1
00:00:35,500 --> 00:00:38,404
I think people are
interested in trying to know
2
00:00:38,434 --> 00:00:41,566
what actually happened
to our minds.
3
00:00:41,591 --> 00:00:43,897
8,000 meter,
you're in the death zone.
4
00:00:46,918 --> 00:00:48,679
There is a struggle.
5
00:00:48,703 --> 00:00:51,933
There is a fight
in every breath,
6
00:00:51,957 --> 00:00:54,480
in every thought.
7
00:00:58,206 --> 00:00:59,457
Everything hurts.
8
00:00:59,482 --> 00:01:02,897
Every limb,
every cell is screaming,
9
00:01:02,927 --> 00:01:05,863
"Oxygen, oxygen, oxygen."
10
00:01:07,838 --> 00:01:10,742
You don't feel the cold anymore.
11
00:01:10,772 --> 00:01:13,708
Time seems to stand still.
12
00:01:25,761 --> 00:01:27,425
There's so many reasons
to turn around
13
00:01:27,451 --> 00:01:31,225
and only a couple of reasons
to continue.
14
00:01:39,315 --> 00:01:40,663
In one hand,
15
00:01:40,686 --> 00:01:45,982
people question us
climbing a mountain like K2.
16
00:01:47,830 --> 00:01:49,656
In the other hand,
17
00:01:49,679 --> 00:01:53,355
they're upset
why people don't go up
18
00:01:53,379 --> 00:01:55,521
and rescue people
19
00:01:55,548 --> 00:02:00,463
in this dreadful environment.
20
00:02:00,491 --> 00:02:03,362
Where you likely will be killed
21
00:02:03,393 --> 00:02:05,470
by doing so.
22
00:02:07,347 --> 00:02:10,315
There will be things
we never will know,
23
00:02:10,345 --> 00:02:12,966
but the question
you should ask yourself.
24
00:02:12,992 --> 00:02:15,329
"What would you do?"
25
00:02:26,609 --> 00:02:28,915
Mind you, K2 climbers, huh?
26
00:02:28,938 --> 00:02:30,221
This is unbelievable.
27
00:02:30,245 --> 00:02:31,974
There's Nanga.
28
00:02:31,999 --> 00:02:32,955
K2?
29
00:02:32,956 --> 00:02:33,912
Nanga. Nanga.
30
00:02:33,913 --> 00:02:34,868
Nanga Parbat.
31
00:02:34,869 --> 00:02:36,696
- Yeah.
- Oh, my God.
32
00:02:36,719 --> 00:02:39,535
And then we'll show you K2,
your destination, okay?
33
00:02:39,557 --> 00:02:41,351
We're on our way in.
34
00:02:53,494 --> 00:02:55,538
- Up there.
- Yeah?
35
00:02:55,567 --> 00:02:56,556
Whoop!
36
00:03:20,559 --> 00:03:21,822
You're gonna have to run this bit
37
00:03:21,845 --> 00:03:22,801
'cause there's rockfall.
38
00:03:22,802 --> 00:03:23,757
Really?
39
00:03:23,758 --> 00:03:24,976
Yeah, they've been running it.
40
00:03:26,278 --> 00:03:27,333
Go. Go. Go.
41
00:03:27,362 --> 00:03:30,363
Shit.
42
00:04:06,142 --> 00:04:07,458
It's good to be back here,
43
00:04:07,482 --> 00:04:11,125
and it's nice to wake up
to this sight this morning.
44
00:04:27,318 --> 00:04:30,798
It's my belief that everybody
has the love of climbing.
45
00:04:30,826 --> 00:04:32,425
You know, the first thing
a child Wants to do
46
00:04:32,452 --> 00:04:33,920
is climb something.
47
00:04:33,951 --> 00:04:35,898
The art of rock climbing
is relearning
48
00:04:35,928 --> 00:04:39,061
what you knew intuitively
as a child.
49
00:04:40,424 --> 00:04:42,317
You get such a big respect
for this mountain
50
00:04:42,338 --> 00:04:44,350
and all the climbers
who did it before you.
51
00:04:44,379 --> 00:04:48,371
If you want to have a nice story
on the birthday parties,
52
00:04:48,398 --> 00:04:49,866
you know, you climb Everest,
53
00:04:49,896 --> 00:04:53,061
but K2 is really, I think,
for the real mountaineers.
54
00:04:53,086 --> 00:04:54,815
- Hello!
- Hello.
55
00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:55,795
How are you?
56
00:04:55,796 --> 00:04:56,851
Good.
57
00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:05,588
Pretty good view, I reckon.
58
00:05:05,619 --> 00:05:08,371
I think it's pretty hard
to beat, actually.
59
00:05:08,393 --> 00:05:11,971
There is quite different
between people from Himalaya
60
00:05:11,997 --> 00:05:14,205
and from Western world.
61
00:05:14,229 --> 00:05:16,720
It's quite different,
because the Western people,
62
00:05:16,749 --> 00:05:19,087
they are more adventurer.
63
00:05:19,109 --> 00:05:21,697
They love more adventure.
64
00:05:21,724 --> 00:05:24,595
Our people also like adventure,
65
00:05:24,626 --> 00:05:27,117
but they love climbing.
66
00:05:27,146 --> 00:05:28,614
Where are we?
67
00:05:28,645 --> 00:05:30,917
Oh, we are now climbing K2.
68
00:05:30,940 --> 00:05:31,896
All right.
69
00:05:31,897 --> 00:05:33,659
Yes.
70
00:05:33,683 --> 00:05:35,249
The first man to climb K2
71
00:05:35,278 --> 00:05:39,269
was from my valley,
Achille Compagnoni.
72
00:05:39,296 --> 00:05:44,080
So K2 is our mountain.
73
00:05:47,524 --> 00:05:49,253
Everything is raw.
74
00:05:49,278 --> 00:05:50,594
It's glaciers.
75
00:05:50,617 --> 00:05:53,173
It's black mountains.
76
00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,691
It fills you with respect.
77
00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,645
K2 is absolutely the king.
78
00:06:03,087 --> 00:06:07,589
The higher it gets,
the more interesting it gets.
79
00:06:07,616 --> 00:06:12,368
So when it comes to climbing
8,000-meter peaks,
80
00:06:12,399 --> 00:06:13,715
you want to do it,
81
00:06:13,738 --> 00:06:17,033
but at the same time,
you have this fear.
82
00:06:17,055 --> 00:06:18,468
This is serious.
83
00:06:18,490 --> 00:06:19,904
This is for real.
84
00:06:21,041 --> 00:06:24,586
If you make one step wrong,
you're history.
85
00:06:31,980 --> 00:06:34,253
Finally here.
Such a relief.
86
00:06:34,276 --> 00:06:36,190
Fantastic job.
87
00:06:36,222 --> 00:06:37,821
Good job.
88
00:06:37,848 --> 00:06:39,892
Let's get the tents up,
the stoves going,
89
00:06:39,921 --> 00:06:41,650
and prepare for tonight.
90
00:06:41,675 --> 00:06:42,860
Good?
91
00:06:42,887 --> 00:06:44,072
Yes.
92
00:06:45,375 --> 00:06:47,582
For three months,
we were on this expedition,
93
00:06:47,607 --> 00:06:51,566
so when we reached Camp Four,
it was already a magic moment.
94
00:06:51,593 --> 00:06:54,594
The whole Earth is beside you.
95
00:06:55,930 --> 00:06:57,529
And then you look behind you.
96
00:06:57,557 --> 00:06:59,286
You see another mountain.
97
00:07:00,938 --> 00:07:02,982
And that's K2.
It's a mountain on a mountain.
98
00:07:03,935 --> 00:07:05,664
Ger was coming.
I was filming.
99
00:07:05,690 --> 00:07:08,343
I was asking Ger,
"How are you feeling?"
100
00:07:08,368 --> 00:07:10,162
And, you know,
he was almost crying.
101
00:07:11,142 --> 00:07:14,340
Ah, so happy to be here,
102
00:07:14,363 --> 00:07:16,952
I could almost cry.
103
00:07:16,978 --> 00:07:20,654
'06, we failed to get here.
104
00:07:20,678 --> 00:07:22,146
Here we are now,
105
00:07:22,177 --> 00:07:24,700
and it's wonderful.
106
00:07:24,728 --> 00:07:26,772
You could hear his voice, you know.
107
00:07:26,801 --> 00:07:28,878
"It's something what we
already achieved," you know?
108
00:07:28,906 --> 00:07:30,189
"It's already something."
109
00:07:30,214 --> 00:07:31,650
That's what he said.
110
00:07:43,321 --> 00:07:44,886
We had a brilliant night.
111
00:07:44,916 --> 00:07:45,971
There were no clouds.
112
00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:47,468
There was nothing.
113
00:07:50,688 --> 00:07:52,319
And then we went to the summit.
114
00:08:08,834 --> 00:08:10,084
- Are you afraid?
- No.
115
00:08:10,109 --> 00:08:11,065
- No?
- I am.
116
00:08:11,066 --> 00:08:12,860
- No.
- I'm scared to death.
117
00:08:17,126 --> 00:08:21,280
It felt, overall, like...
like this was our day.
118
00:08:21,303 --> 00:08:25,392
So we moved up
along the slopes above Four.
119
00:08:25,417 --> 00:08:27,461
Fred and I started out
a little more slowly.
120
00:08:27,490 --> 00:08:31,579
Both of us felt really strong,
very positive.
121
00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:33,970
There were perfect conditions.
122
00:08:33,996 --> 00:08:37,889
I mean, we're talking about
a day in a million.
123
00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:41,812
There wasn't a day like this
that I can remember,
124
00:08:41,841 --> 00:08:44,266
because it was warm.
125
00:08:46,529 --> 00:08:50,901
Starting to get light enough
to see the route up ahead.
126
00:08:50,931 --> 00:08:52,247
And I'm looking up,
127
00:08:52,270 --> 00:08:54,662
seeing a tightly spaced group
of climbers
128
00:08:54,694 --> 00:08:57,184
moving extremely slowly.
129
00:08:59,191 --> 00:09:00,376
They're not moving.
130
00:09:01,327 --> 00:09:03,056
What are they doing?
131
00:09:04,101 --> 00:09:08,408
We are way back in time.
132
00:09:10,958 --> 00:09:13,068
We are really late.
133
00:09:13,094 --> 00:09:15,650
I don't know what the fuck
we're gonna do.
134
00:09:15,678 --> 00:09:17,472
Very disappointing.
135
00:09:17,496 --> 00:09:20,758
I was so devastated.
136
00:09:20,781 --> 00:09:23,913
You put in so much effort
for months,
137
00:09:23,938 --> 00:09:27,896
and then you just realize
that there is no way
138
00:09:27,924 --> 00:09:30,034
that we're gonna be able
to summit
139
00:09:30,060 --> 00:09:32,877
and come back down in daylight.
140
00:09:34,621 --> 00:09:35,677
We just went down.
141
00:09:35,705 --> 00:09:37,402
It was simple as that.
142
00:09:43,232 --> 00:09:46,527
Everybody thinks that
coming down is the easy bit.
143
00:09:46,549 --> 00:09:48,310
It makes sense,
144
00:09:48,335 --> 00:09:51,239
but don't believe it
for one minute.
145
00:09:56,913 --> 00:10:00,143
I went up in '54 for my country,
146
00:10:00,166 --> 00:10:01,319
for Italy.
147
00:10:02,462 --> 00:10:05,594
At the time,
it seems like suicide.
148
00:10:05,619 --> 00:10:09,611
No one knew what would happen
to a human body or mind
149
00:10:09,637 --> 00:10:11,747
at that altitude.
150
00:10:13,592 --> 00:10:16,463
They tested us
in a ridiculous manner
151
00:10:16,494 --> 00:10:18,223
for months.
152
00:10:18,248 --> 00:10:19,205
I didn't care.
153
00:10:20,991 --> 00:10:24,536
Of the 11 climbers
chosen for the K2 expedition,
154
00:10:24,563 --> 00:10:28,391
I, Walter Bonatti,
was the youngest.
155
00:10:31,133 --> 00:10:33,590
I should have died on K2.
156
00:10:35,215 --> 00:10:38,064
But the thing that was
to affect me most profoundly
157
00:10:38,085 --> 00:10:39,945
was after the climb.
158
00:10:42,008 --> 00:10:44,052
It was the story.
159
00:10:58,049 --> 00:10:59,998
Many of the other climbers
there had been on Everest
160
00:11:00,026 --> 00:11:03,408
or other...
other 8,000-ers before K2.
161
00:11:03,438 --> 00:11:07,364
I hadn't been higher than 6,200.
162
00:11:07,393 --> 00:11:11,417
I just wanted to come along
to see how high I could get.
163
00:11:12,974 --> 00:11:14,953
When we finally got
to the bottleneck,
164
00:11:14,983 --> 00:11:17,701
there's actually a-
a traffic jam.
165
00:11:35,425 --> 00:11:38,177
The serac was the main danger.
166
00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:41,549
It's probably
almost 100 meters high,
167
00:11:41,580 --> 00:11:44,038
slightly overhanging.
168
00:11:44,067 --> 00:11:45,666
And it could crack any time.
169
00:11:49,903 --> 00:11:54,601
This very, very delicate place
170
00:11:54,624 --> 00:11:56,092
is notorious.
171
00:11:56,123 --> 00:11:58,232
Ice can drop at any time.
172
00:11:58,259 --> 00:11:59,542
It's a Russian roulette.
173
00:11:59,566 --> 00:12:01,263
That's what it is.
174
00:12:02,692 --> 00:12:05,476
The main tactic to avoid
the dangers of the serac
175
00:12:05,499 --> 00:12:07,032
is to be fast,
176
00:12:07,062 --> 00:12:10,226
to minimize the time
when you're exposed to it.
177
00:12:10,250 --> 00:12:13,186
It was not with a good feeling,
waiting there.
178
00:12:14,843 --> 00:12:18,584
We had a lot of respect
for the serac, yeah.
179
00:12:18,606 --> 00:12:21,542
We knew that that was a...
180
00:12:21,571 --> 00:12:24,475
A little monster up there.
181
00:12:32,128 --> 00:12:36,597
I put the ice screws in...
182
00:12:36,624 --> 00:12:38,484
You've got a lot of people
coming behind
183
00:12:38,506 --> 00:12:42,301
with all the weight
that's on the rope,
184
00:12:42,333 --> 00:12:45,149
that's pulling on the screws.
185
00:12:45,171 --> 00:12:47,248
Well, that was a worry.
186
00:12:48,934 --> 00:12:53,915
Above 8,000,
you can only trust yourself.
187
00:12:53,942 --> 00:12:55,323
We wanted to traverse
out to the right
188
00:12:55,345 --> 00:12:58,922
to have a rest
outside of the fixed ropes.
189
00:12:58,948 --> 00:13:01,917
It's exhausting
to be in a queue to wait.
190
00:13:01,946 --> 00:13:03,773
You can't climb
in your own pace.
191
00:13:04,944 --> 00:13:07,119
Several others
also wanted to wait there
192
00:13:07,144 --> 00:13:09,253
until people had passed.
193
00:13:12,980 --> 00:13:14,579
The bigger the chain,
194
00:13:14,607 --> 00:13:16,433
the bigger the chance
195
00:13:16,456 --> 00:13:18,761
that there is somebody
in this chain
196
00:13:18,784 --> 00:13:21,569
who is, you know,
making a mistake.
197
00:13:23,951 --> 00:13:27,529
Dren, he unclipped his rope
and tried to pass me.
198
00:13:29,277 --> 00:13:30,266
Aah!
199
00:13:49,591 --> 00:13:51,255
We were all shocked
when he fell,
200
00:13:51,282 --> 00:13:53,968
but when he stopped,
he stood up and waved.
201
00:13:53,992 --> 00:13:55,591
So we thought he was fine.
202
00:13:55,619 --> 00:13:57,055
He's standing up.
203
00:13:57,086 --> 00:13:58,075
He's okay.
204
00:13:58,106 --> 00:14:00,379
But then we saw him
falling again
205
00:14:00,403 --> 00:14:04,394
and sliding further down.
206
00:14:05,473 --> 00:14:07,137
Yeah, right there at the edge.
207
00:14:07,163 --> 00:14:08,119
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
208
00:14:09,236 --> 00:14:12,237
- What's happening?
- What do you see?
209
00:14:12,266 --> 00:14:14,952
Yeah, Chhiring,
this is Eric, Camp Four, over.
210
00:14:14,977 --> 00:14:17,597
I picked up my camera,
and I zoomed in,
211
00:14:17,624 --> 00:14:19,766
trying to find him, locate him.
212
00:14:21,706 --> 00:14:25,023
How can someone fall
at this perfect day?
213
00:14:25,054 --> 00:14:26,555
No wind. It's bright.
214
00:14:26,585 --> 00:14:28,217
It's great.
215
00:14:28,244 --> 00:14:30,256
How is it possible?
216
00:14:30,284 --> 00:14:32,394
Chhiring, I understood
217
00:14:32,421 --> 00:14:35,010
that you and Pemba are climbing.
218
00:14:35,036 --> 00:14:37,908
Are you in the lead,
and has there been an accident?
219
00:14:37,938 --> 00:14:39,026
Over.
220
00:14:39,055 --> 00:14:41,327
Is he in the rock?
221
00:14:41,350 --> 00:14:43,743
He's here.
222
00:14:43,774 --> 00:14:45,024
There is the rock.
223
00:14:45,050 --> 00:14:46,006
- Yeah.
- Down.
224
00:14:46,007 --> 00:14:47,030
- Yeah.
- Down this.
225
00:14:47,059 --> 00:14:49,430
- Yeah.
- Chhiring says he's moving.
226
00:14:49,452 --> 00:14:50,735
Wow.
227
00:14:50,759 --> 00:14:53,151
He's still alive.
228
00:14:53,183 --> 00:14:54,619
We have to do something.
229
00:14:54,649 --> 00:14:56,150
Is everybody coming down?
230
00:14:56,180 --> 00:14:58,671
Ask the question.
231
00:14:58,700 --> 00:15:00,331
Chhiring, do you know if...
if everyone
232
00:15:00,358 --> 00:15:01,859
is coming down at this point?
233
00:15:01,889 --> 00:15:03,270
Over.
234
00:15:08,777 --> 00:15:11,235
Of course, we had a discussion.
235
00:15:11,264 --> 00:15:15,038
Should we turn around,
you know, to try to help?
236
00:15:15,060 --> 00:15:16,886
We talked about it,
and then we said,
237
00:15:16,909 --> 00:15:19,182
"Listen. The Serbian guys are going down."
238
00:15:19,206 --> 00:15:20,967
"We know the Americans
are there, you know."
239
00:15:20,991 --> 00:15:23,580
"I think it doesn't make sense,
you know, to go down."
240
00:15:26,955 --> 00:15:30,403
There is a not big conversation
241
00:15:30,432 --> 00:15:33,596
each other about the accident.
242
00:15:39,297 --> 00:15:41,091
After three, four minutes,
243
00:15:41,115 --> 00:15:43,029
they start climbing again.
244
00:15:51,096 --> 00:15:52,510
I was like,
"I'm gonna save this guy."
245
00:15:52,532 --> 00:15:53,587
"I'm gonna save him."
246
00:15:53,616 --> 00:15:55,052
"There's no way he's gonna die,"
247
00:15:55,083 --> 00:15:57,736
"not this day, no way."
248
00:15:57,762 --> 00:15:59,491
"It's not gonna happen."
249
00:15:59,516 --> 00:16:01,854
I just shoot up.
250
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,649
He hit on the rock,
lose control,
251
00:16:10,679 --> 00:16:12,951
keep falling
for 200 more meters,
252
00:16:12,974 --> 00:16:13,931
and stopped.
253
00:16:13,963 --> 00:16:16,420
And then I started coming down.
254
00:16:16,451 --> 00:16:17,919
There were maybe two guys
below me,
255
00:16:17,949 --> 00:16:22,582
so I came down pretty fast,
maybe 'IO minutes.
256
00:16:22,606 --> 00:16:25,063
He was wrapped in rope
257
00:16:25,093 --> 00:16:28,061
and just giving no signs
of life.
258
00:16:28,091 --> 00:16:33,387
Already very pale and gray,
259
00:16:33,417 --> 00:16:37,723
cuts on the head,
black nose, broken,
260
00:16:37,754 --> 00:16:38,842
blood from mouth.
261
00:16:38,870 --> 00:16:40,338
- Finish.
- Totally finished, almost.
262
00:16:52,678 --> 00:16:54,342
If I knew that Dren was dead,
263
00:16:54,369 --> 00:16:55,718
I would not have gone up.
264
00:17:00,875 --> 00:17:02,376
The Serbians,
they want to take him
265
00:17:02,405 --> 00:17:03,819
down to base camp.
266
00:17:03,841 --> 00:17:06,016
I said that that's impossible.
267
00:17:06,041 --> 00:17:07,738
"What we can do is that we can"
268
00:17:07,764 --> 00:17:09,905
"at least bring him
down to Camp Four"
269
00:17:09,932 --> 00:17:12,238
"and give him
a proper burial there."
270
00:17:13,471 --> 00:17:15,842
Honestly, what's the point
of lowering a body
271
00:17:15,864 --> 00:17:19,158
from 8,150 meters to 7,800?
272
00:17:22,688 --> 00:17:25,950
8,000 meter,
you're in the death zone.
273
00:17:25,973 --> 00:17:28,148
Every step is a burden.
274
00:17:28,174 --> 00:17:31,948
But when you have a dead body,
it's a hell of a load.
275
00:17:31,969 --> 00:17:34,339
Okay, we have to go down
like this, guys.
276
00:17:34,361 --> 00:17:35,742
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Whoop.
277
00:17:35,764 --> 00:17:37,711
You have to stay not so close.
278
00:17:37,742 --> 00:17:38,731
Yes.
279
00:17:38,761 --> 00:17:41,132
If you do fall,
you release, okay?
280
00:17:41,154 --> 00:17:44,318
It's-it's-it's-
it's our lives too, okay?
281
00:17:44,342 --> 00:17:45,723
- Yeah, yeah.
- Remember.
282
00:17:45,746 --> 00:17:48,052
Jehan Baig, from Pakistan,
283
00:17:48,074 --> 00:17:50,858
suddenly started acting
really weird.
284
00:17:53,527 --> 00:17:55,604
He's coming down
on my right side,
285
00:17:55,632 --> 00:17:56,948
holding onto the rope,
286
00:17:56,972 --> 00:17:59,495
which goes around my lower legs,
287
00:17:59,523 --> 00:18:00,578
and we are crying out...
288
00:18:00,607 --> 00:18:02,206
Release the rope!
289
00:18:02,233 --> 00:18:03,582
Release the rope!
290
00:18:09,473 --> 00:18:13,181
He did not make one single move
to stop his fall.
291
00:18:13,204 --> 00:18:14,900
Jesus Christ.
292
00:18:14,926 --> 00:18:16,819
Instead, he just let go,
293
00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:18,819
and he shoots off like a rocket
294
00:18:18,849 --> 00:18:20,545
straight out to the open air
295
00:18:20,571 --> 00:18:23,028
and just disappears.
296
00:18:31,286 --> 00:18:33,233
Oh, K2,
297
00:18:33,264 --> 00:18:36,232
it was full of surprises.
298
00:18:36,261 --> 00:18:39,970
The conquest in '54
was much more complicated
299
00:18:39,992 --> 00:18:43,092
than we
could ever have imagined.
300
00:18:43,118 --> 00:18:46,185
But believe me,
we came prepared.
301
00:18:46,212 --> 00:18:48,703
We were 11 climbers.
302
00:18:48,731 --> 00:18:53,461
With us, 13 Hunzas
and a battalion of Balti,
303
00:18:53,482 --> 00:18:56,712
the humble,
extraordinary local porters.
304
00:18:56,736 --> 00:18:59,009
After endless months
of preparation,
305
00:18:59,032 --> 00:19:03,120
it began with a fantastic march
to the foot of the peak
306
00:19:03,145 --> 00:19:05,701
through an exotic,
timeless landscape.
307
00:19:15,838 --> 00:19:20,568
We laid siege to the mountain
for two grueling months.
308
00:19:20,590 --> 00:19:22,189
We established base camp
309
00:19:22,217 --> 00:19:24,392
and then started building camps
310
00:19:24,417 --> 00:19:26,527
all the way up the mountain,
311
00:19:26,554 --> 00:19:30,328
acclimatizing our bodies
to the altitude,
312
00:19:30,349 --> 00:19:32,524
the unknown,
313
00:19:32,550 --> 00:19:35,138
preparing ourselves
for the summit attempt-
314
00:19:35,165 --> 00:19:37,753
anything to help us survive.
315
00:19:49,388 --> 00:19:53,161
In memory of Art Gilkey,
Dudley Wolfe, Pasang Kitar.
316
00:19:53,183 --> 00:19:56,380
1954. Unbelievable.
317
00:19:56,404 --> 00:19:58,384
'94.
318
00:19:58,413 --> 00:19:59,533
There are many people
319
00:19:59,561 --> 00:20:01,323
who just died on their way down
from the summit.
320
00:20:01,348 --> 00:20:02,303
Yeah.
321
00:20:02,304 --> 00:20:04,893
Dying on... died on descent.
322
00:20:04,919 --> 00:20:07,638
Almost on everyone
you can read it,
323
00:20:07,661 --> 00:20:08,617
"Died on descent."
324
00:20:08,618 --> 00:20:10,032
Yeah.
325
00:20:10,054 --> 00:20:11,718
Here's the original cross.
326
00:20:31,612 --> 00:20:33,820
Everybody saying,
all Western people,
327
00:20:33,844 --> 00:20:36,530
even our Sherpa community,
328
00:20:36,555 --> 00:20:39,143
they say to me,
"Why are you going on K2?"
329
00:20:39,170 --> 00:20:42,138
"Because it is too dangerous"
330
00:20:42,168 --> 00:20:46,475
"and the accident rate
is too high."
331
00:20:46,505 --> 00:20:48,137
"Why you are going there?"
332
00:21:01,430 --> 00:21:03,377
If you climb on K2,
you have to trust each other.
333
00:21:03,407 --> 00:21:05,006
Fully for 200%.
334
00:21:05,034 --> 00:21:06,252
Gerard said, "Hey, listen."
335
00:21:06,278 --> 00:21:09,442
"It would be lovely
if I can bring Pemba."
336
00:21:09,467 --> 00:21:11,446
And Pemba is a Sherpa,
337
00:21:11,476 --> 00:21:13,553
but a lot of people
are thinking about a Sherpa
338
00:21:13,581 --> 00:21:15,919
that he's just an ordinary guy
339
00:21:15,940 --> 00:21:18,431
who is bringing up stuff
up the mountain.
340
00:21:18,460 --> 00:21:21,841
But Pemba was a really...
341
00:21:21,872 --> 00:21:23,373
a different guy, you know?
342
00:21:23,403 --> 00:21:25,611
He was a professional climber
like we were.
343
00:21:25,636 --> 00:21:27,235
You had a good trip, Pemba?
344
00:21:27,262 --> 00:21:28,730
Yeah, yeah.
345
00:21:28,761 --> 00:21:30,110
- Fantastic.
- What's your question?
346
00:21:30,132 --> 00:21:32,024
Do we have
boil-in-the-bag rice?
347
00:21:32,045 --> 00:21:33,481
Take care of it.
348
00:21:33,513 --> 00:21:34,894
You know, yeah,
it's the one thing
349
00:21:34,916 --> 00:21:36,612
that I'm concerned about
is that Pemba
350
00:21:36,638 --> 00:21:38,585
mightn't be too used
to freeze-dried food.
351
00:21:39,891 --> 00:21:41,903
Oh, no, but we have
the original rice too.
352
00:21:41,932 --> 00:21:43,150
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
353
00:21:43,175 --> 00:21:44,524
Action.
354
00:21:44,547 --> 00:21:45,536
Hey.
355
00:21:45,568 --> 00:21:47,938
I found a good companion
in Gerard.
356
00:21:47,959 --> 00:21:51,472
He was a climber who had
the same ambitions as me.
357
00:21:51,499 --> 00:21:53,032
Then you are pushing the limits,
358
00:21:53,062 --> 00:21:54,976
you know, higher and, yeah,
359
00:21:55,007 --> 00:21:58,139
and then it ends up
in the Himalaya.
360
00:21:58,165 --> 00:21:59,154
Whoa!
361
00:21:59,185 --> 00:22:00,501
- Hey.
- Whoo!
362
00:22:00,525 --> 00:22:02,124
Hey!
363
00:22:04,671 --> 00:22:06,584
Ger was a very qualified climber,
364
00:22:06,616 --> 00:22:08,052
and next to that,
365
00:22:08,083 --> 00:22:09,845
he is a very social boy,
366
00:22:09,868 --> 00:22:13,729
more-more social
then the average climber.
367
00:22:20,903 --> 00:22:23,621
The most important thing
for all of these expeditions
368
00:22:23,646 --> 00:22:25,440
is to have a good time
369
00:22:25,464 --> 00:22:27,356
and have a good laugh
with your friends.
370
00:22:30,343 --> 00:22:31,299
Thank you.
371
00:22:33,373 --> 00:22:35,581
There's two people
I've met in my life
372
00:22:35,605 --> 00:22:36,953
who could walk in a room
373
00:22:36,976 --> 00:22:40,108
and fundamentally change
the energy in a room,
374
00:22:40,133 --> 00:22:42,026
and Ger McDonnell
was one of them.
375
00:22:44,757 --> 00:22:48,553
He did lots of things,
and he did it 150%,
376
00:22:48,584 --> 00:22:50,248
anything he chose to do.
377
00:22:56,749 --> 00:22:59,652
I had my sights set
on climbing Denali,
378
00:22:59,683 --> 00:23:01,858
and Denali
is the tallest mountain
379
00:23:01,883 --> 00:23:03,384
in North America.
380
00:23:03,414 --> 00:23:08,144
I was curious how I would react
to the altitude.
381
00:23:12,950 --> 00:23:15,190
Me and Mike up at top.
382
00:23:19,870 --> 00:23:21,251
Minus 20.
383
00:23:22,389 --> 00:23:23,574
Denali had
384
00:23:23,601 --> 00:23:28,451
that kind of certain mystic,
magical power over Ger.
385
00:23:31,446 --> 00:23:33,937
That was the start of the-
the big boys,
386
00:23:33,966 --> 00:23:34,955
the big climbs.
387
00:23:38,399 --> 00:23:41,661
2003, I was the expedition leader
388
00:23:41,684 --> 00:23:43,510
on Mount Everest.
389
00:23:43,533 --> 00:23:44,522
We had a small team.
390
00:23:45,542 --> 00:23:46,727
Ger, he had a huge passion,
391
00:23:46,754 --> 00:23:48,004
and he burst full of energy.
392
00:23:48,030 --> 00:23:49,215
Ireland!
393
00:23:49,242 --> 00:23:50,678
My Ireland.
394
00:23:50,709 --> 00:23:54,091
He knew how dangerous,
actually, mountaineering was.
395
00:23:54,121 --> 00:23:55,915
He knew over 8,000 meters,
396
00:23:55,939 --> 00:23:57,919
it's not called "death zone"
for nothing.
397
00:23:57,948 --> 00:24:00,732
Every blood cell in your body
is being deprived of oxygen,
398
00:24:00,754 --> 00:24:02,896
which numbs your brain cells.
399
00:24:02,923 --> 00:24:05,740
Making logical decisions
become harder.
400
00:24:05,762 --> 00:24:08,546
The longer that you're
up at high altitude,
401
00:24:08,568 --> 00:24:10,841
the more prone you are
to your whole body
402
00:24:10,864 --> 00:24:12,593
disintegrating from inside.
403
00:24:12,618 --> 00:24:13,706
It creates mucus.
404
00:24:13,734 --> 00:24:15,082
It creates fluids.
405
00:24:15,105 --> 00:24:18,139
It actually starts to swell
the brain, the lungs,
406
00:24:18,167 --> 00:24:20,244
till, eventually,
you won't survive.
407
00:24:22,473 --> 00:24:24,843
Within high-altitude
mountaineering,
408
00:24:24,864 --> 00:24:26,843
there is an unwritten code.
409
00:24:26,873 --> 00:24:29,243
If it's a case
that someone is dying,
410
00:24:29,265 --> 00:24:32,017
and you know you're gonna put
your own life at risk,
411
00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:33,029
you should leave them.
412
00:24:35,133 --> 00:24:37,786
This 8,000-meter stuff
was alien to me at this point,
413
00:24:37,812 --> 00:24:40,085
so I was just following
direction, you know.
414
00:24:42,436 --> 00:24:44,611
Descending, Pat was in a bad way
415
00:24:44,637 --> 00:24:47,638
and seemed to be moving
exceptionally slowly
416
00:24:47,667 --> 00:24:49,363
and stopping to rest.
417
00:24:49,388 --> 00:24:52,966
And when I saw the look
on Pat's face...
418
00:24:56,787 --> 00:24:59,375
ah, shit.
419
00:25:00,678 --> 00:25:02,211
I was getting pulmonary edema,
420
00:25:02,241 --> 00:25:04,731
cerebral edema, thrombosis.
421
00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,860
I was being deprived of oxygen,
and I started to die.
422
00:25:09,097 --> 00:25:11,947
There was... there was no energy there.
423
00:25:11,968 --> 00:25:16,503
And more than a lack of energy,
there's...
424
00:25:16,528 --> 00:25:18,322
actually, I think
there was an awareness
425
00:25:18,346 --> 00:25:19,814
of a lack of energy,
426
00:25:19,845 --> 00:25:22,020
and I think there was
also a knowledge
427
00:25:22,045 --> 00:25:24,699
that he knew that himself
that he was in trouble.
428
00:25:24,724 --> 00:25:27,921
Pemba Gyalje
and, in particular, Ger
429
00:25:27,945 --> 00:25:30,947
were the people
that were encouraging me down.
430
00:25:30,974 --> 00:25:33,051
Yay!
431
00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:35,983
If my team members
hadn't helped on that day,
432
00:25:36,013 --> 00:25:38,351
I may very well myself
433
00:25:38,374 --> 00:25:42,333
be encrusted onto the rocks
of Mount Everest for eternity,
434
00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:45,078
never to come back home
to see my family.
435
00:25:49,695 --> 00:25:51,457
They say
that the most important thing
436
00:25:51,481 --> 00:25:52,536
when you go climbing
437
00:25:52,565 --> 00:25:55,415
will be to select
a good climbing partner
438
00:25:55,436 --> 00:25:57,480
or somebody
that you're compatible with.
439
00:25:57,509 --> 00:26:00,825
I've been... I've been lucky,
you know, really.
440
00:26:04,109 --> 00:26:06,382
There's Speedy Gonzales,
441
00:26:06,406 --> 00:26:08,962
Mr. Pemba Gyalje.
442
00:26:10,870 --> 00:26:15,438
Pemba was the one person
Ger wanted to climb K2 with,
443
00:26:15,463 --> 00:26:18,563
and they talked about it
for years and years.
444
00:26:18,588 --> 00:26:21,013
He loved mountaineering.
He knew he could do it.
445
00:26:21,044 --> 00:26:23,121
He loved that mountain.
446
00:26:23,148 --> 00:26:25,389
Ger wanted to climb K2.
447
00:26:29,495 --> 00:26:30,451
Is he in the rock?
448
00:26:31,632 --> 00:26:33,231
Chhiring,
do you know if everyone
449
00:26:33,259 --> 00:26:34,792
is coming down at this point?
450
00:26:34,821 --> 00:26:36,354
Over.
451
00:26:36,384 --> 00:26:39,255
When the accident happened,
Gerard was also asking,
452
00:26:39,286 --> 00:26:42,135
"Do we have time enough
to reach the summit, huh?"
453
00:26:42,156 --> 00:26:43,537
"Aren't we too late?"
454
00:26:43,559 --> 00:26:44,777
And Pemba said, "No, no."
455
00:26:44,803 --> 00:26:46,532
"We can just reach the summit."
456
00:26:46,556 --> 00:26:47,992
"There is time enough."
457
00:26:48,024 --> 00:26:49,079
And then we said, "Okay."
458
00:26:49,108 --> 00:26:51,599
"Then this is the decision,
to move on."
459
00:26:51,628 --> 00:26:54,085
So we just moved on.
460
00:27:09,391 --> 00:27:11,914
We had a big Korean team ahead.
461
00:27:11,942 --> 00:27:13,606
Then you have
your Norwegian guys,
462
00:27:13,633 --> 00:27:14,588
then us in the middle,
463
00:27:14,589 --> 00:27:17,080
with the Spanish guy in front.
464
00:27:17,109 --> 00:27:19,121
I carried on climbing.
465
00:27:19,149 --> 00:27:22,183
I didn't wait.
466
00:27:22,211 --> 00:27:26,431
I didn't see anyone else
until I was going down.
467
00:27:32,767 --> 00:27:34,660
We were climbing,
climbing, climbing,
468
00:27:34,681 --> 00:27:36,856
and then you see the first guys
reaching the summit,
469
00:27:36,881 --> 00:27:37,837
and then you think,
470
00:27:37,838 --> 00:27:39,088
"Please let it be the end,"
471
00:27:39,114 --> 00:27:41,898
you know, because you
are really, completely,
472
00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:43,204
you know, exhausted.
473
00:27:47,405 --> 00:27:49,167
At the last moments,
474
00:27:49,192 --> 00:27:53,411
you really live it fully.
475
00:27:53,432 --> 00:27:55,477
I knew the summit
was waiting for me.
476
00:27:55,505 --> 00:27:56,495
I had won it.
477
00:28:01,534 --> 00:28:03,839
Alberto
was kind of a mythic figure.
478
00:28:04,882 --> 00:28:07,600
So I didn't see Alberto
close up at all
479
00:28:07,625 --> 00:28:11,333
until I met him
when he was on his way down.
480
00:28:11,355 --> 00:28:14,139
And then I asked him
how far it was.
481
00:28:14,162 --> 00:28:17,511
And he said, "Yeah,
a little less than an hour."
482
00:28:38,559 --> 00:28:40,929
One moment, you realize
that it is in your reach.
483
00:28:40,951 --> 00:28:42,930
You're going to feel
that you're going to make it.
484
00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:44,656
It's only a matter of time
485
00:28:44,682 --> 00:28:46,890
to keep on going
to reach the summit.
486
00:29:09,653 --> 00:29:11,414
Yeah!
487
00:29:15,074 --> 00:29:18,522
Gerard, Gus, Pemba...
488
00:29:19,603 --> 00:29:21,038
Over.
489
00:29:21,070 --> 00:29:22,320
We're on the summit of K2!
490
00:29:22,346 --> 00:29:23,368
Whoo-hoo!
491
00:29:23,398 --> 00:29:26,019
Yo, yo, yo.
492
00:29:26,045 --> 00:29:31,189
The light was exceptional,
brilliant, you know.
493
00:29:31,212 --> 00:29:34,148
We're at the end of the Earth,
494
00:29:34,177 --> 00:29:36,037
Heaven almost.
495
00:29:39,918 --> 00:29:41,810
You're thinking, you know,
"This is it," you know?
496
00:29:41,831 --> 00:29:44,202
"It's over. We've done it."
497
00:29:55,417 --> 00:29:57,842
It is definitely a place
of extremes,
498
00:29:57,872 --> 00:30:02,124
but with those extremes
comes extreme beauty.
499
00:30:04,793 --> 00:30:07,131
In many ways,
those very extremes,
500
00:30:07,153 --> 00:30:08,752
they're addictive.
501
00:30:16,433 --> 00:30:17,651
We were all very strong.
502
00:30:17,677 --> 00:30:19,754
We were normal talking.
503
00:30:19,781 --> 00:30:21,891
We didn't have problems
with the altitude.
504
00:30:21,919 --> 00:30:23,680
We were feeling very good.
505
00:30:23,704 --> 00:30:26,042
We were having good moment
on the summit,
506
00:30:26,064 --> 00:30:28,043
and now we are going down.
507
00:30:28,073 --> 00:30:29,226
Marco was coming up.
508
00:30:29,253 --> 00:30:30,885
He said, "Somebody
has to take pictures of me."
509
00:30:30,912 --> 00:30:32,412
So I said, "Yeah, yeah,
go up, up."
510
00:30:32,443 --> 00:30:33,911
"Quickly. Quickly."
511
00:30:38,023 --> 00:30:39,307
It was still clear.
512
00:30:39,331 --> 00:30:40,615
It wasn't dark yet.
513
00:30:40,638 --> 00:30:44,564
But the sun was going down.
514
00:30:48,037 --> 00:30:49,060
Then you realize,
515
00:30:49,089 --> 00:30:51,874
"Fuck, we have to go down,"
you know?"
516
00:30:51,896 --> 00:30:54,451
Now the surviving starts.
517
00:31:11,892 --> 00:31:13,752
President McAleese
has said her thoughts
518
00:31:13,773 --> 00:31:16,166
are with the family
of a County Limerick man
519
00:31:16,197 --> 00:31:17,448
who is among nine climbers
520
00:31:17,472 --> 00:31:19,038
missing and feared dead
in the Himalayas.
521
00:31:19,068 --> 00:31:21,688
Icefall on the world's
second highest peak
522
00:31:21,714 --> 00:31:24,846
that may have killed
as many as a dozen climbers.
523
00:31:24,871 --> 00:31:26,285
With as many as a dozen
of them were caught out
524
00:31:26,307 --> 00:31:27,807
in a collapse of an foe ledge
525
00:31:27,837 --> 00:31:29,022
just beneath the summit...
526
00:31:29,049 --> 00:31:31,289
Straddling the border
of Pakistan and China,
527
00:31:31,313 --> 00:31:34,217
K2 is slightly smaller
than Mount Everest,
528
00:31:34,247 --> 00:31:37,857
but its reputation
has always been much larger.
529
00:31:37,883 --> 00:31:39,960
And another Pakistani,
a French national,
530
00:31:39,988 --> 00:31:42,196
and an Austrian are missing.
531
00:31:43,879 --> 00:31:46,152
They summited on the Friday,
Friday the 1st of August.
532
00:31:46,174 --> 00:31:48,795
I mean, come Saturday,
533
00:31:48,822 --> 00:31:50,801
just-the internet
was rife with stories.
534
00:31:54,084 --> 00:31:55,400
You had the Fredrik Strang story
535
00:31:55,424 --> 00:31:57,565
about 'em pulling bodies
off the mountain.
536
00:31:57,592 --> 00:32:00,974
One of the climbers,
an American guy, Nick Rice,
537
00:32:01,004 --> 00:32:03,180
had his blog up on the Sunday,
538
00:32:03,205 --> 00:32:04,770
and he said that Ger
539
00:32:04,799 --> 00:32:06,941
refused to come down
the mountain.
540
00:32:06,967 --> 00:32:09,621
I mean, he said, "Refused
to come down the mountain."
541
00:32:09,646 --> 00:32:12,496
Anyone that knows Ger
knew what Ger was about.
542
00:32:12,517 --> 00:32:15,866
Something wasn't right.
543
00:32:15,897 --> 00:32:19,127
Someone might throw
some comment out on their blog
544
00:32:19,150 --> 00:32:20,976
about what they think
might be happening
545
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,588
or, you know,
some rumor they heard
546
00:32:23,615 --> 00:32:25,247
and not realizing, like,
547
00:32:25,274 --> 00:32:30,287
"Hey, we are waiting
for our loved ones."
548
00:32:30,312 --> 00:32:32,553
We're hanging
on every single word
549
00:32:32,577 --> 00:32:34,654
and even how it's written
550
00:32:34,681 --> 00:32:38,422
to get some kind of clue
of what was going on.
551
00:32:43,993 --> 00:32:46,679
Those guys
are making big stories,
552
00:32:46,704 --> 00:32:48,846
even when the tragedy
is still going on,
553
00:32:48,873 --> 00:32:50,123
actually, on the mountain.
554
00:32:50,149 --> 00:32:52,769
So coming down,
you're a bit clumsy.
555
00:32:52,795 --> 00:32:54,589
It's... it's not a matter of...
556
00:32:54,613 --> 00:32:56,245
It's always the same.
557
00:32:56,271 --> 00:32:58,218
The real heroes, you don't hear.
558
00:33:01,629 --> 00:33:03,293
The stupid thing is,
559
00:33:03,319 --> 00:33:05,657
if we would have been
successful, which we were,
560
00:33:05,679 --> 00:33:07,724
because we reached the summit,
561
00:33:07,752 --> 00:33:09,894
there was only
such a small piece
562
00:33:09,921 --> 00:33:12,259
in the newspaper, you know?
563
00:33:12,281 --> 00:33:15,217
And now,
because 11 climbers died,
564
00:33:15,246 --> 00:33:17,193
it went all over the world.
565
00:33:18,882 --> 00:33:23,135
Everybody wants to know
how it was possible.
566
00:33:25,420 --> 00:33:27,116
What happened to us
567
00:33:27,142 --> 00:33:31,611
was just a matter of misfortune,
you know?
568
00:33:33,775 --> 00:33:38,658
It was such a successful story
till we went to the summit.
569
00:33:57,981 --> 00:34:00,635
We were the first expedition
on the mountain.
570
00:34:00,660 --> 00:34:01,878
We had a beautiful time,
571
00:34:01,904 --> 00:34:04,296
because everything
was really organized.
572
00:34:04,328 --> 00:34:05,283
We had good food.
573
00:34:05,284 --> 00:34:06,340
We had good cooks.
574
00:34:06,368 --> 00:34:09,152
Every detail
was planned and organized.
575
00:34:13,449 --> 00:34:17,820
We are a very strong team
compared to other expeditions.
576
00:34:17,849 --> 00:34:20,883
We were putting
all of our fixed rope-
577
00:34:20,911 --> 00:34:24,140
everything we were doing
by ourself.
578
00:34:24,164 --> 00:34:26,437
Bringing up those ropes
to 8,000 meter,
579
00:34:26,460 --> 00:34:27,895
it's a hell of a job.
580
00:34:27,927 --> 00:34:30,384
The first four till five weeks,
581
00:34:30,415 --> 00:34:32,144
every day fixing the ropes
582
00:34:32,169 --> 00:34:35,018
100 meter by 100 meter
by 100 meter,
583
00:34:35,039 --> 00:34:37,431
and then going back
just by the rope, you know,
584
00:34:37,463 --> 00:34:39,355
going down to the base camp.
585
00:34:41,512 --> 00:34:44,166
Camp Two, base camp. Over.
586
00:34:44,191 --> 00:34:46,432
The snow conditions
and the wind-
587
00:34:46,456 --> 00:34:49,750
Weather conditions-
are also really bad for you.
588
00:34:49,772 --> 00:34:53,089
And maybe ifs a good idea
589
00:34:53,121 --> 00:34:56,025
to postpone the project one day.
590
00:34:56,055 --> 00:34:57,011
Over.
591
00:34:57,044 --> 00:34:59,860
No. Not possible.
592
00:34:59,881 --> 00:35:02,089
We have to be ready in July.
593
00:35:02,114 --> 00:35:04,866
We want to quit this expedition
the end of July,
594
00:35:04,889 --> 00:35:08,118
because most of the accident
happened in August.
595
00:35:09,864 --> 00:35:11,908
The humidity
is getting bigger, you know?
596
00:35:11,937 --> 00:35:13,981
So more avalanche danger.
597
00:35:21,217 --> 00:35:22,370
But we said, "Okay."
598
00:35:22,397 --> 00:35:24,854
"We wants to go the end of July."
599
00:35:24,885 --> 00:35:27,440
That was the plan,
and we were ahead of schedule.
600
00:35:30,848 --> 00:35:32,283
And in that period,
601
00:35:32,315 --> 00:35:35,762
all the other teams
were arriving,
602
00:35:35,791 --> 00:35:37,107
the Koreans...
603
00:35:37,131 --> 00:35:38,567
- Good luck.
- Very, very cold.
604
00:35:39,778 --> 00:35:40,833
The Americans...
605
00:35:40,862 --> 00:35:42,624
- It's the end of a hard day.
- Yeah.
606
00:35:44,211 --> 00:35:46,223
The Serbian guys...
607
00:35:46,252 --> 00:35:48,264
- Peace.
- Resting in peace?
608
00:35:48,293 --> 00:35:49,249
French guys...
609
00:35:50,844 --> 00:35:52,061
Perfect.
610
00:35:52,088 --> 00:35:54,328
And the Norwegian team.
611
00:35:54,352 --> 00:35:56,462
No, unfortunately not.
612
00:35:56,489 --> 00:35:59,904
There's a lot
of different cultures up there,
613
00:35:59,933 --> 00:36:01,727
Sherpas from Nepal,
614
00:36:01,751 --> 00:36:04,687
high-altitude porters
from Pakistan.
615
00:36:04,717 --> 00:36:07,109
There were different approaches
to the climbing.
616
00:36:12,913 --> 00:36:14,261
The South Koreans
617
00:36:14,284 --> 00:36:18,917
are the main big, like,
old-style, big expedition.
618
00:36:20,535 --> 00:36:24,874
Sherpas, oxygen,
a lot of rope, and many camps.
619
00:36:24,904 --> 00:36:27,395
Yeah, beautiful day.
620
00:36:31,027 --> 00:36:32,082
The Norwegian expedition,
621
00:36:32,111 --> 00:36:36,233
we were only four friends
on the trip
622
00:36:36,258 --> 00:36:37,378
trying to climb K2.
623
00:36:39,956 --> 00:36:41,338
Time to break out
the whiskey, so...
624
00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:42,315
Yeah.
625
00:36:42,316 --> 00:36:45,546
Yeah, it's a good idea.
626
00:36:45,570 --> 00:36:46,527
I like whiskey.
627
00:36:47,515 --> 00:36:48,624
Gerard was visiting us a lot,
628
00:36:48,631 --> 00:36:51,154
and we visited them as well.
629
00:36:51,182 --> 00:36:54,630
And-and Ger and Rolf
were friends.
630
00:36:54,658 --> 00:36:58,106
Both were the same kind of guys.
631
00:36:59,729 --> 00:37:02,447
When I met Rolf in 2003,
632
00:37:02,472 --> 00:37:07,104
I felt that I met a soul mate.
633
00:37:09,265 --> 00:37:14,049
In 2005, we went to K2 to try
to get to know the mountain.
634
00:37:15,993 --> 00:37:18,745
We were there for 93 days.
635
00:37:18,768 --> 00:37:21,704
We only got to a little higher
than Camp Three.
636
00:37:22,914 --> 00:37:25,122
So this time,
I don't think we really thought
637
00:37:25,147 --> 00:37:27,485
that we were gonna get
to the summit.
638
00:37:28,878 --> 00:37:31,303
Of course,
you have to want that.
639
00:37:31,334 --> 00:37:33,824
Otherwise, you won't make it.
640
00:37:36,213 --> 00:37:41,324
But it's so much that has to be
right for it to happen.
641
00:37:49,989 --> 00:37:52,708
What went wrong was the weather.
642
00:37:52,732 --> 00:37:55,995
For three weeks, it was snowing,
snowing, snowing.
643
00:37:56,017 --> 00:37:57,714
It was unbelievable.
644
00:37:57,739 --> 00:38:01,382
80% chance of snow today.
645
00:38:01,407 --> 00:38:05,116
Wind 8 kilometers
at 8,000 meters.
646
00:38:05,138 --> 00:38:07,149
He was ready to come home.
647
00:38:07,179 --> 00:38:08,778
He said to me,
648
00:38:08,806 --> 00:38:10,698
"I can't wait
to have a good meal"
649
00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:11,937
"and a glass of red wine."
650
00:38:11,963 --> 00:38:13,627
You know, he just...
he was kind of ready.
651
00:38:13,653 --> 00:38:17,198
It was 60-something days
by that point.
652
00:38:17,224 --> 00:38:19,845
But if you get a weather window,
you take it.
653
00:38:30,141 --> 00:38:33,370
The end of July,
the good weather came in,
654
00:38:33,393 --> 00:38:37,069
but then everybody
wants to use this window.
655
00:38:37,093 --> 00:38:38,855
So we says,
"Let's have a talk, you know,"
656
00:38:38,879 --> 00:38:41,086
"and let's try to work together."
657
00:38:41,111 --> 00:38:43,004
300 rope for it to make.
658
00:38:43,025 --> 00:38:45,200
If you want to, more 50.
659
00:38:45,225 --> 00:38:48,519
400 rope, we are fixing.
660
00:38:50,232 --> 00:38:51,961
We take 400 meters.
661
00:38:51,986 --> 00:38:54,574
Then the Italians got 200 meters
662
00:38:54,601 --> 00:38:56,102
for the traverse.
663
00:38:56,132 --> 00:38:58,884
So 600 meters is plenty enough.
664
00:38:58,907 --> 00:39:00,951
Maybe we need more.
665
00:39:00,979 --> 00:39:02,164
We don't need more.
666
00:39:02,191 --> 00:39:04,170
600 meters
is plenty enough, I think.
667
00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:05,701
No, 700 would be better.
668
00:39:05,731 --> 00:39:08,222
700? Okay, Kim says 700.
669
00:39:08,251 --> 00:39:09,915
We had a lot of meetings
670
00:39:09,940 --> 00:39:13,008
because if we are working
together, let's be clear.
671
00:39:13,034 --> 00:39:14,567
We are with a lot of people.
672
00:39:14,597 --> 00:39:16,358
We share all the workloads.
673
00:39:16,383 --> 00:39:18,624
And, you know, 80% chance
674
00:39:18,648 --> 00:39:21,812
that we will get to the summit
without any problem.
675
00:39:21,836 --> 00:39:24,588
First, leading,
second, help them,
676
00:39:24,611 --> 00:39:26,786
third, making the bamboos.
677
00:39:26,811 --> 00:39:28,061
The ice?
678
00:39:28,087 --> 00:39:29,848
- Ice screw.
- Ice crew?
679
00:39:29,873 --> 00:39:33,321
I always saw
the base camp meetings
680
00:39:33,349 --> 00:39:36,611
as a vital key to success.
681
00:39:36,633 --> 00:39:39,831
It was our chance
to get together
682
00:39:39,854 --> 00:39:41,996
and do this as one team.
683
00:39:42,023 --> 00:39:47,101
Not South Koreans, Americans,
Serbians, Dutch-
684
00:39:47,126 --> 00:39:49,235
as one team.
685
00:39:49,263 --> 00:39:51,025
There is only one summit team...
686
00:39:51,049 --> 00:39:52,004
Yeah.
687
00:39:52,005 --> 00:39:53,898
From every group.
688
00:39:53,919 --> 00:39:54,941
The question is also,
689
00:39:54,971 --> 00:39:57,527
who is climbing in front,
you know?
690
00:39:57,555 --> 00:39:58,610
We said, "Listen."
691
00:39:58,638 --> 00:40:01,987
"Every team gives
his strongest climber,"
692
00:40:02,019 --> 00:40:04,194
"and that's
the trail-breaking party."
693
00:40:04,220 --> 00:40:08,244
Two good climbers
and one, two porter...
694
00:40:08,270 --> 00:40:10,761
- Okay.
- Who carry this fixed rope.
695
00:40:10,789 --> 00:40:11,812
Fixed rope.
696
00:40:11,842 --> 00:40:14,266
These teams
start one or two hours
697
00:40:14,297 --> 00:40:17,592
before other member
from Camp Four.
698
00:40:17,614 --> 00:40:18,931
- Okay.
- Got it.
699
00:40:18,953 --> 00:40:20,747
We were thinking,
if the strongest team,
700
00:40:20,771 --> 00:40:22,272
you know, go into this part
701
00:40:22,302 --> 00:40:24,509
and fixing the ropes
through the bottleneck,
702
00:40:24,534 --> 00:40:27,025
we can just follow the ropes
and go to the summit.
703
00:40:27,054 --> 00:40:29,392
So it's very-
it's really safe plan.
704
00:40:29,414 --> 00:40:32,382
I don't know if you're going
with the summit party...
705
00:40:32,412 --> 00:40:34,108
It was obvious for me and Rolf
706
00:40:34,133 --> 00:40:39,146
that this was not gonna be
as smooth as it's planned.
707
00:40:39,172 --> 00:40:40,771
It seemed too easy for us.
708
00:40:40,799 --> 00:40:42,398
- There's nothing to do.
- Yeah, yeah, okay.
709
00:40:42,426 --> 00:40:44,252
600 meters at the peaks.
710
00:40:44,275 --> 00:40:45,395
Yes.
711
00:40:45,423 --> 00:40:47,598
Our team's thereto, uh, more...
712
00:40:49,729 --> 00:40:51,904
If you start
sharing responsibilities
713
00:40:51,929 --> 00:40:54,104
with other people,
714
00:40:54,129 --> 00:40:58,153
I think that in the end,
as humans we relax.
715
00:40:58,180 --> 00:41:02,715
We don't really do
what we should be doing.
716
00:41:02,740 --> 00:41:08,449
And K2 really demands
knowing how to do things,
717
00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:12,276
giving the right answer,
having an answer for everything.
718
00:41:17,442 --> 00:41:18,562
In a perfect world,
719
00:41:18,590 --> 00:41:22,451
everyone is responsible
for everyone.
720
00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:25,677
Only the mountain
attains perfection.
721
00:41:25,701 --> 00:41:28,638
That's why you come to climb it.
722
00:41:28,667 --> 00:41:32,082
They would never have tried K2
723
00:41:32,112 --> 00:41:36,136
without the knowledge
and expertise of the locals.
724
00:41:36,162 --> 00:41:39,262
My unlikely partner
was named Mahdi.
725
00:41:39,288 --> 00:41:42,898
He was the very best
of the Hunzas.
726
00:41:42,923 --> 00:41:45,413
On the eve of the summit push,
727
00:41:45,442 --> 00:41:48,922
we were to take the last
of the oxygen to the final camp
728
00:41:48,951 --> 00:41:51,060
and meet with the lead climbers,
729
00:41:51,087 --> 00:41:53,262
Lacedelli and Compagnoni.
730
00:41:53,288 --> 00:41:55,300
The names are legendary now,
731
00:41:55,329 --> 00:41:58,232
the two men
who ultimately conquered K2
732
00:41:58,263 --> 00:42:00,633
for the first time in history.
733
00:42:03,269 --> 00:42:06,749
It could have been us with them,
Mahdi and myself.
734
00:42:06,778 --> 00:42:09,399
We had agreed,
if we were strong,
735
00:42:09,425 --> 00:42:11,501
we would go too,
736
00:42:11,529 --> 00:42:14,215
but we never found them.
737
00:42:14,240 --> 00:42:17,024
We climbed
to the point of exhaustion
738
00:42:17,047 --> 00:42:19,222
to where they
were supposed to be
739
00:42:19,247 --> 00:42:22,564
and began crying out for them.
740
00:42:22,596 --> 00:42:23,880
As the sun disappeared,
741
00:42:23,904 --> 00:42:26,971
the thin air
began to eat away at us.
742
00:42:26,997 --> 00:42:29,172
As violent
as a slap in the face,
743
00:42:29,197 --> 00:42:32,807
the first gust of snow
hit us head-on.
744
00:42:43,603 --> 00:42:45,247
We were just thinking,
"it's just a matter"
745
00:42:45,270 --> 00:42:47,543
"of, you know, an hour,
and then the wind will drop."
746
00:42:47,567 --> 00:42:48,622
But it didn't drop.
747
00:42:48,651 --> 00:42:50,119
It actually... it went...
748
00:42:50,149 --> 00:42:51,813
it became stronger and stronger.
749
00:42:56,369 --> 00:42:57,902
That was like...
750
00:42:58,888 --> 00:43:00,617
Wind was go like that,
751
00:43:00,642 --> 00:43:02,784
and my tent in the moment
was go up
752
00:43:02,811 --> 00:43:04,790
and me with the tent.
753
00:43:22,742 --> 00:43:26,037
It's impossible to even look outside the tent.
754
00:43:27,207 --> 00:43:30,024
Quite critical situation.
755
00:43:30,046 --> 00:43:33,721
Oh, God. God. God.
756
00:43:33,745 --> 00:43:34,735
That's it. Come on.
757
00:43:36,073 --> 00:43:37,193
In you go.
758
00:43:40,952 --> 00:43:42,301
They put me
on the sleeping bag.
759
00:43:42,323 --> 00:43:43,792
I started shaking.
760
00:43:43,822 --> 00:43:45,802
I was in bad situation.
761
00:43:45,832 --> 00:43:47,148
You're okay.
762
00:43:47,171 --> 00:43:48,933
All right, Wilco!
763
00:43:48,957 --> 00:43:50,338
Wilco, this is Ger here!
764
00:43:50,361 --> 00:43:52,308
We got a situation here.
765
00:43:55,112 --> 00:43:57,352
I heard Gerard
talk with the Wilco
766
00:43:57,376 --> 00:43:59,138
by walkie-talkie.
767
00:43:59,162 --> 00:44:02,230
"Okay, Wilco, now we
are going to bring him"
768
00:44:02,255 --> 00:44:06,181
"inside your tent
because you have more space."
769
00:44:06,210 --> 00:44:07,711
This is no time
for bullshitting now.
770
00:44:09,112 --> 00:44:10,874
The Serbian guy...
I don't know...
771
00:44:10,898 --> 00:44:13,323
but if he would have knocked
on my tent,
772
00:44:13,354 --> 00:44:14,507
I would have say, "Listen."
773
00:44:14,534 --> 00:44:16,133
"Go down immediately,"
774
00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:18,302
"because I can't have you
in my tent now"
775
00:44:18,329 --> 00:44:19,384
"because I have to rest"
776
00:44:19,414 --> 00:44:21,078
"because I have to go
to the summit."
777
00:44:26,589 --> 00:44:29,046
We didn't sleep all night.
778
00:44:38,931 --> 00:44:42,095
Early in the morning,
Ger was a little angry.
779
00:44:42,120 --> 00:44:44,360
I was not sure
whether he was angry
780
00:44:44,384 --> 00:44:46,331
because of what happened with me
781
00:44:46,361 --> 00:44:51,624
or because of what happened
between two of them.
782
00:44:51,655 --> 00:44:52,938
I was really pissed,
783
00:44:52,962 --> 00:44:54,942
so I had to make clear
that this guy
784
00:44:54,971 --> 00:44:56,951
would not go with us.
785
00:44:56,981 --> 00:44:58,473
And I said, "Listen.
There is just one."
786
00:44:58,480 --> 00:44:59,730
"You have to go back,"
787
00:44:59,755 --> 00:45:01,705
"and I don't want to see you
in that camp," you know?
788
00:45:01,733 --> 00:45:03,397
For me, I don't know.
789
00:45:03,423 --> 00:45:06,327
I... myself, I feel...
I don't know
790
00:45:06,357 --> 00:45:08,749
how I will continue with my life
791
00:45:08,781 --> 00:45:13,033
till I know to-
somebody needed my help.
792
00:45:13,054 --> 00:45:17,078
Not too much-little help,
and I didn't want to give him.
793
00:45:25,524 --> 00:45:26,742
A lot of guys,
794
00:45:26,767 --> 00:45:28,399
they are thinking
they can climb K2
795
00:45:28,426 --> 00:45:30,252
without oxygen, without ropes,
796
00:45:30,275 --> 00:45:31,776
without bringing
the right stuff,
797
00:45:31,806 --> 00:45:33,535
bringing the right team.
798
00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:35,257
You can't climb
an 8,000-meter peak alone.
799
00:45:35,282 --> 00:45:38,350
You-you didn't bring any rope.
800
00:45:38,375 --> 00:45:40,866
How do you want to climb
this fucking mountain?
801
00:45:40,895 --> 00:45:42,276
Mm-hmm.
802
00:45:42,299 --> 00:45:46,040
- It's really irresponsible.
- How did you do it 2006?
803
00:45:46,062 --> 00:45:49,291
Wilco is very direct and blunt.
804
00:45:49,314 --> 00:45:50,663
He'd lay his cards on the table.
805
00:45:50,686 --> 00:45:53,242
There's no doubt about what
he was thinking, you know?
806
00:45:53,269 --> 00:45:55,792
So I think, you know, Ger
kind of liked that about him.
807
00:45:59,583 --> 00:46:01,823
Both Ger and Wilco,
808
00:46:01,847 --> 00:46:04,218
they really had the summit
in their eyes.
809
00:46:05,674 --> 00:46:07,175
You could see it.
810
00:46:16,549 --> 00:46:20,508
The 29th of July 2006,
I got a phone call from Ger.
811
00:46:20,536 --> 00:46:22,232
I can still hear him
saying it to me.
812
00:46:22,258 --> 00:46:25,227
He says, "Jeez, JJ,
this is so doable."
813
00:46:25,255 --> 00:46:26,604
And he said,
"I can't believe it."
814
00:46:26,627 --> 00:46:28,388
He said, "It's so doable."
815
00:46:31,251 --> 00:46:33,774
They were hiking up from...
816
00:46:33,803 --> 00:46:35,087
I think
it was advanced base camp,
817
00:46:35,110 --> 00:46:38,427
and they were gonna go up
to Camp Two on the Abruzzi.
818
00:46:38,459 --> 00:46:41,395
Ger was going up,
and what people say is,
819
00:46:41,424 --> 00:46:44,209
it was actually
a rock avalanche.
820
00:46:45,379 --> 00:46:46,695
The phone rang.
821
00:46:46,718 --> 00:46:50,742
She said to me, "There's been
an accident on K2."
822
00:46:50,769 --> 00:46:53,869
And I said, "How bad?"
And she said, "Look..."
823
00:46:57,466 --> 00:47:00,761
"You'll probably bring-bringing
him home in a body bag."
824
00:47:11,020 --> 00:47:13,445
It was just an act of God
as such,
825
00:47:13,475 --> 00:47:15,302
like, I mean, a rockfall
that caught him.
826
00:47:15,325 --> 00:47:17,272
And, I mean, the helmet
he had on him at the time
827
00:47:17,302 --> 00:47:19,064
probably, possibly saved
his life.
828
00:47:19,088 --> 00:47:21,165
But I knew-l always knew
from that-from that night on,
829
00:47:21,193 --> 00:47:22,857
I knew that he was gonna try
and do this again,
830
00:47:22,883 --> 00:47:23,872
like, you know.
831
00:47:33,982 --> 00:47:36,407
The bigger the dream,
the bigger the risks,
832
00:47:36,437 --> 00:47:39,406
but, you know,
the dream was there.
833
00:47:39,434 --> 00:47:41,446
From that moment,
834
00:47:41,476 --> 00:47:42,596
I knew we are coming back,
you know,
835
00:47:42,624 --> 00:47:44,766
and Ger would go with me again.
836
00:47:47,886 --> 00:47:50,475
That's why,
when we reach Camp Four,
837
00:47:50,501 --> 00:47:52,295
it was already a magic moment.
838
00:47:55,699 --> 00:47:58,994
Ah, so happy to be here.
839
00:47:59,016 --> 00:48:01,571
I could almost cry.
840
00:48:01,599 --> 00:48:04,948
When you love someone
and they love doing something,
841
00:48:04,980 --> 00:48:06,579
you're happy for them.
842
00:48:06,606 --> 00:48:09,162
Of course,
it's a dangerous mountain.
843
00:48:09,189 --> 00:48:10,624
Any mountain's
a dangerous mountain.
844
00:48:10,656 --> 00:48:12,157
But he knew he could climb it,
845
00:48:12,187 --> 00:48:14,579
and he knew
he could climb it safely.
846
00:48:14,611 --> 00:48:19,146
And I think
he wanted to go back.
847
00:48:37,477 --> 00:48:40,195
There are always things
you don't talk about
848
00:48:40,219 --> 00:48:41,948
and which you don't expect,
849
00:48:41,973 --> 00:48:44,311
and one thing
was that in this meeting,
850
00:48:44,334 --> 00:48:46,726
the leader
of the high-altitude porters
851
00:48:46,757 --> 00:48:48,899
who are making,
breaking trail,
852
00:48:48,925 --> 00:48:51,263
I trust this guy completely.
853
00:48:51,285 --> 00:48:52,503
Doing this...
854
00:48:52,530 --> 00:48:53,965
But what happened...
855
00:48:53,997 --> 00:48:55,378
He went ill.
856
00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:56,781
So no leader anymore.
857
00:48:56,803 --> 00:48:59,707
High-altitude porters
of the Sherpas,
858
00:48:59,737 --> 00:49:01,303
they're going to fix the rope,
859
00:49:01,331 --> 00:49:02,745
and the members
from the Koreans,
860
00:49:02,766 --> 00:49:05,257
they're going to countercheck
the rope,
861
00:49:05,286 --> 00:49:07,330
that it is affixed properly
on the mountain.
862
00:49:07,359 --> 00:49:10,653
The new plan
was that a Korean leader,
863
00:49:10,675 --> 00:49:12,143
you know,
he was the climbing leader
864
00:49:12,175 --> 00:49:14,317
of the big Korean team-
865
00:49:14,343 --> 00:49:17,693
he would check everything
in Camp Four,
866
00:49:17,723 --> 00:49:18,973
but he didn't.
867
00:49:31,628 --> 00:49:32,683
We have a plan.
868
00:49:32,713 --> 00:49:36,421
12:00,
the first party should move.
869
00:49:36,444 --> 00:49:39,761
But 11:00,
Korean climbing leader
870
00:49:39,792 --> 00:49:41,076
is still inside the tents,
871
00:49:41,100 --> 00:49:43,818
keep smoking and smoking and...
872
00:49:43,843 --> 00:49:47,616
Then finally I said, "No,
now we have to do it ourself."
873
00:49:51,560 --> 00:49:53,473
So this Sherpa, Pemba,
874
00:49:53,506 --> 00:49:59,095
his face, I remember
very clearly that night.
875
00:49:59,118 --> 00:50:01,870
He was the kind of person
876
00:50:01,893 --> 00:50:07,580
that transmitted
safety, security,
877
00:50:07,601 --> 00:50:09,743
wanting to know who I was,
878
00:50:09,770 --> 00:50:12,075
how I got there
in the middle of the night.
879
00:50:12,098 --> 00:50:15,100
I told him, "I am climbing solo",
880
00:50:15,127 --> 00:50:19,249
"and I am hoping
to go up with you."
881
00:50:30,339 --> 00:50:31,753
The summit bid was delayed
882
00:50:31,775 --> 00:50:34,624
because people
were wandering around like,
883
00:50:34,645 --> 00:50:36,559
"Hey, where's the gear?"
884
00:50:36,590 --> 00:50:37,546
"Where's the equipment?"
885
00:50:37,547 --> 00:50:38,797
"Where's the rope?"
886
00:50:38,823 --> 00:50:43,260
We are way back in time.
887
00:50:43,287 --> 00:50:44,886
We are really late.
888
00:50:44,914 --> 00:50:46,708
Very disappointing.
889
00:50:46,732 --> 00:50:48,016
The high-altitude porters,
890
00:50:48,040 --> 00:50:50,464
they're just starting
to fixing the ropes,
891
00:50:50,495 --> 00:50:52,920
and Pemba was not
that kind of leader
892
00:50:52,950 --> 00:50:54,103
who said, "Listen."
893
00:50:54,131 --> 00:50:56,306
"We are going to do it
like this," you know?
894
00:50:56,331 --> 00:50:58,278
I was surprised
895
00:50:58,308 --> 00:51:00,201
that they were putting
fixed ropes
896
00:51:00,222 --> 00:51:03,865
at areas which didn't need it.
897
00:51:03,889 --> 00:51:07,184
Just, like, 10 meters
from the tents or something.
898
00:51:07,206 --> 00:51:09,827
There were ropes
very, very early on.
899
00:51:11,767 --> 00:51:14,072
Suddenly,
there's no more progression,
900
00:51:14,094 --> 00:51:17,411
and people
are just standing there waiting.
901
00:51:17,443 --> 00:51:20,477
And they yelled back
that they'd run out of rope.
902
00:51:24,810 --> 00:51:26,343
We were thinking,
903
00:51:26,373 --> 00:51:28,287
"In God's sake,
how is this possible?"
904
00:51:29,562 --> 00:51:30,584
The only thing you can do
905
00:51:30,614 --> 00:51:32,593
is going back, cut the ropes,
906
00:51:32,623 --> 00:51:35,048
and bring it up,
and that's what we did.
907
00:51:37,821 --> 00:51:40,442
We were delayed with two hours,
908
00:51:40,469 --> 00:51:42,361
and that's too long.
909
00:51:42,382 --> 00:51:46,156
You can't catch up two hours
on a summit bid.
910
00:51:46,177 --> 00:51:49,048
Even though
there were perfect conditions,
911
00:51:49,080 --> 00:51:52,461
in the death zone,
you're just losing more energy.
912
00:51:58,806 --> 00:52:01,046
Those people,
they are too optimistic
913
00:52:01,070 --> 00:52:02,418
for the summit,
914
00:52:02,441 --> 00:52:05,475
and that's why they keep climb.
915
00:52:11,531 --> 00:52:16,892
They forget so many things
about safety.
916
00:52:18,164 --> 00:52:19,252
Aah!
917
00:52:29,709 --> 00:52:32,265
People think that we're mad.
918
00:52:32,291 --> 00:52:35,967
How can you continue
if someone died?
919
00:52:37,172 --> 00:52:39,727
But if you drive a car,
you see people crash.
920
00:52:39,754 --> 00:52:42,603
You see people die in traffic.
921
00:52:42,624 --> 00:52:45,658
You keep on driving,
'cause you-
922
00:52:45,686 --> 00:52:47,382
you think
it's not gonna happen to you.
923
00:52:47,408 --> 00:52:49,039
I see.
924
00:52:49,066 --> 00:52:50,698
Is he in the rock?
925
00:52:50,724 --> 00:52:51,942
- He's here.
- Yeah.
926
00:52:51,969 --> 00:52:52,925
- Yeah.
- The rock.
927
00:52:52,926 --> 00:52:54,590
Yeah, right there at the edge.
928
00:52:54,615 --> 00:52:55,671
If everybody turned back
929
00:52:55,700 --> 00:52:58,897
after the Serbian people
fell down,
930
00:52:58,921 --> 00:53:03,261
then I think there was only 1
casualties on the mountain
931
00:53:03,290 --> 00:53:05,183
instead of 11.
932
00:53:20,225 --> 00:53:21,214
How are you?
933
00:53:21,244 --> 00:53:22,941
Good.
934
00:53:22,967 --> 00:53:24,793
But not a great day today.
935
00:53:24,816 --> 00:53:26,610
A hard day for me today.
936
00:53:26,634 --> 00:53:27,657
Yes.
937
00:53:27,686 --> 00:53:29,796
It was not a good day.
938
00:53:29,824 --> 00:53:32,640
He said, "You go."
939
00:53:32,662 --> 00:53:35,153
"You feel strong.
You are strong."
940
00:53:35,182 --> 00:53:39,455
"You go to there...
to the top with Lars."
941
00:53:39,486 --> 00:53:42,684
And I looked back many times,
942
00:53:42,707 --> 00:53:44,089
and every time I looked back
943
00:53:44,111 --> 00:53:47,340
and if he was looking at me
at the same time,
944
00:53:47,364 --> 00:53:49,572
he was, like, thumbs up
945
00:53:49,596 --> 00:53:52,412
and like, "Keep on going."
946
00:53:58,015 --> 00:54:01,625
Rolf and me,
we talk several times.
947
00:54:01,651 --> 00:54:04,174
Then Rolf say,
"Now, Pemba, I want to go back"
948
00:54:04,202 --> 00:54:08,606
"because these guys
are very stupid"
949
00:54:08,635 --> 00:54:10,744
"because nobody
talking each other"
950
00:54:10,772 --> 00:54:12,056
"about the timing."
951
00:54:12,080 --> 00:54:15,723
"Really, I don't understand
the people."
952
00:54:20,371 --> 00:54:21,752
- It's so hard to turn around,
953
00:54:21,774 --> 00:54:24,591
and it's so easy
to just continue a little bit,
954
00:54:24,613 --> 00:54:26,439
just a half an hour to see.
955
00:54:30,225 --> 00:54:32,302
I could see Lars
on the summit.
956
00:54:34,531 --> 00:54:38,838
He took Rolf's rabbit hat on
and danced on the summit.
957
00:54:42,121 --> 00:54:45,154
We had just a few minutes-
took pictures.
958
00:54:47,670 --> 00:54:50,541
Even in our most crazy dreams,
959
00:54:50,572 --> 00:54:53,323
we wouldn't have dreamt it
to be that beautiful.
960
00:54:54,336 --> 00:54:58,327
With that shadow of K2
into China-
961
00:54:58,354 --> 00:55:01,105
absolutely beautiful.
962
00:55:01,128 --> 00:55:03,173
I enjoyed the view,
963
00:55:03,201 --> 00:55:05,507
but the only thing
that was in our head
964
00:55:05,529 --> 00:55:08,378
was that we're not gonna stay
here for very long.
965
00:55:08,399 --> 00:55:09,584
We're going back.
966
00:55:09,611 --> 00:55:14,179
We have to get back to the ropes
before it gets dark.
967
00:55:14,203 --> 00:55:15,356
We're on the summit of K2!
968
00:55:15,384 --> 00:55:16,340
Whoo-hoo!
969
00:55:16,340 --> 00:55:17,297
Yo, yo, yo.
970
00:55:19,019 --> 00:55:21,096
Time passes by
in a very strange fashion
971
00:55:21,124 --> 00:55:22,113
up there.
972
00:55:22,144 --> 00:55:24,961
What may feel
like a couple of seconds
973
00:55:24,983 --> 00:55:27,571
could actually be a minute
or vice versa.
974
00:55:27,598 --> 00:55:30,979
You know,
it's very hard to tell.
975
00:55:38,122 --> 00:55:39,948
He phoned me,
and I was lucky enough
976
00:55:39,971 --> 00:55:42,309
that the connection was made.
977
00:55:44,787 --> 00:55:46,136
He was elated.
978
00:55:46,158 --> 00:55:48,235
He told me everybody
was feeling good,
979
00:55:48,264 --> 00:55:51,809
that there was no problem.
980
00:55:51,835 --> 00:55:53,977
And then...
981
00:55:54,004 --> 00:55:59,431
yeah, I was just hoping
to hear from him,
982
00:55:59,457 --> 00:56:02,425
you know,
five or six hours' time.
983
00:56:05,836 --> 00:56:09,251
When we ready to descend,
and he's saying,
984
00:56:09,279 --> 00:56:12,411
"Okay, now I don't want
to take the flags"
985
00:56:12,437 --> 00:56:15,885
"camera, sat phone,"
986
00:56:15,913 --> 00:56:18,338
"everything you have to carry."
987
00:56:18,369 --> 00:56:19,804
And I took everything.
988
00:56:38,715 --> 00:56:42,968
You know that almost all
the accidents in climbing
989
00:56:42,989 --> 00:56:45,413
happen on the way down,
on the descent.
990
00:56:45,444 --> 00:56:47,717
You get exhausted.
You relax.
991
00:56:47,740 --> 00:56:50,741
It gets dark.
992
00:56:50,770 --> 00:56:54,086
So that's a factor
that every climber know.
993
00:56:57,180 --> 00:56:58,877
We caught up with Rolf
further down.
994
00:57:00,241 --> 00:57:04,613
He was so happy
and congratulated us.
995
00:57:04,643 --> 00:57:07,742
And we decided to descend
together, of course,
996
00:57:07,768 --> 00:57:12,749
down to the fixed ropes,
slow, but efficient.
997
00:57:12,775 --> 00:57:18,843
It gets dark just 15 minutes
after we get to the fixed ropes,
998
00:57:18,866 --> 00:57:21,584
so we put on our head torches.
999
00:57:29,933 --> 00:57:32,749
When Rolf gets there, I ask him
if he wants to go first,
1000
00:57:32,771 --> 00:57:34,271
or if he wants me to go first.
1001
00:57:34,302 --> 00:57:35,966
Do you want me to go first?
1002
00:57:35,991 --> 00:57:38,329
- He said, "Lars, I go first."
- No, I go first.
1003
00:57:38,351 --> 00:57:40,972
- "You look after my wife."
- You look after my wife.
1004
00:57:45,847 --> 00:57:46,802
Yeah.
1005
00:57:46,803 --> 00:57:48,271
That's the...
1006
00:57:50,948 --> 00:57:53,341
It's the last thing he said.
1007
00:58:06,543 --> 00:58:08,044
I don't know
if I heard anything,
1008
00:58:08,074 --> 00:58:09,162
but I felt it.
1009
00:58:10,370 --> 00:58:11,903
The ground
was shaking underneath me.
1010
00:58:21,246 --> 00:58:25,270
The last thing I saw
was Rolf's head torch moving.
1011
00:58:28,548 --> 00:58:30,973
And then it was dark.
1012
00:58:50,171 --> 00:58:52,084
You must think I'm crazy
saying this, but...
1013
00:58:53,072 --> 00:58:55,596
Suddenly,
I could hear his voice.
1014
00:58:55,624 --> 00:58:58,560
And it was so strong.
1015
00:58:58,590 --> 00:59:02,776
It was, like, saying,
1016
00:59:02,799 --> 00:59:05,485
"You have to get down."
1017
00:59:25,825 --> 00:59:27,554
You're going down thinking,
1018
00:59:27,579 --> 00:59:30,135
"Follow the lines,
and there is Camp Four."
1019
00:59:30,162 --> 00:59:32,109
And in a few days,
we would have big party
1020
00:59:32,140 --> 00:59:34,445
with all the teams
in the base camp.
1021
00:59:37,051 --> 00:59:39,193
The problem is,
you are so exhausted,
1022
00:59:39,219 --> 00:59:41,525
and you are not
that concentrated.
1023
00:59:41,548 --> 00:59:45,289
And everybody is going down
in his own speed.
1024
00:59:48,755 --> 00:59:52,268
We reached the Korean Sherpas
and Korean team.
1025
00:59:52,294 --> 00:59:53,250
Everybody,
1026
00:59:53,251 --> 00:59:55,165
they come together, regroup.
1027
00:59:59,311 --> 01:00:01,203
We have only one option.
1028
01:00:01,224 --> 01:00:04,486
We put all people together
on one rope,
1029
01:00:04,509 --> 01:00:08,762
then try to bring down together.
1030
01:00:43,448 --> 01:00:45,688
We were looking
up the mountain every hour,
1031
01:00:45,713 --> 01:00:49,899
and we were monitoring
our radios all the time.
1032
01:00:49,922 --> 01:00:52,195
And we were getting
more and more anxious
1033
01:00:52,218 --> 01:00:54,426
about their safety.
1034
01:00:54,451 --> 01:00:56,430
We see these headlamps
and thinking,
1035
01:00:56,460 --> 01:00:58,091
"Oh, my God.
Oh, my God."
1036
01:00:58,118 --> 01:00:59,336
"They're not moving very fast."
1037
01:00:59,361 --> 01:01:00,895
"What's going on?"
1038
01:01:02,424 --> 01:01:04,762
We started feeling...
1039
01:01:06,537 --> 01:01:08,778
Hopeless.
1040
01:01:16,487 --> 01:01:19,173
The Korean completely stopped.
1041
01:01:19,199 --> 01:01:21,374
It was impossible
to bring them down
1042
01:01:21,399 --> 01:01:23,411
with the same rope
1043
01:01:23,440 --> 01:01:24,853
because they sit down.
1044
01:01:30,880 --> 01:01:32,410
The whole thing
was a little bit stuck,
1045
01:01:32,433 --> 01:01:36,174
so it was not totally clear.
1046
01:01:36,196 --> 01:01:38,502
One moment, you are not walking
all together anymore,
1047
01:01:38,525 --> 01:01:40,385
so you are
a little bit separated,
1048
01:01:40,406 --> 01:01:42,830
a few meters between you.
1049
01:01:42,862 --> 01:01:45,548
Everybody is just descending.
1050
01:01:51,249 --> 01:01:55,370
We came at the point
where the fixed rope should be,
1051
01:01:55,395 --> 01:01:56,418
but it wasn't there.
1052
01:01:59,509 --> 01:02:00,661
Marco was looking.
1053
01:02:00,689 --> 01:02:02,125
I was searching.
1054
01:02:02,155 --> 01:02:04,679
But we couldn't find it.
1055
01:02:04,707 --> 01:02:07,263
I was convinced
that this was the right way,
1056
01:02:07,290 --> 01:02:09,682
but why wasn't the rope there?
1057
01:02:11,245 --> 01:02:13,137
The only thing you think is,
1058
01:02:13,158 --> 01:02:15,464
"We must be on the wrong side
of the mountain,
1059
01:02:15,487 --> 01:02:18,205
or we must have lost the way."
1060
01:02:23,300 --> 01:02:28,629
My soul said,
"Marco, stop yourself."
1061
01:02:28,657 --> 01:02:30,995
"Stop. Stop. Stop."
1062
01:02:31,017 --> 01:02:32,583
I called Ger.
1063
01:02:32,612 --> 01:02:35,712
I said, "Ger,
let's stay here for the night."
1064
01:02:35,738 --> 01:02:37,173
We must stay still
1065
01:02:37,204 --> 01:02:40,814
because it would be easy
for an avalanche to get us.
1066
01:02:47,728 --> 01:02:52,296
I expected by noon
at the latest to hear from them.
1067
01:02:52,320 --> 01:02:53,701
And the phone rang
when I was at lunch,
1068
01:02:53,723 --> 01:02:56,540
and I thought it was him,
but it was another friend.
1069
01:02:56,562 --> 01:02:58,161
She was like,
"Have you heard from Ger yet?"
1070
01:02:58,189 --> 01:03:00,680
And I said, "No.
I'm really worried."
1071
01:03:00,708 --> 01:03:04,090
And then I went home from lunch,
1072
01:03:04,120 --> 01:03:06,100
got immediately on the internet,
1073
01:03:06,130 --> 01:03:09,903
and the first thing
was "Trouble on K2."
1074
01:03:13,401 --> 01:03:14,869
First thing I thought of was,
1075
01:03:14,900 --> 01:03:18,129
"Okay, when does the sun
rise on K2?"
1076
01:03:18,152 --> 01:03:20,393
"Because that's when
they'll start moving again."
1077
01:03:20,417 --> 01:03:23,450
And, you know, "How many more
hours do they have out there?"
1078
01:03:28,900 --> 01:03:31,836
We were stranded
above the death zone.
1079
01:03:31,866 --> 01:03:33,465
Mahdi was out of his head.
1080
01:03:33,493 --> 01:03:36,908
I thought he was
going to kill us both.
1081
01:03:36,936 --> 01:03:40,003
By instinct,
I digged a hole into the slope
1082
01:03:40,030 --> 01:03:41,694
to get out of the storm.
1083
01:03:41,720 --> 01:03:43,797
I remember screaming
at the top of my lungs,
1084
01:03:43,825 --> 01:03:46,858
"I don't want to die!"
1085
01:03:46,887 --> 01:03:51,107
And that's when I heard them
above the howl of the wind.
1086
01:03:51,128 --> 01:03:54,804
I don't know whether
it was Compagnoni or Lacedelli,
1087
01:03:54,827 --> 01:03:56,263
but I heard a voice.
1088
01:03:56,295 --> 01:03:59,013
"Do you want us
to freeze for you?"
1089
01:03:59,037 --> 01:04:02,582
"Leave the oxygen
and go straight down."
1090
01:04:06,946 --> 01:04:09,979
For me, the descent
is not a really big problem.
1091
01:04:13,452 --> 01:04:15,246
I'm so much fixed
in the descending
1092
01:04:15,270 --> 01:04:17,445
that I don't really know
who is in front of me
1093
01:04:17,470 --> 01:04:18,970
or back of me.
1094
01:04:19,001 --> 01:04:21,753
So only thing is,
I know that I see light
1095
01:04:21,776 --> 01:04:23,375
and I was coming
close to the light.
1096
01:04:23,401 --> 01:04:27,360
Then I saw it was Hugues,
the Frenchman.
1097
01:04:27,388 --> 01:04:29,432
Hey, Hugues.
1098
01:04:29,461 --> 01:04:31,223
Hey, Gas.
1099
01:04:33,033 --> 01:04:35,403
Y... you go past.
1100
01:04:35,425 --> 01:04:37,567
You're quicker than me.
1101
01:04:39,284 --> 01:04:42,383
I pass him,
and I go on descending.
1102
01:04:42,409 --> 01:04:43,942
Take your time.
1103
01:04:43,972 --> 01:04:46,114
Go. Go.
1104
01:04:48,469 --> 01:04:50,839
And then I noticed something
is not okay with the rope.
1105
01:05:39,845 --> 01:05:42,912
If you sleep, you die.
1106
01:05:42,939 --> 01:05:46,320
I think Wilco heard our voices,
1107
01:05:46,351 --> 01:05:51,200
so he came in our direction.
1108
01:06:07,845 --> 01:06:08,868
We were not in a panic.
1109
01:06:08,898 --> 01:06:10,790
We were-
we were just sitting.
1110
01:06:10,811 --> 01:06:12,791
We were just, you know, yeah,
1111
01:06:12,820 --> 01:06:14,865
wondering why
we couldn't find the rope.
1112
01:06:14,893 --> 01:06:17,384
But we were convinced
that next morning,
1113
01:06:17,413 --> 01:06:19,360
with the first light,
1114
01:06:19,390 --> 01:06:21,598
we would find the rope again.
1115
01:06:56,129 --> 01:06:58,978
The Korean, they sit down.
1116
01:06:58,999 --> 01:07:01,337
I feel, it's very, very sad,
1117
01:07:01,359 --> 01:07:04,012
because I understand
many people,
1118
01:07:04,038 --> 01:07:07,583
they cannot reach
a high camp tonight.
1119
01:07:28,977 --> 01:07:30,477
4:00.
1120
01:07:34,749 --> 01:07:35,705
There is nothing,
1121
01:07:35,705 --> 01:07:37,913
no ice anchor, no length,
1122
01:07:37,938 --> 01:07:41,614
no rock anchor,
no fixed line, nothing.
1123
01:07:41,638 --> 01:07:44,008
Then I try to contact
with the Korean Sherpa,
1124
01:07:44,029 --> 01:07:48,814
but I couldn't get them on radio
1125
01:07:48,845 --> 01:07:52,455
because nobody
switched on the radio.
1126
01:07:52,480 --> 01:07:54,818
It was a big problem.
1127
01:07:54,840 --> 01:07:56,156
Hmm.
1128
01:07:56,180 --> 01:07:57,681
We could go.
1129
01:07:57,710 --> 01:07:58,733
We could go up and...
1130
01:07:58,763 --> 01:08:00,492
If we had people,
we could do this.
1131
01:08:00,518 --> 01:08:03,780
It was still nice and clear.
1132
01:08:03,802 --> 01:08:07,096
We could see
some of the climbers
1133
01:08:07,119 --> 01:08:08,533
on the top of the serac.
1134
01:08:39,584 --> 01:08:42,781
We were convinced that,
with the first light,
1135
01:08:42,805 --> 01:08:44,784
we would find the rope again.
1136
01:09:05,671 --> 01:09:07,716
And Gerard was going
to the right, you know,
1137
01:09:07,744 --> 01:09:09,212
to have a look over there.
1138
01:09:09,243 --> 01:09:10,972
I was going to the left
to have a look over there.
1139
01:09:10,997 --> 01:09:13,106
Marco was looking somewhere.
1140
01:09:14,569 --> 01:09:16,548
We couldn't find it.
1141
01:09:16,578 --> 01:09:18,818
And then I start to realize
1142
01:09:18,842 --> 01:09:22,702
that I got problems
with my view.
1143
01:09:22,733 --> 01:09:26,506
I was getting more in panic,
you know, because I knew-
1144
01:09:26,528 --> 01:09:32,237
fuck, getting snow-blind
at this altitude is finished.
1145
01:09:32,269 --> 01:09:33,617
No helicopter are coming.
1146
01:09:33,639 --> 01:09:36,325
The guys can't do something
with a body of 80 kilos.
1147
01:09:36,350 --> 01:09:37,785
It's finished.
- Guys!
1148
01:09:37,817 --> 01:09:38,905
So, I said, "Listen, guys."
1149
01:09:38,933 --> 01:09:40,466
"I have to go down.
I have to go down."
1150
01:09:40,496 --> 01:09:41,649
I have to go down!
1151
01:09:41,676 --> 01:09:43,057
So I started just going down
1152
01:09:43,079 --> 01:09:45,798
without thinking anymore
and just going down.
1153
01:09:51,466 --> 01:09:52,422
Just one question.
1154
01:09:52,423 --> 01:09:54,403
Here is base camp
Serbian calling.
1155
01:09:54,432 --> 01:09:57,749
Do you know some information
about Gerard, the Irish guide,
1156
01:09:57,781 --> 01:10:00,685
from Norit expedition?
1157
01:10:00,716 --> 01:10:01,868
What I was hearing is "Jimmy,"
1158
01:10:01,895 --> 01:10:04,647
but "Jumik and Pasang
in trouble."
1159
01:10:04,670 --> 01:10:06,018
They were the Korean Sherpas.
1160
01:10:06,041 --> 01:10:07,673
Yes.
1161
01:10:07,699 --> 01:10:11,691
And then Rolf
and then "Prenmaldic"?
1162
01:10:11,717 --> 01:10:17,111
I didn't even understand that
other people had died, really.
1163
01:10:17,139 --> 01:10:19,955
I was in shock.
1164
01:10:19,977 --> 01:10:23,969
I remember a phone call
I had to my father-in-law.
1165
01:10:24,985 --> 01:10:27,290
I was so scared
to make that phone call.
1166
01:10:27,312 --> 01:10:31,336
He was gonna be mad at me
for not looking after his son.
1167
01:10:36,115 --> 01:10:40,139
But instead, he said...
1168
01:10:42,907 --> 01:10:44,289
"You have to get
off the mountain."
1169
01:10:44,311 --> 01:10:45,844
"You have to come home."
1170
01:10:51,423 --> 01:10:53,184
Yeah.
1171
01:10:55,057 --> 01:10:56,950
I didn't want to lose
my husband,
1172
01:10:56,971 --> 01:10:59,842
but I lost, uh...
1173
01:11:02,138 --> 01:11:03,671
Of course, my best friend...
1174
01:11:06,635 --> 01:11:10,528
And my future
1175
01:11:10,557 --> 01:11:14,516
like I was hoping it would be.
1176
01:11:36,899 --> 01:11:39,584
I was just climbing down,
and then, suddenly,
1177
01:11:39,610 --> 01:11:41,850
those Koreans
were hanging over there.
1178
01:11:43,341 --> 01:11:44,907
I was just thinking,
1179
01:11:44,936 --> 01:11:47,013
"What the hell
are they doing here?"
1180
01:11:47,040 --> 01:11:49,498
I didn't understand
anything about it.
1181
01:12:11,693 --> 01:12:13,519
Gloves.
1182
01:12:13,542 --> 01:12:15,935
I had some spare gloves,
so I gave the gloves.
1183
01:12:15,966 --> 01:12:17,913
I didn't ask what happened.
1184
01:12:17,943 --> 01:12:19,890
Maybe they
were hanging all night long,
1185
01:12:19,920 --> 01:12:21,813
but at that time, I was...
1186
01:12:21,834 --> 01:12:24,204
I was just, you know,
shocked about it.
1187
01:12:26,395 --> 01:12:27,743
I said, "Listen."
1188
01:12:27,765 --> 01:12:28,885
"I have to go down"
1189
01:12:28,914 --> 01:12:30,676
"because I'm starting
to get snow-blind."
1190
01:12:30,699 --> 01:12:31,787
And he said, "Yeah, yeah,"
1191
01:12:31,816 --> 01:12:35,611
"but help is also on the way,
so go ahead."
1192
01:12:35,643 --> 01:12:37,655
I'll send help.
1193
01:12:55,000 --> 01:12:57,621
They are all up there
by themselves.
1194
01:12:57,648 --> 01:12:59,474
They're not moving anywhere.
1195
01:12:59,497 --> 01:13:03,999
They're just sitting still,
just waiting to get help.
1196
01:13:06,896 --> 01:13:09,452
The South Korean
expedition leader, Kim,
1197
01:13:09,479 --> 01:13:12,796
was arranging a rescue mission.
1198
01:13:12,827 --> 01:13:15,035
But I just said, "Hey, guys",
1199
01:13:15,060 --> 01:13:19,181
"they're not standing up,
moving one meter,"
1200
01:13:19,206 --> 01:13:22,110
"and you're telling me
that I should go up there"
1201
01:13:22,140 --> 01:13:24,151
"when the ice
is still falling down?"
1202
01:13:24,181 --> 01:13:25,975
There's no fixed lines.
1203
01:13:25,999 --> 01:13:27,467
There's no ropes.
1204
01:13:27,498 --> 01:13:30,662
I mean, that is just insane.
1205
01:13:30,687 --> 01:13:32,992
This is not a guided tour.
1206
01:13:33,015 --> 01:13:35,952
We cannot physically pluck
people off this mountain.
1207
01:13:38,628 --> 01:13:40,161
Then American team, they said,
1208
01:13:40,190 --> 01:13:42,714
"Because we
don't have enough manpower,"
1209
01:13:42,741 --> 01:13:44,634
"we cannot go ourself,
a rescue,"
1210
01:13:44,655 --> 01:13:47,852
"because physically
we are all so weak."
1211
01:13:47,876 --> 01:13:50,844
"Is still bottleneck,
is very dangerous."
1212
01:13:50,874 --> 01:13:53,495
"Then, now we have to go down."
1213
01:13:59,676 --> 01:14:01,111
Copy that.
Copy that.
1214
01:14:01,143 --> 01:14:03,035
Most of the people,
they are moving from-
1215
01:14:04,013 --> 01:14:05,906
Down from Camp Four,
1216
01:14:05,927 --> 01:14:07,656
moving down.
1217
01:14:07,681 --> 01:14:09,312
Then, uh...
1218
01:14:09,339 --> 01:14:10,872
In our group,
1219
01:14:10,902 --> 01:14:15,023
Mr. Kim insisted that we
go for a rescue.
1220
01:14:20,884 --> 01:14:23,635
We had no choice.
1221
01:14:23,658 --> 01:14:27,171
We had to follow
their instructions.
1222
01:14:27,198 --> 01:14:32,113
They paid us,
1223
01:14:32,141 --> 01:14:38,426
and they acted
like they owned our lives.
1224
01:14:59,408 --> 01:15:01,105
I was so thirsty, you know,
1225
01:15:01,131 --> 01:15:04,611
and I knew I'm getting crazy
in a few hours,
1226
01:15:04,638 --> 01:15:06,911
because when you don't have
water at that altitude
1227
01:15:06,934 --> 01:15:09,718
for such a long time,
you won't survive it.
1228
01:15:37,996 --> 01:15:40,453
I looked up, and I saw
that Marco and Gerard
1229
01:15:40,484 --> 01:15:42,941
were with those Korean guys.
1230
01:15:42,972 --> 01:15:44,701
Which way?
1231
01:15:47,819 --> 01:15:49,036
That's it.
1232
01:15:49,063 --> 01:15:51,781
It was the Korean climbing leader.
1233
01:15:51,805 --> 01:15:55,067
But everything was smashed up
1234
01:15:55,090 --> 01:16:01,985
with lots of blood everywhere.
1235
01:16:02,011 --> 01:16:08,199
I have worked for 15 years
in mountain rescue,
1236
01:16:08,229 --> 01:16:12,569
and I have seen many things
and many people.
1237
01:16:14,161 --> 01:16:17,641
I knew this was a bad situation.
1238
01:16:19,710 --> 01:16:21,276
Okay. Okay.
1239
01:16:21,304 --> 01:16:22,261
You're all right.
1240
01:16:35,082 --> 01:16:38,182
You have to save yourself on K2.
1241
01:16:38,207 --> 01:16:40,731
It's the only way.
1242
01:16:44,840 --> 01:16:47,625
I've never attempted
to take the credit
1243
01:16:47,647 --> 01:16:52,856
from Lacedelli and Compagnoni
of conquering K2,
1244
01:16:52,877 --> 01:16:54,062
nor would I.
1245
01:16:55,684 --> 01:17:00,316
Yet Mahdi and I
were written out of the story.
1246
01:17:01,679 --> 01:17:04,170
Our sacrifice
was completely omitted
1247
01:17:04,199 --> 01:17:06,755
in the official records.
1248
01:17:06,781 --> 01:17:11,088
Then it was lied about
behind my back for decades.
1249
01:17:11,119 --> 01:17:14,762
They said we used the oxygen
to save ourselves.
1250
01:17:14,786 --> 01:17:16,798
This is the oxygen, mind you,
1251
01:17:16,828 --> 01:17:20,655
that Lino and Achille
used to reach the summit.
1252
01:17:21,994 --> 01:17:24,995
For 30 years,
I have been attacked,
1253
01:17:25,023 --> 01:17:28,188
accused, provoked, and slandered
1254
01:17:28,213 --> 01:17:31,030
all because I volunteered
my own life
1255
01:17:31,051 --> 01:17:34,280
in the service of my people
and my country.
1256
01:17:35,516 --> 01:17:40,214
Without Mahdi and I,
K2 would have remained a dream.
1257
01:17:45,051 --> 01:17:47,128
We worked together.
1258
01:17:47,155 --> 01:17:51,495
I found a walkie-talkie
under the Sherpa.
1259
01:17:51,525 --> 01:17:53,287
I spoke with someone.
1260
01:17:53,311 --> 01:17:55,007
I don't know who it was
who was listening.
1261
01:17:55,033 --> 01:17:56,022
I spoke.
1262
01:17:56,054 --> 01:17:59,730
I said,
"I don't speak English."
1263
01:17:59,753 --> 01:18:02,090
"I speak Tarzan English."
1264
01:18:02,112 --> 01:18:05,494
I said, "I am Marco.
I am at the serac."
1265
01:18:05,526 --> 01:18:06,548
"There is a problem."
1266
01:18:06,578 --> 01:18:10,764
"Somebody has to come up.
I am tired."
1267
01:18:10,787 --> 01:18:13,821
But then Ger,
he went back up a bit.
1268
01:18:13,848 --> 01:18:16,186
I didn't understand why.
1269
01:18:16,209 --> 01:18:19,657
I didn't know if he wanted
to pull down the Koreans still.
1270
01:18:19,684 --> 01:18:25,176
I spoke on the radio,
and then I started to descend.
1271
01:18:31,262 --> 01:18:36,079
All I could think about
was leaving, surviving.
1272
01:18:37,161 --> 01:18:38,727
I had to survive.
1273
01:18:49,089 --> 01:18:50,622
Called a friend.
1274
01:18:50,652 --> 01:18:52,446
Just asked her
if she'd come over
1275
01:18:52,469 --> 01:18:55,568
so I wouldn't have to be alone.
1276
01:18:55,594 --> 01:18:58,019
She came to the door,
1277
01:18:58,050 --> 01:18:59,910
and she grabbed me,
and she said,
1278
01:18:59,931 --> 01:19:03,194
"We are gonna will him
off that mountain."
1279
01:19:25,763 --> 01:19:27,971
Okay, you must bring him down.
1280
01:19:27,996 --> 01:19:30,073
Mr. Kim says
we must keep climbing higher
1281
01:19:30,101 --> 01:19:32,048
and find the Korean team.
1282
01:19:36,798 --> 01:19:39,071
He's alive,
1283
01:19:39,094 --> 01:19:41,812
but nobody's-
want to come with me.
1284
01:19:41,837 --> 01:19:44,805
But everybody say,
"No, it's still dangerous."
1285
01:19:44,834 --> 01:19:49,206
Then finally, I...
I start climb again.
1286
01:20:00,142 --> 01:20:02,763
He wearing a green down suit.
1287
01:20:02,789 --> 01:20:05,247
I knew that is Marco.
1288
01:20:12,101 --> 01:20:15,777
If I don't have oxygen,
I cannot bring him down
1289
01:20:15,801 --> 01:20:18,835
because I cannot carry him.
1290
01:20:27,186 --> 01:20:29,230
After ten minutes,
1291
01:20:29,259 --> 01:20:34,587
Marco is trying to move
and trying to talk with me.
1292
01:20:47,692 --> 01:20:50,084
Go ahead, Pasang.
1293
01:20:50,116 --> 01:20:55,129
I am here with the Korean team.
1294
01:20:55,155 --> 01:20:57,232
They said,
"We see Korean Sherpas"
1295
01:20:57,259 --> 01:20:58,314
"and Korean team."
1296
01:20:58,344 --> 01:21:01,792
"Now we are trying
to descend together."
1297
01:21:01,820 --> 01:21:04,821
Is there anyone else there?
1298
01:21:04,849 --> 01:21:07,437
There was one other climber,
1299
01:21:07,465 --> 01:21:11,293
but he was hit by ice and fell.
1300
01:21:11,324 --> 01:21:14,934
What was
the color of his down suit?
1301
01:21:14,959 --> 01:21:16,939
Red and black.
1302
01:21:19,934 --> 01:21:24,599
When they said,
then I think that could be Ger.
1303
01:21:52,750 --> 01:21:55,403
I don't know who is the person
rolling down.
1304
01:21:55,429 --> 01:22:00,246
Then I reach there,
and I saw two Korean body
1305
01:22:00,277 --> 01:22:06,084
is ten meters far
from two other Sherpas' body.
1306
01:22:06,113 --> 01:22:11,409
I know the rucksack
and boots and down suit.
1307
01:23:13,116 --> 01:23:14,616
Everybody wants to survive...
1308
01:23:14,647 --> 01:23:17,583
doesn't matter if you have
a child or... or a wife at home.
1309
01:23:17,613 --> 01:23:20,233
Yeah, there was
the last moment I saw Gerard
1310
01:23:20,259 --> 01:23:21,858
and these other Koreans,
1311
01:23:21,886 --> 01:23:23,898
but I don't know
what happened with them.
1312
01:23:25,298 --> 01:23:28,528
Why are... me surviving?
1313
01:23:28,552 --> 01:23:32,097
Yeah, it's... it's just a matter
of... of stupid...
1314
01:23:32,123 --> 01:23:34,233
yeah, be unlucky
on the wrong time
1315
01:23:34,260 --> 01:23:35,956
and the wrong place.
1316
01:23:40,032 --> 01:23:42,012
Wilco, our expedition leader,
1317
01:23:42,042 --> 01:23:45,336
is back up with the helicopter
because he's frozen his feet.
1318
01:23:45,358 --> 01:23:47,500
And there's a second helicopter
for Marco.
1319
01:23:47,527 --> 01:23:50,115
He froze his hands really badly,
1320
01:23:50,142 --> 01:23:52,730
so he can't use his hands
to get the ropes anymore.
1321
01:24:01,272 --> 01:24:02,936
Helicopter carries
the last survivor
1322
01:24:02,962 --> 01:24:04,278
of a doomed mission to climb
1323
01:24:04,302 --> 01:24:07,020
one of world's
most challenging mountains.
1324
01:24:07,044 --> 01:24:10,176
Italian Marco Confortola
was rescued from K2
1325
01:24:10,202 --> 01:24:11,931
nearly five days
after an avalanche
1326
01:24:11,956 --> 01:24:14,326
swept some climbers away
and stranded others.
1327
01:24:14,347 --> 01:24:16,207
And badly frostbitten
1328
01:24:16,229 --> 01:24:18,621
from trying to help
save others in the group.
1329
01:24:18,653 --> 01:24:21,404
Instinct, he says,
makes you want to do that.
1330
01:24:21,427 --> 01:24:22,841
Confortola says the expedition
1331
01:24:22,862 --> 01:24:25,962
was plagued by inexperience
and poor equipment.
1332
01:24:25,987 --> 01:24:28,956
He says some ropes and spikes
easily broke.
1333
01:24:28,985 --> 01:24:31,856
Different people
were saying different things.
1334
01:24:33,195 --> 01:24:35,055
There was a lot of confusion.
1335
01:24:35,077 --> 01:24:36,937
There was a lot of stories,
1336
01:24:36,958 --> 01:24:40,699
but the Marco story
became the story.
1337
01:24:40,721 --> 01:24:42,994
We were all prepared,
1338
01:24:43,017 --> 01:24:44,931
all alpine climbers.
1339
01:24:44,962 --> 01:24:49,715
We were people who knew
what we were doing,
1340
01:24:49,746 --> 01:24:52,498
but it was K2,
the most difficult of mountains.
1341
01:24:53,924 --> 01:24:57,665
This guy had had
a horrific experience up there.
1342
01:24:59,091 --> 01:25:02,571
He was in pretty bad shape,
both mentally and physically.
1343
01:25:04,321 --> 01:25:06,365
I said, "Look, I need to..."
1344
01:25:06,394 --> 01:25:08,220
"Find out for sure, you know,"
1345
01:25:08,243 --> 01:25:09,842
"what went down up here,
like, you know?"
1346
01:25:09,870 --> 01:25:11,784
"I have to go to Pakistan."
1347
01:25:20,291 --> 01:25:22,126
It was really frightening,
because we didn't know
1348
01:25:22,148 --> 01:25:23,083
what we were going in for.
1349
01:25:23,105 --> 01:25:26,585
And, I mean, I guess half of me
1350
01:25:26,612 --> 01:25:27,994
kind of still believed Ger
was alive,
1351
01:25:28,016 --> 01:25:30,408
and the other half
didn't believe it.
1352
01:25:30,439 --> 01:25:32,419
Following day,
we got to meet Wilco and Cas.
1353
01:25:36,339 --> 01:25:39,276
I'm sorry. I'm just hoping he's alive.
1354
01:25:39,305 --> 01:25:41,698
But he's saying he saw
Ger fall, and his story...
1355
01:25:43,228 --> 01:25:45,054
And in my heart, there's still hope.
1356
01:25:45,077 --> 01:25:47,253
- I know it's ridiculous.
- Yes, I understand.
1357
01:25:47,278 --> 01:25:49,834
- So he's-he is dead?
- Yes, for sure.
1358
01:25:49,861 --> 01:25:53,820
Absolutely, because that was
what Marco told us directly.
1359
01:25:53,847 --> 01:25:55,000
Wilco and Cas,
1360
01:25:55,028 --> 01:25:56,627
they were obviously nervous
1361
01:25:56,654 --> 01:26:00,807
because our brother
had died, you know,
1362
01:26:00,831 --> 01:26:02,245
and they were alive.
1363
01:26:02,267 --> 01:26:04,028
Why did we split up?
1364
01:26:04,053 --> 01:26:06,065
Why didn't we look
to each other?
1365
01:26:06,094 --> 01:26:08,617
The only explanation
is because we were too-
1366
01:26:08,645 --> 01:26:10,276
too long at high altitude.
1367
01:26:10,303 --> 01:26:12,924
Marco's account was,
he was sitting there with Ger,
1368
01:26:12,951 --> 01:26:14,963
and then there were three people
ahead of them.
1369
01:26:14,991 --> 01:26:17,232
And all of a sudden,
those people disappeared.
1370
01:26:17,255 --> 01:26:18,821
And so they took such a fright,
1371
01:26:18,851 --> 01:26:20,482
they decided,
"Let's just sit here
1372
01:26:20,509 --> 01:26:23,000
"and wait until daylight," right?
1373
01:26:23,028 --> 01:26:24,822
And then he says you came along,
1374
01:26:24,846 --> 01:26:26,064
but then... then...
1375
01:26:26,090 --> 01:26:27,655
No, no, no, that's not correct,
1376
01:26:27,684 --> 01:26:29,152
because we started together.
1377
01:26:29,183 --> 01:26:30,977
So you were all...
you bivouacked all together?
1378
01:26:31,001 --> 01:26:32,349
- Yeah.
- You never came along later?
1379
01:26:32,372 --> 01:26:33,427
No.
1380
01:26:33,457 --> 01:26:34,870
One thing that always took
hold in my head
1381
01:26:34,892 --> 01:26:37,316
and still does to this day
was...
1382
01:26:37,347 --> 01:26:38,610
how so many people
on the mountain
1383
01:26:38,623 --> 01:26:40,993
could have different stories
about the same event.
1384
01:26:41,014 --> 01:26:43,091
And then we come back
in the night,
1385
01:26:43,120 --> 01:26:45,458
and then after-
and then the next morning,
1386
01:26:45,480 --> 01:26:47,241
everything happens.
1387
01:26:47,265 --> 01:26:49,473
They had their information
1388
01:26:49,498 --> 01:26:52,531
about the little bit
Wilco could remember
1389
01:26:52,559 --> 01:26:55,376
and the little bit
Cas could remember
1390
01:26:55,398 --> 01:26:57,475
and what they heard
Marco could remember.
1391
01:26:57,502 --> 01:26:59,449
And they drew a map for us,
1392
01:26:59,480 --> 01:27:00,829
you know, the terrain
1393
01:27:00,851 --> 01:27:03,440
where they thought
things occurred.
1394
01:27:03,466 --> 01:27:05,957
Marco's a very emotional boy.
1395
01:27:05,986 --> 01:27:07,009
He's...
1396
01:27:07,038 --> 01:27:07,995
Yes, and he's totally...
1397
01:27:08,027 --> 01:27:11,637
He was... at the end of...
he was so tired.
1398
01:27:13,863 --> 01:27:16,168
They didn't know any more.
1399
01:27:16,191 --> 01:27:21,584
Cas and Wilco had been airlifted
off the mountain.
1400
01:27:21,612 --> 01:27:26,560
There was no debriefing
with the remainder of the team,
1401
01:27:26,587 --> 01:27:28,534
and they actually didn't know.
1402
01:27:30,542 --> 01:27:35,457
He was just getting
more and more confused.
1403
01:27:35,485 --> 01:27:36,508
We needed more.
1404
01:27:36,537 --> 01:27:37,625
You know what I mean?
1405
01:27:37,654 --> 01:27:39,927
It wasn't enough.
1406
01:27:39,950 --> 01:27:43,527
For some reason, we felt
we needed to talk to Pemba.
1407
01:27:46,583 --> 01:27:49,106
Marco had left
by the time we got there,
1408
01:27:49,135 --> 01:27:51,527
but Pemba
and the rest of the Norit team
1409
01:27:51,558 --> 01:27:54,527
were hiking out,
and that takes two days.
1410
01:27:55,608 --> 01:27:57,435
Also, mentally,
psychologically,
1411
01:27:57,458 --> 01:28:00,590
Marco was almost mad.
1412
01:28:00,615 --> 01:28:01,572
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
1413
01:28:01,604 --> 01:28:05,563
Because when I trying
to give oxygen,
1414
01:28:05,590 --> 01:28:08,276
he's angry with me.
1415
01:28:08,301 --> 01:28:10,476
"Why you came here
to pick up me?"
1416
01:28:10,501 --> 01:28:13,187
He is always talking
negative, negative,
1417
01:28:13,213 --> 01:28:14,594
always crying.
1418
01:28:14,616 --> 01:28:16,725
And he's saying,
1419
01:28:16,752 --> 01:28:17,741
"You fucking guys,"
1420
01:28:17,773 --> 01:28:20,589
"why you come here
to pick up me?"
1421
01:28:20,611 --> 01:28:21,699
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
1422
01:28:21,727 --> 01:28:22,912
- That is...
- Not very understanding.
1423
01:28:22,939 --> 01:28:24,635
- We say a head case.
- Yeah.
1424
01:28:26,510 --> 01:28:28,751
By the time Pemba
got to Islamabad,
1425
01:28:28,775 --> 01:28:29,862
Marco was gone,
1426
01:28:29,891 --> 01:28:32,991
and all the major news people
left too.
1427
01:28:33,016 --> 01:28:34,104
It never occurred to them
1428
01:28:34,133 --> 01:28:37,036
that maybe he'd have something
to say.
1429
01:28:37,067 --> 01:28:39,176
What happened on K2,
1430
01:28:39,203 --> 01:28:40,704
the story of the rescue,
1431
01:28:40,734 --> 01:28:46,509
is that I tried
for three or four hours
1432
01:28:46,539 --> 01:28:49,095
to give help to those boys.
1433
01:28:49,121 --> 01:28:53,113
It's something that just came
1434
01:28:53,140 --> 01:28:58,186
from my heart.
1435
01:28:58,211 --> 01:29:03,322
It was after that
that I paid the consequences.
1436
01:29:03,345 --> 01:29:05,009
What Marco did on the mountain...
1437
01:29:05,035 --> 01:29:06,220
nobody can take that
away from him.
1438
01:29:06,247 --> 01:29:07,531
He was a hero on the mountain.
1439
01:29:07,555 --> 01:29:08,772
I mean, the family always-
to this day,
1440
01:29:08,799 --> 01:29:10,300
the family have said,
"Marco did what he could do."
1441
01:29:10,329 --> 01:29:11,285
"He was a hero."
1442
01:29:14,029 --> 01:29:15,758
But the stories
were changing from Marco
1443
01:29:15,783 --> 01:29:18,306
from what he
originally came outwith.
1444
01:29:18,334 --> 01:29:19,998
He said
that Ger was always ahead,
1445
01:29:20,025 --> 01:29:22,297
that Ger abandoned him.
1446
01:29:22,320 --> 01:29:25,289
Within a day or two, the stories
were-were rife in the papers.
1447
01:29:31,346 --> 01:29:33,902
Marco was
the last living witness
1448
01:29:33,929 --> 01:29:35,462
to have seen Ger.
1449
01:29:35,492 --> 01:29:37,862
So for to hear these stories
that Ger was always ahead,
1450
01:29:37,883 --> 01:29:39,515
he was hallucinating,
1451
01:29:39,542 --> 01:29:42,260
his body was splattered
all over the mountain-
1452
01:29:42,285 --> 01:29:43,698
this was heartbreaking
for us, like.
1453
01:29:46,590 --> 01:29:48,221
He changed his story
several times,
1454
01:29:48,248 --> 01:29:53,805
which certainly didn't help
make things clear.
1455
01:29:55,806 --> 01:30:00,308
And... and, you know, his story
had a lot of clout
1456
01:30:00,335 --> 01:30:02,955
because everyone else was gone,
1457
01:30:02,982 --> 01:30:05,092
everyone else had perished.
1458
01:30:05,118 --> 01:30:08,185
So you can say
whatever you want.
1459
01:30:08,212 --> 01:30:13,704
There's no one there
to contradict what you say,
1460
01:30:13,729 --> 01:30:14,718
except for Pemba.
1461
01:30:16,695 --> 01:30:18,968
See, all we have is a story
to cling onto,
1462
01:30:18,991 --> 01:30:20,884
and-and now all the stories
are different.
1463
01:30:20,905 --> 01:30:23,330
And it's very hard, do you know?
1464
01:30:23,360 --> 01:30:24,861
Every story's different,
1465
01:30:24,891 --> 01:30:25,847
and that's all we have.
1466
01:30:25,880 --> 01:30:27,348
We've no body.
1467
01:30:27,378 --> 01:30:28,662
But why we are asking...
1468
01:30:28,686 --> 01:30:31,503
because now I,
what your story says
1469
01:30:31,525 --> 01:30:34,276
is that you were
a little bit lower
1470
01:30:34,299 --> 01:30:36,061
than the body of Gerard, so...
1471
01:30:36,085 --> 01:30:39,500
Two fresh Sherpas
forcing by Korean leader
1472
01:30:39,529 --> 01:30:41,541
reach Korean,
1473
01:30:41,570 --> 01:30:45,724
just top section of the couloir.
1474
01:30:45,748 --> 01:30:49,543
And then they
are descending together.
1475
01:30:49,575 --> 01:30:51,206
I thought
they were already dead,
1476
01:30:51,233 --> 01:30:52,288
the three who were hanging,
1477
01:30:52,318 --> 01:30:53,731
but probably
they had been moving then.
1478
01:30:53,752 --> 01:30:58,537
Yeah, then same time,
1479
01:30:58,568 --> 01:31:00,993
three, four times,
the serac fell down.
1480
01:31:01,024 --> 01:31:02,144
Multi times serac...
1481
01:31:02,172 --> 01:31:04,445
Pemba was the missing piece
of the jigsaw.
1482
01:31:04,468 --> 01:31:06,578
He held the key
to a lot of people's questions.
1483
01:31:08,391 --> 01:31:11,523
Ger had given his camera
to Pemba at the summit,
1484
01:31:11,548 --> 01:31:14,582
so Pemba had (Bar's camera
coming down and all.
1485
01:31:14,609 --> 01:31:17,165
And he continued to take
pictures of what was happening.
1486
01:31:21,657 --> 01:31:23,038
It was obvious, then,
why Ger refused
1487
01:31:23,060 --> 01:31:24,409
to come down the mountain.
1488
01:31:24,432 --> 01:31:25,552
There was people in trouble.
1489
01:31:27,366 --> 01:31:29,704
Ger was never going to,
1490
01:31:29,726 --> 01:31:30,949
never going to leave them after.
1491
01:31:33,744 --> 01:31:37,485
It would have destroyed him
to just leave the Koreans.
1492
01:31:37,507 --> 01:31:38,823
It would have ate away,
1493
01:31:38,847 --> 01:31:44,719
and it would've haunted him day
and night, I think.
1494
01:31:46,883 --> 01:31:49,536
At first, we weren't told
that Ger had gone back up.
1495
01:31:49,562 --> 01:31:51,476
That came out
a little bit later.
1496
01:31:56,897 --> 01:31:58,626
When we met,
Pemba knew something
1497
01:31:58,651 --> 01:32:01,554
that we didn't know
at that point-
1498
01:32:01,585 --> 01:32:04,108
that second radio call.
1499
01:32:04,137 --> 01:32:05,355
Go ahead, Pasang.
1500
01:32:05,380 --> 01:32:09,089
I am here with the Korean team.
1501
01:32:10,419 --> 01:32:13,171
They met the Koreans
at the top of the bottleneck.
1502
01:32:16,702 --> 01:32:20,279
That means they traveled
from where they were stuck,
1503
01:32:20,305 --> 01:32:22,513
all the way across the traverse.
1504
01:32:24,961 --> 01:32:26,245
Ger freed them.
1505
01:32:26,269 --> 01:32:28,313
There was no one else
there to do it.
1506
01:32:31,914 --> 01:32:33,099
In our own team,
1507
01:32:33,126 --> 01:32:35,366
we would have done everything
for each other.
1508
01:32:35,390 --> 01:32:36,674
But what did Gerard-
1509
01:32:36,697 --> 01:32:38,524
not only in his own team...
he... he...
1510
01:32:38,547 --> 01:32:40,276
he fight for his life
1511
01:32:40,301 --> 01:32:42,693
and even for the life
of the Koreans.
1512
01:32:46,552 --> 01:32:48,792
Had they made it down
to Camp Four safely,
1513
01:32:48,816 --> 01:32:51,817
it would be
one of the most amazing stories
1514
01:32:51,846 --> 01:32:55,140
in mountaineering history,
you know?
1515
01:32:55,162 --> 01:32:57,815
But instead,
because they got hit by ice,
1516
01:32:57,841 --> 01:32:58,798
it's a tragedy,
1517
01:32:58,829 --> 01:33:00,776
and then it
becomes a controversy.
1518
01:33:09,418 --> 01:33:12,734
Ger was true to his nature
to the very end.
1519
01:33:14,456 --> 01:33:15,990
That's who he-
that's who he was.
1520
01:33:36,557 --> 01:33:39,014
If it takes 100 years,
1521
01:33:39,045 --> 01:33:40,992
the truth
will have to be recognized
1522
01:33:41,021 --> 01:33:45,175
by those to Whom the verdict
of history belongs.
1523
01:33:47,177 --> 01:33:49,569
Oftentimes,
when somebody does lose a life,
1524
01:33:49,601 --> 01:33:53,396
what went down is held,
you know,
1525
01:33:53,427 --> 01:33:55,091
up under the microscope.
1526
01:33:55,118 --> 01:33:56,880
And some people might say,
"They should have done this,
1527
01:33:56,904 --> 01:33:59,459
and they
shouldn't have done that."
1528
01:33:59,487 --> 01:34:01,216
Just because you survive
the mountain
1529
01:34:01,241 --> 01:34:02,905
doesn't make you an expert,
and it doesn't-
1530
01:34:02,931 --> 01:34:05,356
I don't think that it
gives you any right to-
1531
01:34:05,387 --> 01:34:07,432
to say that somebody
made a mistake, you know,
1532
01:34:07,459 --> 01:34:08,709
because you just-
you know,
1533
01:34:08,735 --> 01:34:11,606
when you Weren't there,
you don't know.
1534
01:34:11,637 --> 01:34:14,834
Only the mountain knows.