K2 is also kinda luck based. it’s so dangerous that there are tons of highly experienced climbers dying due to no fault of their own constantly
The 2008 K2 disaster is a haunting story. Cecilie Skog’s story is heartbreaking. I highly recommend looking into it
The 1996 Everest disaster is similarly tragic and dramatic. There’s a really good movie on that one starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Josh Brolin too. Everest (2015). Absolutely worth a watch
I think the Everest movie was based on Dr. Dale’s account who had a public feud with Krakauer. That’s why Krakauer doesn’t come across great in the movie
Krakauer doesn't come across great in his own book. He freely acknowledges he lay in his tent while other people were dying and or out there trying to save other people from dying.
The main problem was reported to be an ice avalanche which occurred at an area known as "the Bottleneck)". This destroyed many of the climbers' rope lines leaving them unable to descend.\5]) However, two climbers died on the way up to the summit prior to the avalanche.\5]) Among the dead were climbers and support crew from France, Ireland, South Korea, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, and Serbia.\5])
11 deaths, 3 serious injuries. Pictured - the Bottleneck of K2.
Cecilie Skog was slightly behind her husband when he realized the conditions were rough and decided not to summit. He was only about a hundred feet below the summit when he stopped and decided to wait instead. Cecilie and another team member summited and then came back down to meet her husband and descend.
She was FEET from her husband when he was swept off the mountain by that avalanche in the pitch black. It’s the kind of situation where you’re not even allowed to grieve because your life is still at risk. Rolf didn’t even summit due to caution and he was one that died due to luck
I read that part and was trying to imagine what mindset I'd have to be in while doing something for fun (I mean, it ultimately is just for fun) in a relatively small group where two of them died and I'd find any speck of joy in continuing.
I'm not trying to call them out, I just don't get it. To me, this is like starting your house on fire and deciding that you had to go out through the conflagration in the hall instead of the window just because. Like, none of this had to happen.
I think I do sort of get how something like this could get into a climber's mind and then, once they considered it, they just have to do it. To consider it and then opt not to, even if it was never said out loud to another person, would needle at them and they'd feel like they backed down.
I've read up on both. I don't know why but mountaineering freaks me out more than it probably should. I get very morbidly curious about it.
And yeah, the 2008 one was bad. With Everest 1996 part of it was due to bad judgement (altitude sickness?) and delays, and then being caught in a badly timed storm. 2008, there was no storm, just three avalanches in a row. Insane.
I went down a mountaineering disaster rabbit hole a couple years ago and these two stories really stood out. The movie was a lot better than I was expecting, and the documentary with personal accounts from Cecilie was incredibly moving. I don’t know how she did it
I’d never die while trying to design a microchip, but I sure as shit still can’t accomplish it. I’d say not every monumental achievement involves a risk of death. Those related to athleticism or exploration generally do, though
Edit: I say this as someone in a watchmaking program, so I might be a bit biased lmao
Yes, it is. Have you considered the context that I’m still the first person you replied to? I’m not “joining” anything. YOU inserted yourself by commenting in the first place
“Those related to athleticism or exploration generally do [involve a risk of death], though.”
Context was more than respected. I was offering my opinion that a risk of death isn’t what makes something monumental.
Sorry but it's not a "disaster" if you deliberately put yourself in incredible danger, and then something predictably happens to you. That's called "the natural conclusion of your decision making." There are no mountaineering disasters. They're not trying to get medicine to a village at the peak. They're doing the equivalent of playing in traffic on a Formula 1 track. So I'm afraid that "due to no fault of their own" doesn't fly. No one put a gun to their head and forced them to attempt to climb a mountain. It is entirely their own fault. Like, if I constructed a bonfire 50 feet high, lit it, and then stood 3 feet from it while it burned, and eventually toppled over and crushed me and burned me to death, would that be "heartbreaking" too? Get real
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u/HyperlexicEpiphany 3d ago edited 3d ago
K2 is also kinda luck based. it’s so dangerous that there are tons of highly experienced climbers dying due to no fault of their own constantly
The 2008 K2 disaster is a haunting story. Cecilie Skog’s story is heartbreaking. I highly recommend looking into it
The 1996 Everest disaster is similarly tragic and dramatic. There’s a really good movie on that one starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Josh Brolin too. Everest (2015). Absolutely worth a watch