Jerome Taylor in The Independent:
The Independent graphic of K2
Why are we asking this now?
Because at least 11 people are currently missing presumed dead on the notoriously dangerous mountain. Located in Pakistan’s majestic Karakoram range, the world’s second highest mountain has long been regarded as a dangerous peak to climb, but the weekend’s disaster constitutes the largest loss of life in a single day on K2’s slopes.
The Pakistani army yesterday managed to rescue two Dutch climbers who were caught up in the mayhem after a gruelling 48 hours stranded on the 8,611m mountain. The men were two of 22 climbers from eight expeditions who attempted to tackle the summit on Friday following a brief lull in the weather. An Italian climber, Marco Confortola, is still trying to make his way down to the 6,000m because the rescue helicopters cannot get any higher in the thin air.
What exactly went wrong?
Initial reports were sketchy but as the survivors came down a clearer picture emerged which pointed towards both a freak disaster and human error. At least nine people were thought to have been swept away by an avalanche after an enormous serac – a large overhanging pillar of ice – broke off the mountain and crashed into climbers on a treacherous part of the final ascent known as “The Bottleneck”.
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