund (crevasse), 37

Bezier, Patrick, 75

Bhote, Chhiring, xvi, 127, 128, 229n

avalanche on August 2 and, 169

departure from K2, 205

discovery of Marco Confortola, 164

first ascent to help others, 105–9, 117–18

loss of brother and Big Pasang, 170

rescue of Go Mi-sun, 120, 235n

second ascent to help others, 121, 160, 164–65, 223, 236n

Bhote, Jumik, xvi, 58–59, 100, 161, 235n

altitude sickness and, 126, 128

August 2, attempted descent and death, 166–69, 223

background, 126–28

call to partner from summit, 75–76, 234n

Chhiring and Big Pasang look for, 106–9, 121, 160, 166

Confortola, McDonnell and, 145, 151–55

Everest climbs, 127

fall of, with two South Koreans, 128–29, 142–43, 145, 151–55

K2 descent with Koreans, August 1–2, 125–26, 128–29

last phone call, 200

mourning for, 205, 235n

Van Rooijen and, 142–43, 145

Bhote, Pasang (“Big”), xvi, 225, 235n

attempted descent with Jumik and death, August 2, 166–69, 200, 223

discovery of Marco Confortola, 164

discovery of missing Koreans and Jumik Bhote, 166

first ascent to help others, 105–9, 117–18

rescue of Go Mi-sun, 120, 235n

second ascent to help others, 121, 160, 164–65, 236n

Bite, Joselito, xvii, 52

Bonatti, Walter, 9–10, 231n

Boyd, Chuck, xvii, 229n, 237n

Broad Peak, 63, 150, 178, 205, 208

 

Campagnoni, Achille, 8–9, 35

Camp Four, 15, 16, 66, 236n

altitude, xx

beacon (strobe light) set up, 91, 98, 104, 112, 118, 134, 135, 235n

climbers' ascent from, August 1, xix–xxviii, 230n

location, xxvi

Marco Confortola after rescue, 196

Meyer and Strang leave for summit attempt, xix–xxviii

return of Van de Gevel, 118

return of Mi-sun, 120–21

return of Meyer, Strang, and Serbs (afternoon), 32, 232n

return of Meyer and Strang ( morning), xix–xxviii

return of Gyalje, 159, 191

return of Skog and Nessa, 91, 97

videos and photos taken from, 23

Camp One, 208

Camp Three, 16, 66

Confortola leaves, 207–8

Gyalje returns, 188

Van Rooijen above, 191, 192

Van Rooijen and rescuers in, 195

Zerain returns, 68, 174

Camp Two, 16, 175, 196

Casarotto, Renato, 96

Chang, Peter, 229n

Chogolisa, Mount, 7

Civera, Serge, 229n, 233n, 235n

Compagnoni, Achille, 8–10, 41, 59, 95

Concordia, 6, 95, 115, 210

Confortola, Marco, xv, 84, 135, 161, 232n, 234n

author meeting with, 215–18, 229n

avalanche on August 2 and, 168

bivouac on K2, 132–36, 138–40, 236n

book by, 233n

call for help for Jumik Bhote and Koreans, 155

call to Da Polenza, 133

clothing worn on August 1, 77, 165

condition of, after descent, 196, 197, 208–10

death of McDonnell, dispute about and, 221–23

effects of ordeal, 209–10

evacuation of, via helicopter, 204, 207–8, 210

Gerard McDonnell and, 131–36, 138–40, 151–54, 216, 223

informs Korean team of deaths, 170

K2 ascent, August 1, 41–42, 59, 233n

K2 descent and loses way, August 1–5, 131–36, 138–40, 140, 151–58, 197–98, 202, 207–10, 237n

life after K2, 215–18

missing South Korean climbers, Jumik Bhote, and, 145, 151–55, 217, 223, 235n, 236n

mountaineering history, 135

rescue of, 158, 164–70, 176, 196, 201, 236n

sees climber fall (McDonnell), 157, 177

sponsorship of, 77

on summit, 77, 234n

Van Rooijen and, 138–42, 145, 151, 152, 236n

visit to Gilkey Memorial, 96

Constantine, Bernard, 116

cooperation agreement, xxiv, 15, 42, 45, 146

Cromwell, Tony, 36, 37

Crowley, Aleister, 4–5

Cry from the Top of the World, A
(film), 231n, 232n, 237n

 

Dalla Rosa, Enrico, 234n

Da Polenza, Agostino, 133, 229n, 236n

D'Aubarède, Hugues, xvii, 27, 48, 74, 161, 175, 233n

author visit to family, 215

in Base Camp, 137, 235n

blog, 48, 233n, 235n

clash with van Rooijen, 54

clothing worn on August 1, 48, 111, 113

daughters, 74–75, 116–17, 215

desire to reach summit, 115–17

Everest climb, 74

fall to death, 109, 113, 117, 118, 176, 235n

HAP guide, Karim Meherban, 27, 48, 60, 111, 115

Jahan Baig and, 22, 27, 115

K2 ascent, August 1, 48–49, 60, 67

K2 descent, August 1–2, 100, 111–13, 117

message, July 31, 2008, 1, 48

partner, Mine, 74–75, 115, 215, 229n (
see also
Dumas, Mine)

phone calls from summit, 74–75, 234n

porters for, 27–28

previous K2 attempts, 48, 115

on summit, 73–75

use of oxygen, 73–74, 114

visit to Gilkey Memorial, 96, 116

De Filippi, Filippo, 1, 7

dehydration, 43, 57–58, 174

of Van Rooijen, 144, 195

Desio, Ardito, 7–9, 10, 231n

Diemberger, Kurt, 229n, 231n

Dijmarescu, George, xvii, 202, 207–8

Disaster on K2
(documentary), 231n

Dogramadzieva, Alisa, 229n, 230n

Dorje, Chhiring, xvi, 24, 42, 58, 71, 209, 229n, 230n, 232n, 233n, 234n, 235n, 236n

Confortola helped by, 208

descent tied to Little Pasang, 101–4, 223

K2 descent, August 1–2, 79, 97–105, 106, 179, 189, 235n

no oxygen used by, 72, 163

wife, Dawa Futi, and daughters, 103

Dumas, Mine, 74–75, 115, 215, 229n, 234n, 235n

Durrance, Jack, 36, 39

 

Egocheago, George, xvii

Elberus, Mount, 47

Elkins, Katherine, 6

Elkins, Stephen B., 6

Erdeljan, Milivoj, xv, 12, 22, 33, 229n, 232n

Everest, Mount

Confortola on, 42

crowds on, xx, 47–48

d'Aubarède climbs, 74

first Norwegian expedition, 69

height, xx

Jumik Bhote climbs, 127

McDonnell climbs, 50–51

Park Kyeong-hyo climbs, 126

Rob Hall's death on, 177

scaling of (1953), 7

Skog climbs, 47–48

Van Rooijen climbs, 49

explorersweb, 222, 231n

 

Falvey, Pat, 213, 229n, 234n, 237n

Farris, Michael, xvi, 174–75, 189, 235n, 237n

“Few False Moves, A” (Kodas), 230n

Fioravanti, Donatella, 229n, 234n

Fiordi, Miro, 77

Fiumi, Elettra, 229n

Fram Expeditions, 47, 193

French Independent K2 Expedition (2008), xvii

French “TGW” K2 Expedition (2008), xvii

frostbite, 9, 105, 133, 187, 196, 201, 202, 204, 207, 208–10

 

Gasherbrum I and II, 224

Giezendanner, Yan, 115, 229n, 233n

Gilkey, Art, 93–96

Gilkey Memorial, xiii, 68, 93–96, 116, 237n

plates hung for Bae, Mandic, McDonnell, 206–7

Giorni di Ghiaccio
(Confortola), 233n

Godwin-Austen, Henry Haversham, 4

Godwin-Austen glacier, xiii, 6, 13, 38, 43, 95, 137, 200

Base Camp, altitude of, 173

Goh Ee Kiat, Robert, xvii

Go Mi-sun, xvi, 44, 119, 205, 224, 229n, 233n

death on Nanga Parbat (2009), 205

earlier fall in Himalayas, 119

Jumik Bhote and, 127

K2 descent, August 1–2, 100, 108–9, 119–21, 125

missing climbers and, 170

rescue, 120, 235n

on summit, 71, 234n