Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Hi Rose, you must have read this article recently: The Eves of the Killer Mountain
I've often wondered about Julie Tullis and her relationship with Kurt Diemberger. He obviously thought she was an excellent climbing partner and companion. If not for the storms those days she probably would have lived. Found this passage in Kurt's The Endless Knot:
"Did Julie know somehow in her heart of hearts that she would die up there? This was the only time in many years that she showed hesitation to push into the unknown - even though, in the end, still decided to go. I remember once on Nanga Parbat, just before setting out one day, having an urgent compulsion to make out my will - I only had time to scribble my signature on a piece of blank paper for my wife... and then I came back alive anyway. But is there a sixth sense that gives you a presentiment of the end, once you are close to it? As if a comet on collision course with a planet were conscious of the fact - or perhaps more aptly, a spaceship, conscious through its instruments before the crew were aware of the impending danger. Would the crew react to the warning - in time? The inner voice of individuals vary, even given the same situation, perhaps because their destined courses may be different. I am no fatalist, because most of what happens depends ultimately on the decisions taken."
I'm lucky enough to have a signed copy of The Kurt Diemberger Omnibus: Summit and Secrets, The Endless Knot, Spirits of the Air.
I've often wondered about Julie Tullis and her relationship with Kurt Diemberger. He obviously thought she was an excellent climbing partner and companion. If not for the storms those days she probably would have lived. Found this passage in Kurt's The Endless Knot:
"Did Julie know somehow in her heart of hearts that she would die up there? This was the only time in many years that she showed hesitation to push into the unknown - even though, in the end, still decided to go. I remember once on Nanga Parbat, just before setting out one day, having an urgent compulsion to make out my will - I only had time to scribble my signature on a piece of blank paper for my wife... and then I came back alive anyway. But is there a sixth sense that gives you a presentiment of the end, once you are close to it? As if a comet on collision course with a planet were conscious of the fact - or perhaps more aptly, a spaceship, conscious through its instruments before the crew were aware of the impending danger. Would the crew react to the warning - in time? The inner voice of individuals vary, even given the same situation, perhaps because their destined courses may be different. I am no fatalist, because most of what happens depends ultimately on the decisions taken."
I'm lucky enough to have a signed copy of The Kurt Diemberger Omnibus: Summit and Secrets, The Endless Knot, Spirits of the Air.
