Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Rose, armchair or not, I think you've made an important point on the vagaries of weather and the fall season on Everest is an excellent example. After watching lenticular clouds repeatedly form over Denali in early May, I am not surprised that the overall "success" (and I enjoyed PBob's discourse) rate was lower this year. Of those who did summit, some of them got lucky, but I'm sure there were others who summitted because they were ready to go when the weather broke or were willing to try when the weather was less than optimal.
And that's what popped into my head about summitting K2--recalling those who were willing to switch routes and/or hang in there longer than others, that their determination was the deciding factor in their reaching the top. The "failure" of the first Whittaker attempt on K2 was mainly due to expending a tremendous amount of energy on a ridiculous route that would not go. Kudos for wanting to establish a new route, but I think their own response to the expedition made it evident that summitting was their yardstick of success.
from another armchair K2 climber,
And that's what popped into my head about summitting K2--recalling those who were willing to switch routes and/or hang in there longer than others, that their determination was the deciding factor in their reaching the top. The "failure" of the first Whittaker attempt on K2 was mainly due to expending a tremendous amount of energy on a ridiculous route that would not go. Kudos for wanting to establish a new route, but I think their own response to the expedition made it evident that summitting was their yardstick of success.
from another armchair K2 climber,
