K2 accident ..

I heard about the K2 accident which claimed 11 people couple of days after it happened. I was talking with Appu regards our mountain climbing trip and he mentioned it.After the call was over I went to the net and pulled out every possible information available about the accident.

I felt a real sense of loss. Mountaineers are a special race of people which the common do not understand. The drive and passion they have is enormous,the fascination to climb is so compelling. Also i see them as super-men ,vastly superior in mind and physical strenght and endurance.Very very few people reach that pinnacle.Very few people have the courage to overcome their fears of dying,losing limbs and go after that compelling fascination. Common people with mundane goals will never understand this fascination of these men who are mostly discarded as crazy people.

K2 is one of the toughest mountains to climb,way lot tougher than everest,everest does not rate very high in technical climbs.K2 is known for its notorious weather and makes climbing extremely difficult,also the climb is extremely technical. With temperatures reaching below 50 and winds blowing at 100 mph and absolutely no oxygen and lugging a 60 pound backpack,think about the mental and physical stamina of a human being to make it to the top.Only the very best in mountaineering climb it or even try it.It is one of the few mountains which has never been scaled in winter.
Only 305 people have summit ed it compared to the 2600 people summiting everest,of course annapurna holds the toughest mountain to climb with a fatality rate of 40%.

Oh I really feel for these who perished. I am atleast happy they reached the summit.The exhilaration on reaching the summit itself would be their last happiest moment in life.

Some comments which i read from people on the net ..

'Risking one's own life, one's health and the lives of others just for the sake of some form of gratification does not make much sense to me. More over it is arguably disrespectful to loved ones who stay behind and even to people who are battling to stay alive because they are sick'

'Is it was really worth it? Beck said no. Putting your family through this, the family of others climbing and those who try to save you is really quite selfish. What other sport req you to operate at 50% of the brain's capacity +making bad choices then risk lives of those who help you when u fail?'

Answers to the above comments ..

'If you are not a climber, you won't understand. You are looking at the issue from your narrow perspective but climbing high peaks makes you humble. '

'The high mountains have an overwhelming attraction, why should anyone be denied the opportunity to climb them. Climbers know the risks, only they themselves have the right to make moral judgements about what they do and the impact on those close to them. It is not ours to judge.'


'No guts no glory. Climbers live for the mental and physical challenge and always know there is a risk of the ultimate consequence. No one can speculate on what was happening in the minds of those attempting to survive. Give them their honor and speak nothing of it. '

'These climbers know their own boundaries & choose to do it !!! The ultimate responsibility over life & death is always with them at the end of the day !!'

'whenever humans endure challenges tragedies like these are always a possibiltiy. These climbers know the dangers involved and are the most experienced in the world. We shouldn't let deprive them of their aspirations but support them.'


Amen to all the answers!!

Reminds me of the opening scene conversation between mountaineer Heinrich Herrer and his wife in '7 years in tibet' when he is leaving her to climb the mountains ...

HARRER
"It's the Himalayas! How long have I been talking about the
Himalayas? How long?"

Ingrid seems to retreat into herself, shaken.

INGRID
"Far too long."

I really hope my journey of mountaineering has started,I hope to reach the levels of these people.


Song listening - One way street - MLTR

So funny this is the song that is playing right now...An omen?