One Mountain Thousand Summits: The Untold Story of Tragedy and True Heroism on K2

by Freddie Wilkinson

Overview

The account of one of the deadliest and most mysterious tragedies in mountaineering history-the 2008 K2 disaster.

One Mountain Thousand Summits reveals the true story of the K2 tragedy that claimed the lives of eleven men. Based on his numerous trips to Nepal and in-depth interviews he conducted with the survivors, the families of the lost climbers, and the Sherpa guides whose heroic efforts saved the lives of at least four climbers, Freddie Wilkinson's narrative uncovers what actually occurred on the mountain, while delivering a criticism of the mainstream press's incomplete coverage of the event, and an insightful look into the lives of the six Sherpas who were involved.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451233318
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/05/2011
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	825,198
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Freddie Wilkinson is a professional alpine climber, mountain guide, and author. He is the recipient of several honors, including the American Alpine Club's Robert Hicks Bates and Lyman Spitzer Awards, the Mugs Stump Award, the McNeill-Nott Award, the prestigious Piolet d'Or, and a grant from the National Geographic Expeditions Council. In addition to having his writing published nationwide in the New York Times, the Huffington Post, National Geographic, Men's Journal, and more, Wilkinson is the author of One Mountain Thousand Summits and the writer and codirector of the documentaries The Old Breed and The Sanctity of Space.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

Part 1

Maps 18

Dramatis Personae 22

1 Light a Candle 25

2 Status: Unknown 49

3 Signals Interference 70

4 Wilco and Marco 87

5 Death in the Information Age 102

Part 2

6 A Cindered Planet 126

7 Contact 147

8 A Critical Situation 169

9 Pemba's Choice 191

Part 3

10 The House of Bhote 224

11 Risk/Reward 237

12 Identity Crisis 256

August 2 Map 272

13 Life Rights 280

14 Belief 300

Acknowledgments 321

A Note on Sources 325

Chapter Notes 327

Index 333

Editorial Reviews

Wilkinson, a veteran alpinist and mountaineering scribe, closely examines the mysterious tragedy that cost the lives of 11 men on the unforgiving K2, the world's second highest mountain, on August 2008, in his new book. Interviewing not only the survivors and the families of the victims but the heroic Sherpa guides in Nepal, he gives the daunting legacy of the challenging terrain and a blow-byblow account, with clinical accuracy and detail, of the disaster that nearly wiped out the international climbing team. Wilkinson also describes what makes an experienced climber challenge himself to risk death using his technical skills, endurance, and mental stamina while battling bone-chilling cold, altitude sickness, and avalanches. In this powerful rendering of a well-publicized grim event, there is so much said about the courage and heroism of the climbers braving these geological wonders and the media's silence over the neglected native saviors. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly