K2, the Savage Mountain

Ras,

... we also learnt a lot about Holland and Spain through Capstan commercials.

Men demand Capstan - we were told ...

Thanks for sharing this writing Gul Sahib,

It is a shame that most in Pakistan know about K2

from a brand of cigarettes...

i have been reading the book "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer. It is about an ill fated expedition to Mt Everest in 1996. Recent accident on K2 is a remainder on the perils of high altitude mountainerring

That was a nice read Ijaz. Nice article, very heartfelt.

Delirium,
Thanx for your comments though your gallary obscured my mountain pics within a day.

Yes I have climbed upto Thandiani and then Mirajani. Mirajani on a clear day gives a very good view all around specially Musa ka Masala near Kaghan.

Nangha Parbat is an unstable mountain and still rising. Geologically the rocks are still loose. I gave up high altitude mountaineering due to aggravation of fibrosis in my left lung, something that I suffered from as a child.

In 1987-89, I was a chosen member of Dr. Louis Attiene's expedition to both North and South Pole and a rafting down Amazon. I was then on contract with the government which refused permission, not realising what a big honour it would have been for Pakistan.
In 1988, I nearly reached the summit of Mont Blanc (Europe's Highest) but due to bad weather returned to a cable station and back to Chimonix. I wanted to reach it in four hours from the base but missed it.In any case it was not a challenge.

Re # 16

Miranjani located close to Nathiagali ( the highest point of Galliyat ) has an altitude of 9,561 ft. Its loacted on an amazing trek of relatively low altitude ( called bed of roses or a beginner's trek by some ) that runs from Thandiani to Nathiagali.

Ijaz sb,

Thank you for coming up with such an amazing article. I would personally be more interested in knowing more of your experiences and mountaineering adventures. Of what I know, Nangaa Parbat ( the killer mountain ) is even deadlier. Have you made an attempt to accomplish that as well by any chance ?

very informative and a very well written article

ijazgul: Thanks. I just read the article - what an adventure you had. And you actually saw this beautiful mountain peak K-2.

Last year I saw some climbers going up the granite rocks in Yosemite - they were about 2000 feet above us, tiny specks on the vertical rock which is perhaps 3-4000 feet high. I read that it takes them two days to climb, and so they spend the night sleeping inside a net suspended in mid-air from the vertical granite rock.

read my writer's page and my essay on Gashebrum 1

ijaz gul: You made an attempt at climbing K-2!! Highest I have been is 12,000 feet to Mt. Miranjani, and that was a relatively simple walk up the mountain path. When did you make the attempt? I for one would be very interested in learning of your experience.

ijaz_gul

What a salutation to the extraordinarily brave mountaineers who died on K2 the Savage Mountain! Written by a mountaineer himself, this article which defines the ‘human will, endurance, team spirit and luck’ has left its mark.

Arjun

Thank you for posting these spectacular photographs.

As it was not possible to put picture on my article, I posted them in the Gallery but they were quicklt eclipsed. Arjun has been very kind to paste them here. These pictures have been picked from the net and are not my own. We lost most of our equipment to avalanches. Worst came when much of our equipment was swept by Baltoro River on our way back.

The difficulty factor of K2, surpasses any other mountain of the world. That is why it is called the Savage Mountain for those who meet tragedy and Mountain of Mountains for those who conquer it.

Let me explain each.

#7 View high above from the base camp of the Abruzzi Ridge. Note the location of camp IV. The Bottle neck is also called a spider.

#8 Abruzzi spur, the gateway to a very dangerous route ahead. Safety ends at Camp III in pic #7.

#9 The spider, bottleneck or the summit ridge. This is where there is proliferation of old fixed ropes, seracs, loose rocks and breaking ice. The recent accident on K2 happened here, and so did I survive earlier.

#10 Another view of the summit ridge. Notice the clouds gathering. This expedition lost one climber.

#11 The majestic Mountain of Mountains as viewed from Concordia.

"Usually half dead reach the summit"

Yes! That captures K2 - Goodwin-Austin whatever you might want to call it. More deadly than Everest Climb - a climb (from I have read elsewhere and here - fraught with more dangers and gradients).

Thanks for this great article. And that first line (I quote above) captures the essence very well (T)

Arjun sahib,

Thank you for your public service to the chowk public. We appreciate your efforts...

TNI masadi