K2
Meagan climbed to Banana Ridge (under Camp 3) at approx 6900m / 22,638ft
K2 (2nd Highest in the World)
Climbing Period: June to August
Altitude: 8612m / 28,253ft
Route: South South-East Spur (aka Cesen Route)
K2 is reputed to be the world’s most challenging
mountain to climb. It is the second highest mountain
in the world; yet, the technical skill required to
reach the top is unparalleled due to the requirement
to be sharp and strong at high altitude.
The Plan!!
The best
months to make an attempt on K2 will be June to August.
With the acclimatization Meagan will attain on Lhotse,
she will be in top form to make her attempt on K2.
The Climb!!
After attempting to climb Broad Peak during the months of June and July,
about half the FTA team headed to K2 base camp.
Everyone had their own objective in mind. I noticed that the more
I hung around at Broad Peak base camp, the more my K2 goals were changing.
My goals had been all over the board since I conceived the idea to head
to K2. From lofty day-dreams of standing on its peak, to the more subdued
idea of just getting to base camp and admiring the mountain from below.
At the time I was to make my first climb up the mountain (to Camp 2),
I was happy with the idea to just survive my little foray on the
slopes of this extremely dangerous mountain.
Prior to the climb, I had been informed that the condition of the mountain was acceptable.
Occasional rock fall. Anchors that weren't built to perfection, but
are at least in place. Fixed line that is ultra-thin and severely dynamic - but
hey - fixed line - okay - just don't depend on it too much. Hopefully,
it's there if you need it.
I was nervous that morning. You read so much about K2, and, afterall, this is
the mountain they make movies about. We (me and 4 other FTA climbers) started heading up,
and it was actually really easy going. We had to watch for rock fall
off the right hand side ... you could see the pitted snow from rock
remnants falling from high above. Would hate for that stuff to fall on me...or anyone
else for that matter. At C1, only myself and one other FTA climber remained.
The others had turned around as per their plan.
There was a fixed line, but it was something to hook a safety line into - you didn't
want to haul on it too much - there was the matter of safety (don't
haul too hard on those anchors unnecessarily) and the matter of style
(when you're with some of the best high-altitude climbers out there,
you don't want to be perceived as a "Jug-monkey"!) Admittedly, I
did end up hauling on it, especially later in the day when I was getting
tired. I noticed that everyone hauled on it at some point.
The climb is steep, and sh-tuff is falling all the time. And unnervingly,
I felt threatened the entire time I was on the mountain. I feel danger on every mountain,
any climber has have to have that spidey-sense, but on K2, it was always there, and
so intensely! EeeK!
At C2, I slept the night with the other FTA member, and in the morning, we headed down.
Whew! It felt good to be off the slopes for now!
I rested at base camp, and as the days went by, we got snow, rain, and hot and cold temps. No doubt the
conditions on the mountain had changed a lot since I was last there.
Stories from the other expeditions were coming in about the conditions on the mountains.
The talk of significant rockfall stuck out for me.
I had changed my goals from standing on the peak to reaching C4.
But I had heard from the other expeditions that the rockfall between
C3 and C4 was terribly dangerous.
I asked the pros, the folks who'd been to K2 five and six times, if this
amount of rockfall was normal, and even they said they had never seen
it this bad before. Geez! In some ways this gave me a sense of relief,
I'm not a chicken for thinking this is really dangerous. It is really dangerous
this year!
While I waited to go up again, the FTA camp was reduced to two people, me and Fabrizio.
I was determined to give as much as I could to the effort of climbing the mountain,
without getting myself killed.
Fabrizio spent a lot of time with other expeditions, but he made a great effort to come
to our camp for meals. At meals though, he would pound into me the scary details
of climbing K2. I know the details - I wouldn't be there if I didn't! LOL!!
And although it was somewhat irksome to hear his nerve-wracking tales and statistics,
I knew he was doing his damdest to ensure that I knew what I was getting into, and
that I didn't push myself into a situation that I couldn't handle.
I appreciated his expertise
and experience, I'd be a fool not to.
Finally, it was time to go for the summit (...or in my case, my dumbed down goal of Camp 3).
We had camp-wide meetings to discuss weather and space availability. There was
some great communication
and sharing of weather reports. In a way, I had paid for weather from FTA, and
Fabrizio did the talking
for me. Hey! I know when I'm a novice folks, and when it comes to climbing K2,
it doesn't pay to
go around thinking you know more than you do.
(I'm proud to say that I learned a hell of a lot on K2, and am prepared to give
the mountain
another go in the future! You can read all you want, but until you're there and
feel the mountain's presence,
man, you haven't got that education!)
I was anxious the morning we were to go up. Fabrizio and I headed over to another
expedition's tent
as per the plan, and as we passed through the camp, we picked up the other expeditions.
Everyone was in this together...sort of.
You see, everyone else had a partner, but I was out of luck in that department.
Remember,
I wasn't a client with FTA, I paid for the structure of the expedition. If
I wanted a
partner to climb with, I needed to bring one...and although that was the plan a few
months ago,
it just didn't work out that way.
So, when we went up, I was going up alone. I had to get my own courage, and apply
my own skills. There was no one to lean on in that "partnership" way.
Fair enough though, if I hadn't joined FTA, I'm not convinced I would have gotten
as high as I did.
We went up and I didn't rush. I needed to conserve my energy, somewhat, for the days ahead.
I arrived and met my tentmate (sharing space with other expeditions is commonplace) - we then settled in.
It was an okay night, but seriously, thoughts of the horrendous rockfall at C3 and the tent
that had been avalanched there, percolated through my brain.
Morning came and it was time to head up. I waited and let everyone get ahead of me...
on this climb, I was the novice of the group. I didn't want to slow people up,
or accidently knock rock on to them. I then headed up the mountain by myself.
It was spooky for sure. And then I started to puke - oh man!
I would go a bit, and then keel over and gag - it got to the point where
there was nothing to come up anymore. What the hell!?
But I knew...I knew what was happening. It seemed like my body was making an excuse
to not go up anymore. I had spooked myself to the point of making myself
nauseous in order to convince my brain to go down. Brain vs body - Body wins!
I didn't turn around right away. I was carrying a stove for Fabrizio, but
I wasn't sure if he absolutely needed it, or if it was a back up.
Radio check wasn't until 1200hrs, so I just kept going up.
When it was time to call in, I was atop a ridge, called "Banana Ridge", and surrounded by
tent remnants - the tent graveyard I called it. I asked Fabrizio if he
needed the stove, and he confirmed my suspicions that he didn't require it (he
was travelling with another expedition). I asked how far it was to C3, and he said
about 3hrs - oi!! I had spent all morning puking and gagging - and should I arrive
at C3, I was looking at a night where there was a high probability of
rocks flying through the tent, and there is a
very strong likelihood of getting knocked out of this world by avalanche.
My K2 attempt was over. I felt satisfied that I had been challenged by
this mountain. And I knew it wasn't over yet...I still had to get down.
Remember, there is no one around! No babysitting here!!
So, I made my way down to C2 (and yes, there were some hair-raising "Aye-Yie" moments!)
On the way from C2 to base camp, I climbed down the mountain (as the line
was frozen into the slope), I was attacked by rocks, and I encountered
extremely sketchy fixed line ("hanging by a thread" is not just something you say!
If you don't inspect your rope - you could find yourself in this sh*tty situation!
I'm thankful that I was smart enough to check my ropes before I "sort of" weighted them!)
Oh yes, and avalanches! Awesome! ;-)
Once at the foot of the mountain, I still had to cross the glacier... alone.
Not sure if anyone remembers my last crevasse experience, but I sure
wasn't in the mood to have a similar encounter. Getting from the
base of the mountain to Base camp was unnerving. The snow covered terrain really gets your heart
pumping!
I came into camp, and stopped by the Polish Expedition tent for tea (they had kindly
invited me for tea over the radio).
I was so happy to be safely down the mountain.
As it turned out, the summit push (for all the expeditions) was not successful. The weather
rolled in and reduced visibility significantly.
Some folks did manage to make a fair attempt. Sadly, one of these climbers succumbed to a fatal fall.
Climbing K2 is difficult. Technically, it is hard but do-able. The most challenging aspect that I
experienced was the falling rock. Scary and a very real threat.
I do want to return to K2 in the future. Now that I know what the mountain demands of its climbers,
I feel I am more prepared to give the mountain a fair attempt when I return. I'll be sure to
pack a lot of courage!!
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