Left to die at the top of the world

hollydolly

hollydolly

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Injured mountaineer is ignored by 50 people who refused to interrupt their own bid for glory to help him as they scaled K2​

As Mohammad Hassan lay seriously injured, 1,300ft from the summit of K2, dozens of fellow climbers carefully edged towards him, risking their lives as they clung to the side of the narrow ledge.

And then they kept on going - clambering around the stricken 27-year-old as they left him to die while continuing their own personal bid for glory.

Now, after footage of the incident emerged, their decision to leave him has caused an outcry among the mountaineering community.

Hassan, a father-of-three high-altitude porter from Pakistan who worked for Lela Peak Expedition, died after an avalanche on July 27 pushed him over a ledge while scaling the 28,300ft K2 mountain.

The footage shows people physically climbing over Hassan as he lies helpless in the deep snow.
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Click on the link to see the Video of people climbing over the seriously injured young man...


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...fused-interrupt-bid-glory-help-scaled-K2.html
 

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I don't know what to make of this because, the video is of course heartbreaking but, there are also claims that it does not reflect the whole story.
The claim is that the climber was advised not to climb the mountain as he was poorly equipped and unprepared but, the climber continued and tragically fell to the spot which you see on the video. It has also been claimed that climbers and sherpas did try to save his life but he passed away. Looking at that video and seeing the conditions up there and how treacherous it was, I am not sure how he could have been rescued, especially as he was badly injured.

It is just very sad that the young man lost his life and his wife and children lost the life they would have had with him.
 
Never tried to "climb" a mountain, unless some steep hikes count.

However I had a friend who used to volunteer with a group that cleaned up garbage from base camps in the Himalayas, he spent several weeks there every summer. His opinion of many of the mountain climbers he met was pretty low. A very self centered bunch who cared about little other than their own success.

One result was they often threw out anything they didn't need as soon as they didn't need it, wherever they were. Little or none of the pack it in pack it out thing most hikers and backpackers live by.

I suppose to be successful in climbing mountains like this it helps... After hearing from him, and seeing his pictures of the mountains of garbage I have little interest in going there... This reinforces it...
 
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Trish said:
I don't know what to make of this because, the video is of course heartbreaking but, there are also claims that it does not reflect the whole story.
The claim is that the climber was advised not to climb the mountain as he was poorly equipped and unprepared but, the climber continued and tragically fell to the spot which you see on the video. It has also been claimed that climbers and sherpas did try to save his life but he passed away. Looking at that video and seeing the conditions up there and how treacherous it was, I am not sure how he could have been rescued, especially as he was badly injured.

It is just very sad that the young man lost his life and his wife and children lost the life they would have had with him.
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Trish the dead man was a sherpa..a Porter from Pakistan....... employed by the Peak expedition Company...

It said one person eventually stopped to help but not before 50... walked over him,... and by then it was too late and he died from his injuries...
 
hollydolly said:
Trish the dead man was a sherpa..a Porter from Pakistan....... employed by the Peak expedition Company...

It said one person eventually stopped to help but not before 50... walked over him,... and by then it was too late and he died from his injuries...
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Yes, I read that. It's tragic that he lost his life.
 
I don't know about this case, but I do know that a mountain like Everest has a point of no return. It's made clear to the climbers that if they have an accident after a certain point, no-one is coming to help.

"The death zone of Mt Everest is any part of the peak above 8000m(26,247ft). Out of all deaths on Everest till now, over 200 have died here at this point. Hence, this spot of the peak is popular as the Death zone. The oxygen level is so thin at the death zone."

Again, I don't know the details here, but keep in mind - resources at these places are very few. People tend to carry what they need, and no more. Using energy and resources to save someone may bring jeopadry to the saviour. In other words, it's not quite the same as say, helping someone who fell to the ground at the mall.

That said, if none of that applied, and it was simply casual indifference, then yeah - heinous.
 
Beezer said:
Climbers aren't the brightest candles on the cake.

I mean, how many of them return with no fingers or arms and claim it was a great adventure.
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In college I had an ex who was into this stuff. He was super intelligent. It could be a nasty male thing?
 
I just did some research and found this:

"To climb K2 from the Pakistani side, it is necessary to apply for permission from the Ministry of Tourism in Islamabad. The peak fee for south side expeditions is 7,200 USD for a team of up to 7 climbers, and 1,200 USD for each additional climber.

In addition to the peak fee, you will need to put up a 10,000 USD rescue bond (completely refundable if it is not used), and a 68 USD environmental fee. There is a non refundable service fee of USD 300 pr team."

Which asks more questions than it answers.

http://www.k2climb.net/expguide/permit.shtml

Also:

"There are fourteen "8,000ers" – fourteen mountains above 8,000 meters high that of course represent the 14 highest points on planet Earth. Mr. Eguskitza points out, "If we consider the number of deaths coming down from the summit, K2 is by far the most dangerous, about 3 times more so than Annapurna. The problem on K2 is that if you reach the top, your chances of returning are significantly reduced." K2 fatality statistics"
 
chic said:
In college I had an ex who was into this stuff. He was super intelligent. It could be a nasty male thing?
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I just don't see the point of it tbh... and I'm still quite the hedonist when it comes to outdoor pursuits.. and if I saw a mountain..well a Big Hill.. even up to a few years ago.. I will climb it, but not rock climbing.. not to the extent that my fingers and toes are likely to fall off.. be blinded by the snow.. or ultimately die.. just to say I reached the top... I mean it's not like you can get a McDonalds when you finally reach the top after all that hard work... :sneaky:
 
hollydolly said:
I just don't see the point of it tbh... and I'm still quite the hedonist when it comes to outdoor pursuits.. and if I saw a mountain..well a Big Hill.. even up to a few years ago.. I will climb it, but not rock climbing.. not to the extent that my fingers and toes are likely to fall off.. be blinded by the snow.. or ultimately die.. just to say I reached the top... I mean it's not like you can get a McDonalds when you finally reach the top after all that hard work... :sneaky:
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Just looking at the drop on that video makes me feel giddy!
 
hollydolly said:
I just don't see the point of it tbh... and I'm still quite the hedonist when it comes to outdoor pursuits.. and if I saw a mountain..well a Big Hill.. even up to a few years ago.. I will climb it, but not rock climbing.. not to the extent that my fingers and be likely to fall off.. be blinded by the snow.. or ultimately die.. just to say I reached the top... I mean it's not like you can get a McDonalds when you finally reach the top after all that hard work... :sneaky:
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I never got into that life and death thing myself. OMG. Much as I like the outdoors my heart is just a couch potato! Maybe this is why he and I did not last long? :ROFLMAO:
 
ohioboy said:
I thought he died on the mountain where he laid?
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Quote :It appears that just one person ended up helping him, an unknown rescuer who managed to keep him conscious for a while before he died of his injuries. There was no rescue operation to help the young man.
Steindl, who participated in the climb but had returned to the base camp earlier due to the dangerous conditions, also told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that he was sickened by the inaction of the fellow climbers.

'It was a very heated, competitive race to the top. What happened there is scandalous.

'A living person is left behind so records can be set. It only took 3 or 4 people to save him. Had I seen it, I would have climbed up to help the poor man.''
 

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