Among others, a Norwegian, who sets a record on K2 that day, has been criticized for the death of a Sherpa on K2. Now she expresses herself.
Kathmandu/Islamabad – After the death of a mountain porter on K2, criticism of the behavior of around 70 mountaineers at the accident site rained down. Drone footage of the accident site released by climbers shows several people stepping over the fallen and visibly injured Sherpa. Among other things, extreme mountaineer Kristin Harila was criticized. She also left the dying man behind so as not to jeopardize her record. During their ascent, the Pakistani mountain porter died. Now the record holder commented.
By climbing K2 in Pakistan on July 27, the 37-year-old Norwegian and her Nepalese guide Tenjin Sherpa set a new record – the fastest ascent of the 14 highest mountains in the world. They had conquered all eight-thousanders within 92 days.
“Inhumanity”: Criticism of record holder for lack of help for victims
Now she has to face the allegations of not having helped the injured Mohammad Hassan, who was traveling with another team. “No one will remember your sporting success, only your inhumanity,” wrote one Instagram user. Another comment said: “The blood of the Sherpas is on your hands”.
“I am angry at how many people are blaming each other for this tragic accident,” the Norwegian wrote on her website on Thursday. “No one was to blame.” Anyone who does not understand the situation cannot comment, according to the Norwegian.
“Heartbreaking”: It was not possible to bring the body down
According to Harila, her cameraman Gabriel and two other climbers – including “Hassan’s friend” – spent an hour and a half trying to pull the fallen Sherpa back up in the bottleneck, while several other climbers were behind them. Because of an avalanche warning call, she continued to climb while Gabriel and others stayed with the injured person, sharing oxygen and hot water with him. During this time, the other climbers passed them. After another hour, her cameraman also moved on because he needed more oxygen himself in the meantime.
“We realized that he (Hassan, d.R.) might not make it. It was heartbreaking.” On their descent, they found that the Sherpa had died in the meantime. But they weren’t enough people to carry his body downstairs. The Austrian extreme mountaineer Lukas Furtenbach sees it very differently, he says: “The Sherpas would have been able to save him.”
“Happened in the Most Dangerous Place”: Survival instincts influence actions
“It happened at the most dangerous point on one of the deadliest mountains on earth.” Harila emphasized that survival instincts would influence one’s decisions. Her cameraman stayed with the injured mountain porter as long as his oxygen supplies would have allowed it. In addition, she referred to a website for fundraising.
His death was “truly tragic and my heart goes out to the family,” Harila said. But “we had done our best, especially Gabriel”. At the same time, she emphasized that Hassan was inadequately equipped for the ascent. He wasn’t even wearing gloves.
K2: Only 300 climbers made the ascent
Climbers die again and again on the Himalayan mountains. The 8611 meter high K2 in Pakistan is the second highest mountain on earth and is considered to be far more challenging than Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Reasons include the steep route and the risk of avalanches. So far, only a good 300 people have climbed K2. (dpa/hk)
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