Julie Tullis

Julie Tullis (born March 15, 1939 ; † August 6/7, 1986 at K2 ) was a mountaineer and filmmaker from Great Britain . She died during the "black summer" of 1986 while descending from K2.

Early life

Julie Tullis was born to Erica and Francis Palau. In 1956 she began climbing near Tunbridge Wells , where she met Terry Tullis. They married in 1959 and made a living from all sorts of small businesses. Both of them continued climbing during this time, while Julie also learned Aikido .

Career

Julie met the famous Austrian climber Kurt Diemberger in 1976 . In 1981 Diemberger advertised Tullis as a technical companion for an expedition to Nanga Parbat , and this is how her 8000s film career began. In this context, she made expeditions over the notorious north ridge of K2 and the northeast ridge of Mount Everest . In 1984 Julie Tullis and Kurt Diemberger climbed Broad Peak (K3), and after further film work they continued their work in 1986 with an expedition with the aim of climbing K2.

K2, the mountain of mountains

Although Tullis and Diemberger finally made the ascent on August 4, 1986 and Tullis was the first British woman to climb K2, both were extremely exhausted from the long stay at over 8,000 m (see also death zone ). Tullis fell, and despite Diemberger's successful backup, which initially saved both of their lives, it appears that she sustained internal injuries or head injuries that impaired her coordination and vision. An additional influence of altitude sickness cannot be ruled out. When they arrived at Camp IV, a storm that lasted for days surprised the climbers. Food was running out and the gas, essential to make water, was running out. This meant that no more snow could be melted and dehydration set in, which depleted all mountaineers physically and mentally and made them more prone to acute altitude sickness .

Tullis' condition deteriorated rapidly. Housed in a different tent than Diemberger, she died on the night of 6/7. August. The records of the two mountaineers Diemberger and Willi Bauer contradict each other here in terms of the time. Julie Tullis was buried on the mountainside.

The concept album K2: Tales of Triumph and Tragedy by Don Airey is a musical adaptation of these events.

literature

• Kurt Diemberger : K 2. Dream and Fate; the mountain of mountains . Bruckmann, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-765-43755-7 .