Climbing K2

Climbing K2

by Jaimee Blocksom

Publication Date: June 1996

On a Thursday evening, David Sympson of Louisville had a gathering of sixteen friends over for Cliftons pizza and his version of a home movie. He gave a two-hour slide-show of his 1993 ascent of K2, the world's second tallest mountain. Along with pizza and beverages, Dave passed out maps to each of his guests and indicated which mountains he has climbed: Mt. Rainier, Aconcagua, Mt. Makalu, Peak Lenin, K2 and Mt. Elbrus.

He was introduced to mountain climbing on a 1986 trip to Philmont, a Boy Scouting Camp in New Mexico, where he climbed Mt. Baldy. He enjoyed this so much that he signed up for a five-day mountaineering course through Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. In 1989 he climbed Mt. Rainier, in 1990 Mt. Elbrus of the Caucasus Mountain Region in Europe. In a 1991 attempt at Aconcagua in Argentina, he tried unsuccessfully to summit (which means reaching the mountain's highest point). A strong wind combined with a storm, prevented the final ascent, but he did reach a point of 19,500 feet. In 1991, Dave climbed 20,000 feet of Peak Lenin in the Soviet Union. Again, foul weather prevented him from reaching the summit.

While climbing Peak Lenin, Dave met another climber, Dan Mazur. Dan was the first climber to break through the three feet of snow that fell the night before, and Dave followed in his post holes (when breaking through fresh snow, a climber's footprints resemble large holes). Dan proved to be a valuable acquaintance. A few years later, as expedition leader for the West Ridge of K2, he invited Dave to join the team as a climber/trekker. (Getting invited on an expedition helps reduce the cost. Dave paid about $1600 for his share, not including airfare.)

K2 is located in the Karrakorums, near the Kashmir region of the Himalayan mountain range of Pakistan. It is the second highest mountain in the world, only a few hundred feet shorter than Everest. Perhaps it is easier to understand the enormity of K2 when you realize its base camp is located 2000 feet above Mt. Rainier's peak. After six months of coordination and planning, the West Ridge Expedition (an international expedition, composed of British, French, Irish, Canadian, Spanish, and US citizens) began their attempt on what has been called the world's hardest and deadliest mountain to climb. The first ascent of the West Ridge of K2 was made in 1981 by two Japanese climbers.

Once he agreed to go, Dave acquired a stack of paperwork about two inches thick. This pile included maps, itineraries, permits, visas and insurance forms, as well as general correspondence between expedition members. To physically prepare himself for the trip, Dave began hiking local hills while weighted down with a pack. He started with a 35 lbs. pack and gradually increased the weight to 80 lbs. by using plastic bottles weighted with sand. The hiking also helped Dave overcome shin splints, a common problem for him. Dave's regular routine consists of a careful diet and aerobic exercise on an aerodyne bike.

Expedition members were able to bring less than fifteen pounds of food on the expedition. Technical gear quickly consumes the weight restrictions allowed by airlines. Thus many meals were of local, indigenous food. Breakfast might have consisted of porridge, and lunch, canned meat or a candy bar. Dave lost 15 lbs. off his small frame, while other expedition members lost 35 lbs. To stay properly hydrated, the US Army recommends one quart of water per hour while exercising heavily at higher altitudes. This is an unbelievably large amount of water to consume, however, and Dave found that his limit seemed to be about six quarts per day. Water consumption is also hampered by the 10 to 1 ratio of melting snow; ten quarts of melted snow, yields only one quart of water.

The trip to K2 may have begun with a lot of paperwork and training, but the most memorable part of the trip for Dave was a 31 hour bus ride from Islamabad to Skardu. Though it was only 72 miles long, the winding road spared the bus only a few inches before dropping off 500-1000 feet. The inside of the bus was not large enough to accommodate all the expedition members, so a few had to ride on top of the packs strapped to the roof of the bus. The driver insisted on making the trip straight through with only a few breaks for tea. At 3:00 in the morning, an inside passenger noticed someone falling past his window. It seemed that one topside passenger, Jose, had decided to answer the call of nature and so stood up on the roof of the bus. Naturally, the bus hit a bump and Jose was airborne. He landed a few feet behind the bus and was almost run over when the bus driver backed up to better determine what happened.

They did safely reach Skardu, however, and the 22 expedition members (climbers and trekkers) were joined by 250 porters. The porters would carry their many supplies for the 91 mile journey to the base camp. After traveling to Askole by jeep, the travelers began a grueling four day hike, often covering around 25 miles a day. Once they reached the base camp, the expedition would separate. The summit team would continue on their ascent to the top, while others would remain in or near base camp. As a climber/trekker, Dave's name would not be on the summit permit. He would be able to ascent to any height he wished, except for the summit. Dave climbed as far as the advanced base camp, located at a height of approximately 19,800 feet.

The expedition passed the Gilkey Memorial dedicated to climbers who died on K2. Many bodies are strewn all around the mountain, as some bodies are unrecoverable. Some remain because they requested that if they died on K2, for it their final resting place. More remain because of economical factors: neither the families nor the governments of many Third World climbers can afford to have the dead returned home for burial.

Forty-seven percent of K2 summiters die on the descent. Perhaps they get "summit fever." Though it would be in their best interest to forego summiting and return to camp, especially in the face of early nightfall or an unexpected storm, they continue on. Having taken unnecessary risks or wasting too much time can make the descent even more dangerous and deadly. (The recent tragedy of Allison Hargreaves underscores the danger.)

Though David did not participate in the pursuit of the summit, his teammates sent him reports of their adventure. Wazim, a Pakistani whom Dave befriended, sent him the following story:

On 4th Sep 93 the big serac fell down. It was 1830 and I was all alone in my tent. I heard the voice, opened the zipper of the tent and saw it coming down, went in took my camera for a photo and when I reached out again...BOY, it was 20 yards away and 50 yards high, rolling towards me. I turned back threw my camera in and tried to close the zipper WHICH GOT STRUCK UP!!!! This was my Waterloo. It came right on my head I held the tent tight and burried my face in my knees. It rolled over my head and all our base camp in almost 25 seconds.

I was shocked and bewildered, sitting all alone under a massif K2!!! I kept sitting there for almost 15 minutes under snow. The tent was gone all the base camp under snow 6". I got up and made a round of the camp to see what was left. NOTHING. All under snow. The sun had already set. After an hour the storm came in and out of the frying pan and into the fire- was that night. God, that was the most scaring night of my life. But to my Fortune, there was a morning next day.

The West Ridge Expedition was the only team on K2 that year to escape the mountain without a fatality. They had four helicopter evacuations. One member had a heart attack. Another suffered from pulmonary edema (a fluid buildup in the lungs), while many suffered frostbite, including Etiene Fine from France, Dave's tent mate, who lost all of his toes to frostbite. Dave spent six weeks trekking to and climbing K2, but the summit party spent another 92 days in reaching their goal. British Jonathan Pratt and Daniel Mazur of the U.S. reached the summit September 3, 1993. Jonathan Pratt is the only Brit to have summited K2 and lived. All previous British summiters died during the descent.