K2 tragedy 2008

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K2 ( 8611  m )

In the tragedy on K2 in summer 2008 , eleven climbers from seven nations were killed.

background

The K2 ( 8611  m ) is the highest mountain in the Pakistani Karakoram Mountains and after Mount Everest the second highest mountain on earth. However, it is considered by mountaineers to be far more demanding than Everest . This is due to its higher steepness and the location further north, which gives it a very extreme and changeable weather. There is also a risk that should not be underestimated from falling rocks, avalanches and Séracs falling .

Its first ascent took place in 1954 by an Italian expedition. Up until the tragedy of 2008, 278 climbers had reached the summit, 66 of whom died on the way down. In summer 2008 there was a real mass rush of several international expeditions to K2 for the first time . These goods:

  • Norwegian K2 expedition with Cecilie Skog (leader), Rolf Bae, Lars Nessa and Oystein Stangeland
  • Dutch Norit-International K2-Expedition with Wilco van Rooijen (leader), Cas van de Gevel, Gerard McDonnell (Ireland), Pemba Gyalje (Nepal), Roeland van Oss, Jelle Staleman, Mark Sheen (Australia) and Court Haegens
  • Italian K2 expedition with Marco Confortola (leader) and Roberto Manni
  • Serbian Vojvodina K2 expedition with Milivoj Erdeljan (leader), Dren Mandić, Predrag Zagorac, Iso Planić, Miodrag Jovović and their Pakistani Sherpas Shaheen Baig, Mohammed Hussein and Mohammed Khan
  • American international K2 expedition with Michael Farris (leader), Eric Meyer, Chris Klinke, Fredrik Sträng (Sweden), Chhiring Dorje (Nepal), Paul Walters (Australia), Chris Warner (Australia) and Timothy Horvath
  • South Korean Abruzzi-Spur-Flying-Jump K2-Expedition with Kim Jae-soo (leader), Go Mi-Sun, Kim Hyo-Gyeong, Park Kyeong-Hyo, Hwang Dong-Jin, Lee Sung-Rok, Kim Seong-Sang, Son Byung-Woo, Kim Tae-Gyu, Lee Won-Sub, Song Gui-Hwa and their Sherpas Jumic Bhote, Chhiring Bhote, Pasang Bhote and Pasang Lama
  • French independent K2 expedition with Hugues D'Aubarede (leader), Nicholas Rice (USA), Peter Guggemos (Germany) and the Pakistani Karim Meherban, Qudrat Ali and Jahan Baig
  • French TGW K2 expedition with Yannick Graziani, Christian Trommsdorff and Patrick Wagnon
  • Sunny Mountain K2 expedition with George Dijmarescu (USA), Mircea Leuştean (Romania), Teodora Vid (Romania), Mingma Sherpa (Nepal) and Ringjing Sherpa (Nepal)
  • Tall Mountain K2 expedition with the Americans David Watson, Chuck Boyd and Andy Selters
  • Singaporean K2 expedition with Robert Goh Ee Kiat (leader), Edwin Siew Cheok Wai and the Nepalese Sherpas Ang Chhiring and Jamling Bhote
  • the independent climbers Alberto Zerain (Spain), Hoselito Bite Hoze (Serbia), Nick Nielsen (Denmark), Christian Stangl (Austria), Jorge Egocheaga (Spain)

procedure

Bottleneck gully, above the mighty Séracs

In May 2008 the Dutch expedition led by Wilco van Rooijen reached the K2 base camp at around 5000  m . She left Islamabad and reached base camp after eleven days. It was Rooijen's third attempt to climb K2. By the end of June they set up high camps (Camp 2 at 6400  m , Camp 3 at 7050  m and Camp 4 at 7700  m ), attached around 3000 meters of fixed ropes and acclimatized themselves by climbing higher and higher during the day and descending to deeper camps at night in order to stay.

Below the bottleneck gully at around 8,200  m , the weather began to change, which is why the team was forced to descend to base camp. By the beginning of July, other teams from South Korea, Italy, Serbia, Norway, France, Singapore and the USA with their Sherpas and high mountain porters from Pakistan joined them, which is why an average of around 60 people stayed in the base camp. They wanted to wait together for better weather. The youngest climber in the camp was the 23-year-old American Nicholas Rice, the oldest, the 61-year-old Frenchman Hugues D'Aubarede. The only doctor on site was the American Eric Meyer.

After about a month of waiting due to the bad weather, a time window of a few days was announced for the end of July to the beginning of August. Until July 31 reached 31 climbers on the Abruzzengrat or Cesen route the Camp 4 and were preparing for the summit ascent the next day. But from now on, numerous incidents occurred. Wilco van Rooijen said after the accident: "When we were on our way to the summit, went suddenly everything wrong." Two members of the Wegbaugruppe that would require climbing around midnight to the fixed ropes through the bottleneck channel and the following Traverse to mount, showed signs of altitude sickness and had to dismount. Among them was the Pakistani Shaheen Baig, the most experienced participant, who was the only one who had already been on the K2. The team therefore lacked two significant workers and around 400 meters of rope.

The alpinists who were now ahead installed the ropes for the ascent and descent in unsuitable places, which forced the climbers who followed later to re-assemble and threw them out of the schedule. When the sun rose, they also realized that the ropes were too short and therefore did not reach the most difficult sections of the ascent, which is why ropes from the previous ascent had to be removed and attached at the top.

At the bottleneck gully , there was now a rush of 24 mountaineers who had started the ascent despite the traffic jam warning. Gradually, however, some decided to descend, as the schedule had already been exceeded by hours. Among them were the doctor Eric Meyer, the Swede Fredrik Sträng, the Dutchman Jelle Staleman and the American Nicholas Rice. Rice had spilled water on his socks while boiling and didn't want to risk frostbite, while Staleman kept losing consciousness for a short time.

While waiting under the neck of the bottle , the Serb Dren Mandić suddenly released himself from the fixed rope. He either wanted to overtake other climbers or readjust his oxygen mask. However, he slipped and fell well over 100 meters to his death. A rescue team with Eric Meyer left Camp 4 immediately. While trying to bring the body to Camp 4, the Pakistani Jehan Baig lost his balance and also fell to his death. Despite the hours of delay and fatal accidents, many of the mountaineers decided to continue their ascent to the summit, which was first reached by the Spanish soloist Alberto Zerain around 3 p.m., followed by the Norwegians Cecilie Skog, Rolf Bae and Lars Nessa shortly after 5 p.m. A little later, the five South Koreans Kim Jae-soo, Go Mi-Sun, Kim Hyo-Gyeong, Park Kyeong-Hyo and Hwang Dong-Jin arrived at the summit. They were followed by the Dutch van Rooijen and van de Gevel, the Irish Gerard McDonnell, the French Hugues D'Aubarede and the Italian Marco Confortola until around 8 p.m. Five of the Sherpas also made it to the top.

Alberto Zerain was the only one who managed to descend in daylight. Already in the dark the three Norwegians reached the fixed rope at the bottle neck and began to abseil on it before an ice avalanche broke up over them and the fixed ropes and anchors tore away. Rolf Bae was torn to his death in front of his wife Cecilie Skog. Cecilie Skog and Lars Nessa managed the dangerous descent to Camp 4 in an unsecured ascent using only crampons and ice axes .

The other climbers reached the bottleneck point scattered about and began to look for the ropes for the descent. Some of the alpinists decided to bivouac because of the darkness and the dangerous terrain , while others like Cas van de Gevel and Pemba Gyalje ventured down. Probably the Frenchman Hugues D'Aubarede also dared to descend, his fall to his death was in any case observed by Cas van de Gevel.

The next morning Wilco van Rooijen began to suffer from snow blindness and decided to attempt an immediate descent in order not to burden his comrades McDonnell and Confortola, who were bivouacked with him. He met the three South Koreans Park Kyeong-Hyo, Kim Hyo-Gyeong and Hwang Dong-Jin, who were apparently torn from the wall by the same ice avalanche as the Norwegian and were caught in their safety rope. One of the three showed no more movement, the other two were already completely exhausted. Unable to help them, he left a glove and ice ax and continued to dismount, but lost his bearings and missed Camp 4. Later, McDonnell and Confortola also encountered the South Koreans and tried to help them. McDonnell climbed higher again, probably to relieve the casualty from the safety rope. Confortola lost sight and hearing contact with him and called the South Koreans for help on the radio, before he finally decided, very exhausted, to continue his descent.

The ascended rescue team for the South Koreans finally found the completely exhausted Marco Confortola and the dead Gerard McDonnell. When the casualty was rescued, another ice avalanche broke up and killed the three South Koreans and the two Nepalese Jumik Bhote and Pasang Bhote. Marco Confortola was supplied with oxygen by the resurrected Sherpa Pemba Gyalje and later accompanied to the base camp by a rescue team. Then Pemba Gyalje and Cas van de Gevel went in search of Wilco van Rooijen, who had been spotted below Camp 4. He was on the move for about 60 hours without sleep, equipment or food before he slept on a snow slope and was not found until the night of August 3rd with advanced snow blindness, altitude sickness and severe frostbite.

From the base camp, all alpinists were finally flown out by the Pakistani military by August 6th. Cas van de Gevel, Wilco van Rooijen and Marco Confortola had suffered severe frostbite, Confortola and van Rooijen had to have all of their toes amputated. The Pakistani Karim Meherban, who accompanied the Frenchman Hugues D'Aubarede on the descent from the summit, was never found.

aftermath

With eleven dead in just two days, it was one of the most sacrificed mountain tragedies in history. Since 1986, when 13 mountaineers were killed within three months, there has not been a year with more victims at K2. There was criticism from other extreme mountaineers who accused the victims of a lust for fame, excessive ambition and inexperience.

The fatalities of August 1, 2008:

  • Dren Mandić (32), a member of the Spartak Mountaineering Club in Serbia, attempted the first Serbian ascent of K2, crashing through the bottleneck gully while climbing.
  • Jehan Baig; High porters from Pakistan. Among other things, he rescued the Japanese Hirotaka Takeuchi from an avalanche at Gasherbrum II in 2007. He crashed while trying to transport the injured Dren Mandić to Camp 4.
  • Rolf Bae (33), Norwegian adventurer. Crossed Antarctica on skis in 105 days in 2000/2001 . As of 2008 already on the Great Trango Tower with a second ascent of the northeast face. Was married to Cecilie Skog. Was caught in an ice avalanche while descending the bottleneck gully.

The fatalities of August 2, 2008:

  • Hugues D'Aubarede (61); French expedition leader. As of 2004 at the summit of Mount Everest . Crashed in the area of ​​the bottleneck gully during the nightly descent.
  • Gerard McDonnell, 37; Irish climber and mountain rescuer. Lived and worked in Alaska . As of 2003 at the summit of Mount Everest. Was seriously injured by falling rocks at K2 in 2006. The first Irishman to stand at the summit of K2. Tried to help three Koreans who had had an accident. Was found dead in the area of ​​the bottle neck gutter.
  • Hwang Dong-Jin (45), Park Kyeong-Hyo (29) and Kim Hyo-Gyeong (33); Three of the 28 South Koreans at the summit of K2. Captured during the descent of two ice avalanches.
  • Jumik Bhote and Pasang Bhote; Nepalese Sherpas and cousins ​​from the South Korean expedition. Both stood at the summit of K2. Captured by an ice avalanche when the three South Koreans tried to rescue the bottleneck gully.
  • Karim Meherban; High porters from Pakistan. Stand at the summit of K2 and accompanied the Frenchman Hugues D'Aubarede on the descent. He has been missing since then.

Director Nick Ryan processed the tragedy in 2012 in the documentary The Summit . Graham Bowley published No Way Back - Living and Dying at K2 in 2010 , which is about the events of 2008.

Web links

literature

  • Graham Bowley: No Going Back: Living and Dying at K2 . National Geographic paperback, Zurich 2012, ISBN 978-3-492-40463-1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nicholas Rice: 2008 K2 and Broad Peak Expedition, Dispatch 63: August 1st, 2008 ( Memento of February 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Nicholas Rice: 2008 K2 and Broad Peak Expedition, Dispatch 64: August 2nd, 2008 ( Memento of March 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Nicholas Rice: 2008 K2 and Broad Peak Expedition, Dispatch 65: August 3rd, 2008 ( Memento of March 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Nicholas Rice: 2008 K2 and Broad Peak Expedition, Dispatch 67: August 5th, 2008 ( Memento of March 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ a b Nicholas Rice: 2008 K2 and Broad Peak Expedition, Dispatch 66: August 4th, 2008 ( Memento of February 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive )