Summit Journal Chat

Yes, thanks. That's the woman I was referring to. As I recall, she climbed K2 then promptly collapsed. Scott and EV had their hands full with Rob Hall's partner and her as well. I don't recall where else I read about her but it seemed to me that she had a tendency to expend all her energy getting up a mountain then collapsed and it was left to others to get her down. Maybe that was part of what EV meant. It sounds like she was a piece of work.

I was one of those who was critical of Allison Hargreaves until I read her book. Then I felt embarrassed for spouting off when I didn't know what I was talking about. She really was in a difficult spot and she deserved a lot of credit for the way she did her best to get through it doing what she knew best.

I guess I raised the issue of women on K2 because I don't really think (at some risk of putting my foot in my mouth) that there necessarily is a difference in how men and women handle extreme altitude. So the absence of women summiters of K2 has puzzled me. I guess as a more difficult mountain there are fewer people in general trying to climb it and proportionately fewer women? It seems that you have to be really lucky with the weather in order to climb K2. Maybe it's more luck and gumption rather than skill? (Now that sounds suspiciously like another time that I am speaking before checking to be sure I know what I am talking about.) But maybe some one can clarify???

Best regards,
Rose

Terry, I have no explanation for EV's complaint, unless the poor boy felt forced to have sex with her? He also made negative comments about her immediately after her death was announced--at the least they were in bad taste and, in the opinion of some of my Euro friends, were incorrect. If MY memory is correct, the comments were along the lines that she was a careless climber and was to blame for her death and the Sherpa who was with her. He then issued a rather lame excuse for the quotes--something along the lines that they were taken out of context.

WARNING!! Off-topic, potentially offensive post !!
 I have to admit that as I watched the final night of the Democratic National Convention I was quite touched when a dozen of John Kerry's Brothers-In-Arms who had served with him in Vietnam took the stage.
Men, most now showing their age, some balding, some spreading around the middle, some hobbled. But men who had served their country in a cause, certainly controversial at best, or perhaps, quixotic, or at worst a travesty. But, men who served. Who did not use power or position or privilege to evade or shirk.
It was really a wonderful image of the best of America.
With this in mind, I am looking forward to seeing a dozen or so of George W. Bush's service mates from the Alabama National Guard on stage with him at the RNC.

Rose, alas, Lass, I fear my memory fails me too.  I had to google 'Chantal Mauduit' to jog my memory about the events surrounding her demise. She died in a tent on Dhauligiri in May 1998. The fog enshrouded tendrils of my memory tell me that she was sharing a tent with someone famous when the avalanche hit. But I can't remember who it was. A Sherpa, perhaps?
Tim, why did EV complain when Chantal Mauduit came into his tent to thank him for his assistance on K2 ?

Rose, your memory isn't bad at all (or, at least, it agrees with mine!).  I think there was, prior to this latest summit, no female alive who had summitted K2. Chantal Mauduit received assistance from EV and company on the descent, and after she visited his tent at base camp to "thank" him, he COMPLAINED about it. Mauduit had a controversial summit of Lhotse but she was an accomplished rock climber and writes of the joy of climbing in "J'habite au Paradis." Wanda Rutkiewicz was the first woman to climb K2 (and survived the descent) but later died on Kanchenjunga.  Allison Hargreaves' tour de force on Everest was overshadowed by her death on K2 and the "controversy" of a MOTHER who would risk her life to climb.  Julie Tullis and Liliane Barrard are the only other women summiters i can think of (1986), so it has been some time--Heidi Howkins got a book contract out of her attempts, but she really never came close.

Hi Everyone,
I was just checking out Everest.Net regarding K2 climbs this year.  As I recall (and I may be wrong about this) there have not been any K2 summits for the last few years.  But there have been some this year, including a woman who has actually gotten back down to basecamp to tell the tale.  I was checking out posters on EV's website a couple of years ago and found one of he and Scott Fisher on K2.  It's really mind-boggling. They are traversing a very steep face - this looks like it must be the place that EV has referred to as his scarriest time in the mountains. It looks as if the snow will let go at any time.

In any event, I think it's great to finally have a woman summiter of K2 who has gotten back down safely.  I think that there was a French woman who did it the year that Scott and EV did it but she later died in her tent due to an avalanche(?on Everest? my memory of these things seems to be fading). 

Oh well.  Hi to all.

Best regards,
Rose

 

Carrie, yes, we were thinking it would be a nice bday gift for your husband, but I was too busy watching the DNC convention, and by the time I went to bid, it was closed.  I am terribly sorry.

Lori - Darn! I guess we missed our chance, the auction is over. There was a total of ONE bid for $1000 which means seven of the eight spots went unclaimed. Interesting...

Did anyone see the auroras this weekend? We were at our favorite local astronomy site in eastern Washington and saw spectacular auroras that went on all night long. It was beautiful.