Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day
Page 28
see also Abruzzi route; Cesen route; specific teams and people
K2, 2008 disaster on, Base Camp of, 101–6, 109–15, 139, 140, 151, 207–10, 216, 240n
departure from, 129
departure preparations at, 124–27
evacuations from, 210–13, 256n
field hospital created at, 210
Iso’s radioing of, 132
on maps, 94, 98
meetings at, 119, 122–23, 131
Shaheen’s rescue and, 133, 134–35
weather reported to, 119, 250n
Wilco’s location and, 207–8
K2, 2008 disaster on, Camp 4 of, 134, 142–46, 152, 169, 182, 185, 206, 208, 250n
Chhiring’s return to, 183–84
convergence of routes at, 119, 120, 121, 131
Fredrik at, 143, 151
lead team departure from, 122, 144–46
on maps, 120, 121, 147, 162
Ms. Go’s return to, 186–87
Nick Rice’s failure to leave from, 146
overcrowding at, 142–43
Pasang’s return to, 178–80, 183, 253n
photos taken from, 195, 253n, 254n, 255n
Wilco’s location and, 207
K2 summit, K2, 122, 142–46, 154–55, 157–60, 181, 185
on maps, 120, 147, 162
number of people to reach, 31, 77, 145, 155, 159
overcrowding and, 142–43
see also summits
K3 (Broad Peak), 78, 87–88, 96, 133, 191
K4 (Gasherbrum II), 78, 88, 96, 248n
K32, 29
Kanchenjunga, 16
Kanjutis (Hunzas), 82
Karakorum, 28–29, 36, 70, 82, 87, 95, 248n
etymology of word, 28
lack of margin of error in, 211–12
on maps, xiv, 30, 94
mountaineering incentives in, 109
see also K2
Karakorum (city), 28
Karakorum Highway, 78, 94, 95, 214
Karakorum Pass, 28
Kashgar, 66
Kashmir, 28, 29, 32, 36, 85
Kasthamandap, 22
katas (Buddhist offerings), 102
Kathmandu, 20–23, 25, 26, 210, 216
apocalypse feared in, 20–21
Boudhanath stupa in, 22, 104, 105
Chhiring’s arrival in, 20–21
Chhiring’s return to, 219–20
Chhiring’s townhouse in, 27
in civil war, 53, 54
documentary film crew in, 224
earthquakes in, 21
electrical problems in, 227
Gauri Shankar summits seen from, 238n
hippies in, 22
Hotel de l’Annapurna in, 62–63, 221–22
Little Tibet in, 22
on maps, xiv, 10
Marco’s meeting with Gamu Bhoteni in, 223
as mountaineering launch pad, 22
Narayanhity Palace in, 48–51, 242n
origins of, 21–22
Pasang in, 54–55, 57, 58, 60–63
Phurbu in, 56
pollution in, 21, 57
Sherpa names in, 66
Tenzing in, 74–75
traffic in, 21, 57
U.S. Embassy in, 21
Ketaki Chester, Princess of Nepal, 50
Kevlar helmets, 113
Khamba, 244n
Khampas, 66, 244n
Kham region, 66, 244n
Khan, Muhammad (Muhammad Sanap Akram), 122, 144, 250n
Kharta, 10
Kharta region, 70–71, 245n, 246n
Khumbu region, 66, 172
Khumbu Valley, 10, 17, 71, 76
Khumjung, 71
Khurdopin glacier, 90–91, 94
Khuro (shield bearer), 79
Khurpa Care, 100
khurpas (low-altitude porters), 249n
kidneys, 116, 163
Kikuli (rescuer), 35
Kila, 181
Kim Hyo-gyeong, 159, 187
Kim Jae-soo, 60–63, 122, 156, 159, 160, 163–65, 209
gear of, 126–27
at K2 Base Camp, 104–5
Lahmu’s meeting with, 220–21
late return of, 185–88
running out of oxygen of, 163–64
at tea party, 219
Kitar (rescuer), 35
Klinke, Chris, 208, 256n
Knight, E. F., 83, 247n
knives, 69, 76
knots:
Figure-8-on-a-bight, 164, 165, 170, 171
rescues and, 196
Koirala, Girija Prasad, 243n
Kolon Sport, 60–61, 160, 209, 221, 224
Korean language, 123, 219
Korean team, see South Korean K2 Abruzzi Spur Flying Jump
Krakauer, Jon, 42
“Krakauer effect,” 42
Kyirong (village), 68
Kyirong clan, 68
Lacedelli, Lino, 40, 155, 241n
Lakpa Futi (Chhiring’s mother), 17, 172
death of, 18, 44, 230
Lama, Pasang, 10, 54–63, 70, 156–60, 223–25, 228–30
in Base Camp, 208–9
becomes a porter, 54, 58–60
Chhiring’s rescue of, 162, 173–78, 257n
civil war’s displacement of, 48, 54
controversy surrounding Mrs. Go and, 243n–44n
on definition of Sherpa, 68
discrimination experienced by, 57, 63, 68
education of, 56, 57, 58
evacuation of, 210
as family pariah, 221
at Hotel de l’Annapurna, 62–63
ice axe abandoned by, 165, 171, 173, 174, 223–24
as “The Joker,” 54
as “Little Pasang,” 55
lucky ring of, 125
Manaslu and, 221, 228–29
name change of, 56–57
oxygen given up by, 163–64
oxygen prepared by, 143, 251n
rope system created by, 162, 164–65
in South Korean K2 Abruzzi Spur Flying Jump, 2–7, 60–63, 106, 115, 120, 122, 129, 143–46, 148, 156–59, 162, 163–65, 170–80, 183, 187, 210, 221, 253n
stealing by, 59–60
at tea party, 218
Tsering met by, 203
on weak climbers, 160
Lama, Pasang Dawa, Wiessner and, 33–36, 239n, 240n
Lama, Tsering (Chhiring Lama; Chhiring Bhote), 61, 253n
Lama clan, 67
lamas, 33, 56, 70
of Chhiring, 2, 26, 27, 104, 124, 172
climbing Everest and, 24
death rites and, 18
names and, 67
sky burials and, 103
Surra and, 69
Lambert, Raymond, 245n
languages, 68
Ajak Bhote, 56, 122
Balti, 29, 99, 122, 239n, 249n
Chhiring’s knowledge of, 23
English, 23, 114, 122, 123, 145, 215
Nepali, 57, 122, 145, 224
organizational issues and, 122–23, 145, 147, 153, 185
porters and, 99
Sherpa dialects and, 66
Tibetan, 56, 239n
Urdu, 122, 145, 219
Wakhi, 87, 99, 110, 122, 248n
Lashkar Khan, 210
latrines, 99
legends and myths, 14–16, 237n
about Shah dynasty, 51–52
about Shimshal, 79–81
Wiessner’s fostering of, 35
Lehman Brothers, 216
Lhotse, Mount, 10, 60, 229–30
Life, 84–85
light, oxygen deprivation and, 201
Liliwa, 98
Little Tibet, 22
liver, 163
logistical meetings, 119, 122–23
London, 216
longevity, 15–16, 84
Los Angeles International Airport, 222
low-altitude porters (LAPS), 94, 96–100, 249n
lungs, 116, 117, 130, 142, 163, 168, 182, 204
acute vasospasm and, 163, 164
&nb
sp; avalanches and, 200, 201
of Shaheen, 132, 133, 134
Lung Ta (wind horse), 104
Makalu, Mount, 10, 55, 69, 228–29
Mallory, George, 70–71
Manaslu, 220–21, 228–29
mandarin oranges, 59
Mandic, Dren, 114, 115, 126, 208, 213
fall and death of, 147, 149–55, 251n
Mantle, Mickey, 74
mantras, 46, 103, 104, 113, 124, 144
Maoists, in Nepal, 10, 52, 53–54, 60, 61
Mao Zedong, 76
maps:
of Abruzzi and Cesen Routes, 120, 121
approach to K2, 98
Camp 4 to Summit, 147
Karakorum, Himalaya, and Hindu Kush, xiv
of Kashmir, 29
Montgomerie’s sketch of K2, 30
Rolwaling, Khumbu, and Arun regions of Nepal, 10
Shimshal to K2, 94
of Shimshal Valley, Pakistan, 78
Summit to Camp 4, 162
marriage, 68, 81–82, 126, 192, 229
bride abduction and, 69
honeymoons and, 5, 84–85
intermarriage, 66, 70, 71, 73, 75
Mars candy bars, 133
martial law, 53
Masherbrum, see K1
Masood, Amir, 211–13
matchlocks, 82
Mazur, Dan, 253n
McAleese, Mary, 216
McDonnell, Gerard (Ger), 112–13, 115, 121, 123, 141, 188–90, 193–98
attempted rescue of tangled climbers by, 162, 193–96, 254n, 255n
death of, 162, 216
Falvey’s documentary and, 224
at K2 summit, 159, 216
personal items of, 127
route lost by, 5, 162, 180–83
singing of, 5, 181
McGuinness, Jamie, 105
meat, 99, 106, 110, 245n
Mecca, 97, 110
media, 35, 40, 41, 43, 76
Italian, 205, 222, 223
K2 disaster and, 6, 215–16, 222
Korean, 219
murder of Shah family and, 243n
non-Western focus in, 224, 257n
Rice and, 222
Wilco’s location and, 256n
medical exams, 85
medicine, see drugs
Mehdi, Amir, 39, 41, 85, 241n
Meherban, Abrar, 89, 214
Meherban, Karim, 78, 88–91, 95–98, 109–11, 126, 197–98
fall and death of, 162, 183, 213–14, 225, 226
at K2 summit, 159
memorial plate for, 209
photos and, 183, 197, 253n
and sound of avalanche, 200
wandering off of, 5, 154, 162, 164, 165, 166, 170, 182–83
weather prediction and, 118, 119, 136, 137
Meherban, Parveen, 89, 90, 214, 225
Meherban, Rahmin Ullah, 214, 225
Meherban, Shadi, 90–91, 225, 226–27
Meherban, Umbreen, 214
memorial plates, 209–10
merchants, from Xinjiang, 80–81
Merseyside Himalayan Expedition, 238n
Meru, Mount, 22
Messner, Reinhold, 40, 61
Météo-France, 137
meteorologists, 115, 118–19, 136–37, 138
Métis temp agency, 159
Meyer, Eric, 43–47, 151, 153
background of, 44
on Camp 2 tents, 131
at Camp 4, 144, 183–84, 187, 251n
Chhiring’s return and, 183
field hospital created by, 210
at K2 Base Camp, 103, 104, 105, 114, 210
medicine of, 114, 127, 131–32, 135, 139, 151, 183–84
Shaheen treated by, 131–32
military, U.S., 206
Miracle Belay, 37
Mirjana (Mandic’s girlfriend), 126
Miyolangsangma, 16, 23–24, 25
Modafinil, 184
money:
power of, 25
see also wages and income
Mongolia, Mongols, 14, 28, 66
“Montanara, La” (song), 181
Montgomerie, Thomas, 29, 30
moon, 35, 154, 164
Moorcroft, William, 28
Moro, Simone, 87–88, 223, 248n
Motivator, The, 146
mountaineering, 70–71
changes in spirit of, 41
Chhiring’s worries about, 19–20
expedition-style vs. alpine-style climbing and, 127–29
K2 and, 1–7, 31–36
Kathmandu as base for, 22
Nepal civil war and, 54
self-sufficiency and, 3
mountaineering jobs, competition for, 69–72
Mountain Madness, 42
mountain sickness, acute, 117
Mount Everest Summiters Club, 27
mouth, Muslim view of, 110
Muhammad, Prophet, 87, 108, 110
Muhammad Nazim Khan, Mir, 84–85
Munter hitch, 196
murder:
of Nepalese royal family, 48–52, 58, 242n, 243n
by Safdar Ali, 83, 247n–48n
Murph Goes to K2 (documentary), 46
music, 5, 123, 126, 181
Muslims, Islam, 36, 134, 239n, 245n
beards and, 87
conversion to, 79
Danish satirizing of, 107–8
food and, 99, 110, 126
Ismaili, 98, 110
mouth as viewed by, 110
salat and, 97, 115
in Tibet, 66
see also Allah; Qur’an, Quranic law
myths, see legends and myths
names:
Pasang’s changing of, 56–57
of Sherpa, 66–68, 245n
Nanga Parbat, 39, 72, 85, 228
crystal palace of, 89, 248n
German expeditions to, 19, 238n
as “The Killer Mountain,” 89
Nangpa La Pass, 71
Narayanhity Palace, 48–51, 242n
National Geographic Adventure, 6, 223
National Park Service, U.S., 109
nausea, 132, 133
Nazir Sabir Expeditions, 86, 96
Nehru, Jawaharlal, 74
neoprene masks, 87
Nepal:
caps on climbing expeditions and, 108
civil war in, 48, 52–54, 58, 60, 243n
on collision course between continental plates, 12
economy of, 21
Maoists in, 10, 52, 53–54, 60, 61
on maps, xiv, 10, 78
mountaineering forbidden by, 71
permits in, 249n
problems with feudal system in, 52–53
royal family murdered in, 48–52, 58, 242n, 243n
Sherpa ancestors’ move to, 14
Sherpa as percent of population of, 13, 237n
sky burial in, 249n
Tenzing’s Everest climb and, 74, 75
Nepali language, 57, 122, 145, 224
Nessa, Lars Flato, 159, 173, 254n
emergency rope carried by, 252n
photo taken by, 254n
Rolf’s disappearance and death and, 168–69, 252n
videotaping by, 166
New Age movement, 21
New York Times, 6, 41, 216, 246n
New York Yankees, 74
nicknames, 66–67
Nirajan, Prince of Nepal, 50–51
nitric oxide, 65, 117
Norit Group, 160
North Col, 145
Northern Areas, 85
North Pole, 32, 38, 114
North Ridge, 61
North-West Frontier Province, 226
Norway, 25, 126, 222
Norwegian K2 Expedition, see Bae, Rolf; Nessa, Lars Flato; Skog, Cecilie
NOS3 gene, 164
Oceana (steamer), 32
offerings, 74, 102, 104, 124, 155
Omaha Beach, D-Day at, 31
Operation Everest II, 44
opium, 31, 49, 242n
Oppitz, Michael,
244n
Outside, 6
overcrowding, 142–43, 148, 155
oxygen, 65, 117, 130, 142, 182, 201
in the Death Zone, 116
oxygen, bottled, 24, 61, 116, 118, 124, 126–29, 134, 143, 149, 188, 193
alpine-style climbing and, 128
cost of, 143, 251n
expedition-style climbing and, 127, 129
given to Marco, 204–5
going without, 2, 25–26, 41, 43, 45, 77, 86, 128, 144, 149, 194, 205
Italian expedition and, 39, 40, 241n
at K2 summit, 159
running out of, 163–64, 166
oxygen deprivation, 1, 30, 37, 44, 118, 145, 170, 201–2
Sherpa adaptation to, 64–65
vision and, 201
oxygen masks, 204–5, 241n, 246n
Padova, ice cream parlor in, 117
Pakistan, 16, 29, 40, 107–23, 159, 189, 191, 216
creation of, 36, 85
Fearless Five in, 95–96, 101, 210–15
Hunza and, 85, 248n
India’s border disputes with, 211
and limits on K2 expeditions, 41, 45, 108
on maps, xiv, 10, 78, 94
porters from, 39, 96–101
wages in, 99
see also Shimshal; Shimshal Valley
Paldorje clan, 103
Paras, King of Nepal, 52
Park Kyeong-hyo, 122, 123, 143, 159, 187
Parliament, Nepal, 53
Parvati (Gauri), 238n
Passu, 78, 91, 94
patricide, 83
Patriot Extreme, 101
Peak Freaks, 42
Peary, Robert, 38
“People’s War, The,” 53
permits, 105, 108, 249n
Petzl, 240n
Phinsoo (rescuer), 35
photographs, 74, 119, 197, 215, 241n, 246n, 254n
of body remains, 110, 249n
Hoselito’s, 125
of Jumik, 196, 200, 205, 254n
of Karim, 183, 197, 253n
summit, 152, 160, 180
Pius XII, Pope, 40
Planic, Iso, 132, 149, 151–52, 154
plates, memorial, 209–10
politics, in Hunza, 86, 248n
pollution, 21, 57
polo, 80–81
population:
in Beding, 26, 239n
in Hungung, 56, 243n
in Kathmandu, 21
in Rolwaling Valley, 16
Sherpa as percent of, 13, 237n
in Shimshal, 81, 86
pork, 99
portering, porters, 39, 41
Chhiring and, 19, 20, 22–26
equipment resold by, 99
high-altitude (HAPs), see high-altitude porters
insurance and, 100–101, 249n
low-altitude (LAPS), 94, 96–100, 249n
Pasang and, 54, 58–60
Pem Phutar as, 19, 238n
Ruttledge’s recruiting of, 71
Tenzing and, 72
types of provisions carried by, 96
see also specific people
potatoes, 16, 18, 58, 228, 237n
Powers, Phil, 6
Prati, Vincenzo, 216
Pratt, Jonathan, 253n
pressure breathing (positive end expiratory pressure; PEEP), 130
Prithvi Narayan, King of Nepal, 51, 52