Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day (28 page)

84
“pomade and cosmetics”
Knight,
Where Three Empires Meet,
p. 487
.

84
pseudoscientists
See, for example, Ralph Bircher,
The Hunzas: A People without Illness
(Bern: Huber, 1936).

85
20 rupees
In 1953, the exchange rate for one U.S. dollar was 3.3 Pakistani rupees.

86
hereditary Mir
Crown Prince Ghazanfar Ali Khan would have ascended the throne in 1976 if Pakistan had not disbanded the kingdom two years earlier and stripped his father of royal status. The Mir’s family continues to wield significant political power in the elected government. As a show of respect, the crown prince is called “Mir” by foreign dignitaries.

87
Wakhi
Wakhi-speaking people of Shimshal are considered a distinct ethnic group from the Hunzas. During the Great Game era, many Hunza raiders employed by the Mir assimilated into Wakhi villages.

87
taste the summit
Simone Moro was even closer to the summit when he turned around at 2 p.m. In 2011, Moro would pioneer the first winter ascent in the Karakorum on Gasherbrum II.

89
crystal palace
The mythical palace is translucent with gaudy pearl and coral decor. Gottlieb W. Leitner,
The Hunza and Nagyr Handbook
(Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, 1889), p. 6.

91
“What about carpentry?”
This conversation is based on Shadi’s recollection.

6: THE APPROACH

We rode a jeep along the same route that Karim took. We based these descriptions of the ride to Askole on that road trip. Further descriptions of Askole are from Padoan’s trek to K2 as well as from videos and conversations with climbers about what they were doing during their trek to Base Camp in 2008. Because of political instability, many of the LAPs interviewed for this section were interviewed not in their villages but rather in Skardu or Machulu. (They were compensated for their three days of travel expenses.) The description of K2 Base Camp is from photos, videos, and interviews, as well as from Padoan’s visit to the Gilkey Memorial in 2004. The descriptions of what the porters carried are from interviews with the climbers. Chhiring described sky burials, but his description was supplemented with the writings of anthropologist Sherry Ortner. The incident involving Mr. Kim and the quartz rock was described by several sherpas as well as by Jamie McGuinness.

95
“rolling down avalanches”
See E. F. Knight,
Where Three Empires Meet
(London: Longmans, Green, 1918), p. 359.

96
LAPs
In Balti, low-altitude porters are called
khurpas
. For clarity and consistency, we use the term
low-altitude porters
, even in translations where the speaker used the word
khurpas
.

99
Yaqub
As a LAP, Yaqub was responsible for bringing his own food. The expedition kitchen crew is responsible only for feeding the HAPs and the clients. (As with many other porters, Yaqub doesn’t use a last name.)

101
the uninsured
Although expeditions could buy more extended coverage for their porters, Raza said he’d never heard of that happening in his thirty-four years with the company.

101
uninsurable
Of course, you can insure anything if you’re willing to pay a high enough premium. Celebrities often insure such body parts as legs, faces, buttocks, and breasts, for exorbitant premiums, but this hasn’t caught on with the 8000er set.

103
sky burial
The practice differs throughout Tibet and Nepal, depending on the materials available.

7: WEATHER GODS

The discussion of the attack on the Danish Embassy is based on news reports from Al Jazeera and videos. Pakistan’s Ministry of Tourism and Alpine Club president Nazir Sabir provided details of the climbing rates and the reasons behind the changes. Shaheen described his encounter with Hugues, and photos on Hugues’s blog corroborated many of the details. The description of Ger’s injury is from interviews with friends and family, including Annie Starkey, Banjo Bannon, and Joëlle Brupbacher. The description of Roeland van Oss’s near-death experience is based on interviews with Jelle Staleman and Wilco. The description of Yan Giezendanner’s workstation is from Padoan’s visit to his home in Chamonix. The description of the final team meeting is from interviews with several of the men who were present, as well as from video footage.

108
seven times more
A permit to climb Everest from the south side in Nepal was $70,000. As with K2, up to seven mountaineers are included in the price of the permit.

110
“would be obscene”
This is what Shaheen heard Hugues say. The photographs of the corpse appeared on Hugues’s blog on July 9, 2008.

111
“completely bitchy”
This dialogue did not occur between Nick and Wilco. They were interviewed separately about their feelings toward each other and their quotes were spliced.

112
customary toll
The Dutch team brought 4,000 meters of new lightweight Endura rope, which cost $5,500, and they fixed the route along the Cesen to Camp 4. A donation to the team that brings the rope and fixes it is customary on 8,000-meter peaks. Wilco was asking for $450, a reasonable sum under the circumstances.

116
ideally, below 18,000 feet
This is equivalent to 5,484 meters; the benchmark many climbers use is 5,600 meters.

118
“ ‘
Only use this outside’ ”
Mountaineers have to settle for an open tent flap.

118
“eating priests”
Correspondence with Yan Giezendanner, December 2009.

119
Dutch weather god
Ab Maas of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute was the first to report the weather window to the mountaineers at Base Camp. His prediction was ten days in advance of the window.

121
four camps
Camp 1 is usually at 6,200 meters; Camp 2 is at 6,700 meters; Camp 3 is at 7,300 meters; Camp 4 (the Shoulder) is a large site where tents can be pitched at heights between 7,700 and 7,900 meters.

121
about 19,000 feet
Wilco’s Camp 1 on the Cesen route was at 5,800 meters.

121
20,300 feet
Wilco’s Camp 2 on the Cesen was at 6,200 meters.

121
about 23,500 feet
Wilco’s Camp 3 on the Cesen was at 7,150 meters.

122
Muhammad Hussein
He was also known as “Little Hussein.”

122
Muhammad Khan
He is also listed as Muhammad Sanap Akam on summit records.

122
rope, ice screws, and pickets
The rope supply consisted of 400 meters from the Dutch team and 200 meters from the Italian team.

8: GHOST WINDS

The rescue of Shaheen is based on interviews with Shaheen and Nadir. Yan’s discussions with Hugues are from Yan’s recollection, and all of Hugues’s quotes are also from Yan’s recollection. Wilco’s discussions with Maarten are from both men’s recollections. Hoselito’s discussion with Wilco about the tent is based on interviews with both men and corroborated by Pemba. All quotes in the conversation between Hoselito and Wilco are from our interviews with the men who said them and as reviewed by Wilco and Hoselito.

127
“K2: A Little Shorter/A Lot Harder” Mike Farris of the American K2 International Expedition created this motto.

9: THROUGH THE BOTTLENECK

The scenic descriptions of the mountain are based on interviews with the climbers, their photographs, and video footage. The descriptions of the conflicts in the lead team are from interviews with all surviving members. The descriptions of the traffic jam in the Bottleneck come from about a dozen of the mountaineers who were there, plus several photos. We based the description of Cecilie’s encounter with Dren Mandic on her memoir and interviews with her. Cecilie’s account was corroborated by Chhiring, Pasang, and Lars. The descriptions of the attempted recovery of Dren’s body come from interviews with Fredrik, Muhammad Hussein, Iso, and Pedja, plus footage from Fredrik’s documentary
K2: A Cry from the Top of the World
. The description of Jehan’s slide down the mountain is based primarily on the versions told by Muhammad Hussein and Iso, who had unobstructed views. Dr. Fred Espenak of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center provided information about the eclipse above K2. Pasang’s encounter with Alberto comes from interviews with both men. The scene on the summit is from interviews with the people described and from photographs. The detail about Kim and Jumik playfully smoking a cigarette is from Pasang.

143
“the essentials”
The Italians still had a second coil of 100 meters, and the Dutch team had brought 400 meters of rope. This would have been enough if the fixed lines had been set in the appropriate locations.

143
$385
This is based on 2008 prices. Zuckerman examined and tried on some of the oxygen cylinders that Pasang used, and Pasang demonstrated how he prepared them.

143
turn up the flow
The maximum is four liters a minute.

144
Sure, Eric replied
This conversation is based on Chhiring’s recollection. (Eric had only a vague recollection of their exchange, which is why his words aren’t in quotation marks here.)

144
“He won’t be coming”
Paolo Padoan interviewed Alberto in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, in 2009.

145
Muhammad Hussein
Zuckerman interviewed Muhammad in his village of Machulu in 2009.

145
procedure on Everest
On Everest, an army of sherpas fixes lines systematically, and every team contributes with supplies, porters, or payment. The Bhotes tried to deliver extensive fixed lines on K2, but, given the time frame of the project—a few hours’ lead time before the main group—this was unrealistic.

149
“being a gentleman”
Hoselito, who didn’t see the fall, bases this theory on Dren’s personality.

154
a perfect corona
A total eclipse of the sun was visible in areas of China, far to the north of Shimshal.

155
years preparing
Wilco also remembered the summit time of the 1995 K2 expedition in which he took part. The team reached the summit at 6 p.m. and descended safely to Camp 4 by midnight.

159
“at the beach!”
This was the August 4 entry on Hugues d’Aubarède’s memorial blog by his girlfriend, Mine Dumas.

10: ESCAPE FROM THE SUMMIT

The encounter with Mr. Kim is from Pasang’s recollection, as are most of Pasang’s encounters with Kim, who declined to be interviewed. To understand Kim’s perspective, the authors reviewed transcripts of Kim’s interviews with Fredrik Sträng, who filmed him throughout the climb for the documentary
K2: A Cry from the Top of the World
. We also reviewed transcripts from Kim’s interviews with Ryu Dong-il on behalf of author Freddie Wilkinson for his book
One Mountain Thousand Summits
. Several climbers described the rope system, including Chhiring and Pasang. Cas van de Gevel described the death of Hugues. The sounds are based on climbers’ descriptions. For Jumik’s fall, we do not know the precise time this serac calved, but it was a separate serac fall from the one that killed Rolf at 9 p.m. The descriptions of Rolf’s death come from interviews with Cecilie and Lars, as well as from Cecilie’s memoir, translated from Norwegian by Erik Brakstad, and their video footage, translated by Ragnhild Amble and Oddvar and Anne Hoidal.

164
stumbling and falling
Between 1953 and 2008, twenty-four of the sixty-six deaths on K2 occurred during descent from the summit.

166
“
You go first”
This quote is according to Cas’s recollection.

167
two Koreans with Jumik
Neither Marco nor Wilco could positively identify the two Korean climbers tied to Jumik.

169
“Where’s Rolf?”
This quote is what Cecilie remembers saying; the quote after it is how Lars remembers responding.

169
“stars and loneliness”
See Cecilie Skog,
Til Rolf: Tusen fine turer og en trist
(Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS, 2009). Excerpts translated by Erik Brakstad.

170
streaked down
The next morning, Jumik was found hanging about 70 vertical meters (230 feet) below the Snow Dome.

172
all available rope
Lars carried 50 meters of rope for emergencies. After the serac fall, this coil would be the key to survival for those trapped above the Bottleneck.

172
The visitation
This is based on interviews with Chhiring.

173
“No axe”
The quotes from exchanges with Pasang and Chhiring are from interviews with both men.

11: SONAM

Pasang’s encounter with the specter of Mr. Kim is based on interviews with Pasang. The description of the bivouac is from interviews with Marco and Wilco; from Marco’s memoir,
Giorni di Ghiaccio
(
Days of Ice
, 2009); and from Wilco’s memoir,
Surviving K2
(2010). The specific lyrics that Ger substituted during the singing served as his climbing mantra. They were written by the Irish band Kila. Dr. Michael Su provided details about what would have happened when Karim became hypothermic. Eric provided information about what drugs were given to Pemba. Go Mi-sun died on Nanga Parbat in July 2009, three weeks before our scheduled interview with her. We did, however, obtain copies of e-mails she sent about the K2 climb, and we talked to other climbers about what she told them had happened.