Mountaineers Climb Over Mortally Wounded Porter to Reach K2 Summit | K2 Disaster Analysis 

You will not be remembered for the mountains you've climbed, but for the people you climbed over to get there.

I really hope I never happen to be in a situation where Todd Grande speculates what could be happening in a situation like mine.

A popular quote among hikers and mountaineers "The mountain will reveal the true face of people who climbed it"

Saving a man from 27000 ft up K2 is a much greater achievement than climbing to the summit.

About 3 weeks after I summitted two peaks in the Canadian Rockies on a guided trip, my college buddy died on a similar climb when his entire 7-person team broke through a snow bridge and tumbled into a relatively small crevasse. Six of them walked out of the crevasse, but my buddy died quickly from a crushing chest injury when he was flung against the crevasse wall. His daughter was 11 years, my 3 kids were pre-schoolers. That was almost 30 years ago; I never climbed again.

If you can't save someone, comforting them as they are dying is a beautiful thing

kudos to the brazilian dude who tried saving the porter, even sharing his oxygen with him, while others were just stepping over his body

Whether it was possible to save him or not is one thing, that woman‘s behaviour after he had passed and getting back to base camp where they partied and celebrated themselves for their record is another and was just disgusting and shows what she truly cares about - collecting records to pump up her ego and not the human life that was lost while trying to help them feed their soulless ambitions.

I feel climbing these time types of mountains comes with ethical dilemmas. I am glad I have absolutely no desire to do so. Thank you Dr. Grande for another thoughtful video!

Financial desperation can cause a person to put themselves in dangerous positions. This case is heartbreaking 💔

I was a climber & was a member of search & rescue. It is very hard for 6 trained people to carry one guy on a proper stretcher on a formed track. Never mind at that altitude with no rescue equipment no trained people & on a difficult mountain. He would have died trying to get him down. However this does not absolve the callous nature of people walking past & not offering to help or trying to give comfort. God help them.

Thank you. You filled in a lot of what the media didn't, so I had ignored their outrage headlines. You keep it calm and sensible. It is terrible he felt compelled to risk his life due to such poverty, and love for his mother. And now she is mourning him. It's just so sad.

The blame falls on the expedition company. They put a inexperienced porter, without the proper equipment, on a mountain renowned for killing people.

Im a former climber. - I just got old, which is a blessing, all things considered. There is NO comparison between Everest and K2 climbers. Many Everest climbers can be considered novices at BEST, whereas K2 demands very high levels of skill from every mountaineer. But even so, the death rates are still far higher. This is because the slopes are relentless and steep; all of the skill in the world will not protect you from freak events like avalanches and freak storms. And because K2 doesnt have even 1/20th traffic as Everest, that means you have far few support and rescue personnel on site if you get into trouble. Its a desolate and unforgiving place to have an incident.

I really appreciate the detail and gaps filled in here. I think the biggest issue to me now that I know this is that these commercial climbing expeditions rely on exploiting vulnerable, desperate people and don't equip or train them properly. Even if there wasn't a chance of saving him at the end, he could have had a much higher chance of survival if he were properly trained and equipped and if the people on the expedition were properly trained and cared to look out for each other and saw each other as part of the team.

This reminds me so much of Jon Krakauer’s “Into Thin Air” about Mount Everest. It’s terrible and unimaginable the kinds of atrocities the sherpas endure in order to satisfy tourists’ grandiose egos

I can’t think of bigger more selfish bunch of narcissists than mountaineers ! They risk their lives and the lives of others just so they can boast about something the rest of us couldn’t care a less about.

I know its just Mt Rainier, but I greatly appreciate the people who reprimanded me when they found that I did not have sufficient supplies on my way up. They cared for me and sent me back down. :)

My former doctor actually passed on Everest in 2017. His body is still there. RIP Dr. Roland Yearwood

I talked to someone who climbed Everest once. When she talked more about her life, the stories were that of narcissistic fantasy and couldn’t possibly be true. Sure, many that go on these just have a passion for climbing, but anecdotally, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if most of these people have little to no empathy. The person I talked to was clearly driven by a need to be perceived as special more than anything else in her life.

My step dad gave up his climbing career after climbing Denali and meeting another group who lost one of their members on the mountain. He said, I decided I didn't want to die up there. These stories always make me think of him. It's normalized to step over dead bodies in a quest to make it to the top, which I find disgusting enough, can't imagine stepping over someone fighting for their life.

The best thing you can do when it comes to people is to keep your expectations low. The selfishness of average people can be shocking.

I could never step over a hurt person just to check a box. But I also don't have the motivation to climb mountains like this. It's hard to put myself in the shoes of anyone who was there.

I think the biggest issue with these deaths, especially this past Everest season, is stemming from regulatory bodies allowing far to many people to climb the mountain(s) at once and far to many inexperienced and unprepared climbers. Its a dangerous combination thats why so many have died this past climbing season.

I can’t believe how little those porters and sherpas get paid just to enable some wealthy person to reach a summit.

My friends and I once encountered a girl crying alone while hiking a local mountain trail. This hiking trail is famous for local legend and supernatural sighting. One of my friend though she was a ghost. We were spooked for a while seeing a girl crying in the middle of a rainforest, as it's not something you usually see or experience. But I notice she was in hiking gear and back pack. I decided to approach her and ask her why she was crying. To my relive she was not a ghost or anything supernatural. But she was from another hiking expedition. It turns out that she was relative new to hiking and her team mates decides to leave her behind since she was to slow. We decide that she could join us and try to comfort her the best we could. Long story short, in the end she was no longer crying and after the end of the hiking trip, she promised not to hike with such people who leaves their team mates behind.

This is tragic and is such a perfect exemplification of current society - people are more concerned with their status and vanity then they are of the actual lives of other human beings

Incredibly sad...especially his circumstances and how little he earned, the pressure for him to go further and the loss for his family

It’s an extremely sad story. I hope he’s at peace now and I hope his mother is okay.

$20 vs $3?? 🤯🤯 unbelievable, such a tragedy.. seeing the image of them climbing over him was very upsetting. Great content as always Dr. Grande

Unacceptable said it all, you don't step over a dying man to reach your goal, he was putting his hand out to folk who passed him, did any stop to hold the hand that was reaching out for help. This is extremely sad.

I climbed for about 26 years. In the Death Zone above 26,000 feet, every person is trying to survive. Assisting others is NOT an option - attempting just kills more people

The route through the bottleneck on k2 is single file, very narrow and has huge seracs hanging over it and is avalanche prone. Six people carrying another person between them could not fit down the route. A helicopter rescue would have likely caused falling seracs and/or avalanches, burying and/or killing everyone at the porters location. Everyone who attempts these insane climbs are forewarned that if you run into trouble high up on the mountain, and you cannot move under your own power, there is nothing anyone can do for you and you will die. K2 and Everest are both littered with frozen dead bodies due to this simple fact. If you attempt one of these peaks, you cannot expect rescue. It’s wonderful if it can be done, and an amazing feat, for sure…..but you just can’t expect it.

I began rock climbing in the mid-eighties. I superficially knew a few top mountaineers, and they all said the same thing; K2 was the mountaineers mountain. It required a high level of mountaineering skill, and is very dangerous. Luck really helps. That it is now being used for paying customers, with ill-equipped, lowly-paid porters, is breathtakingly sad. I thought K2 was still the mountaineering jewel in the crown, so to speak. This is fucked.

In 1953, Art Gilkey was NOT brought down. During the rescue, he was swept away and his body not found by his team. The rescuers nearly ALL died in a fall during the rescue but were only saved by a miraculous belay by Pete Schoening. And, as you noted, this occurred at a much lower elevation. Then there is the case of Dudley Wolfe and the Sherpas who died trying to rescue him in 1939.

But there was a rescue attempt, right? I mean, he was hanging upside down after the fall and it took them hours to get him back to a position where they were able to even assess his physical situation. Beyond that I'll say that an old college friend of mine is into mountain climbing. In fact he never shuts the hell up about it. Anyways he always says that if someone is injured during their attempts their goal is no longer to reach the summit but to get them off the mountain. But he also says sometimes that's just impossible to do though.

Although the rescue attempts failed, I can clearly see who the heroes are in this case. Those who tried to help him, so he didn’t feel alone, even if he died waiting, he died knowing someone cared. So heartbreaking, truly, heartbreaking. This case reminded me of the Nutty Potty Cave death case, which kept me crying for days over the heart-wrenching, agonizing death of the young man. 💔 Edit: miss spelled “Nutty Putty Cave” (correct name)

This is a gruesome story. Mohammed Hassan was told to go down. He must have known he was not prepared for this work. Did his employers pressure him to do it, or did his own significant economic need cause the judgment-impairing pressure? Many local porters and high altitude guides take these jobs to send their children to school in Katmandu. These men want their own sons to be able to take better, less hazardous jobs.

I get that conditions were such that it was probably not possible to get him down, but it took 3 hours for him to die. He reached out to people as they stepped over him. I cannot imagine the callousness of such an action. Kudos to the man who tried to help him and give oxygen. Could no one abandon their narcissistic goal of reaching the top to hold his hand and be with him while he died?

I love the comment where you said the climbers need a more ludicrous chance of dying rather than a high probability that was great. I love your dark humor. I needed a good laugh, thanks Dr. Grande.🤣😍

Am grateful you mentioned the financial burden that contributes to decisions of people. Is sadly an overlooked factor in most cases.

Imagine hiking over bodies to get somewhere where a lot of other people have been.

There was a rescue effort. According to what you said, Daniel and 2 workers pulled the Sherpa up to the ledge. After that the Sherpa couldn't move (very important) or talk (less important). Harila comes off slightly better than previously thought. However, I don't believe for one minute she didnt know if the Sherpas doing the roping had been lost/injured in that "avalanche" as radio contact woipd have occurred and uodated her.

Everything stops when it’s Grande time! Let’s do this! Thanks, Grande. ❤ This one sounds unbelievable, as usual.❤

This has all the ingredients for a Agatha Christie novel. A bunch of people that don’t know one another all climb a mountain together 🤣

When you climb these tall mountains like K2 you have to understand at a certain height you’re not gonna get rescued if you need medical attention. It’s more dangerous for ppl to try to rescue someone at those heights and on those dangerous mountains especially K2. It’s not the same when you’re on a mountain such as K2 and you don’t help an injured person as if you’re walk on the sidewalk and you see an injured person and don’t help.

"The opportunity to unnecessarily risk their lives was quickly passing them by..." love it.

This story made me cry...here's a desperate man working for pennies on probably one of the world's most dangerous jobs. I felt so much sorrow for him laying there trying to get help from those around him. Put yourself in his position. Try to imagine what he felt. He probably felt so much pain and so much helplessness as no one around him could or would help him.

How tragic to lose your life for a $20 paycheck. Perhaps expeditions like this provide employment for many people in the area but the risk seems too great, particularly for the people who may not understand or be prepared for the dangers. Thanks for your excellent content, Dr. Grande!

You CANT help others in the Death Zone. All climbers are fully aware of that fact before they climb

At this altitude, one step is like a small run for someone in shape. Carrying someone is like a marathon. It's a given that at such high altitude, if you can't move, no one can help you. You might have a few cases of people saved. But it's not generally the case. It's rather exceptionally heroic from those who save others. Also, from the picture, you see they would have had to climb with him, not just go down. My hunch is, as you're saying, that it was not possible. This said, if you're going to leave people to die, up there, I personally think you have to be very insensible as a human being, to dedicate yourself to such an activity. Very often, on summits, people even distinguish directions by the sightings of leftover bodies. I'd never have the heart to do this. I guess it takes many kinds to make a world.

When you climb these types of mountains, if you can't get yourself up and down, do not expect anyone to risk their life to get you where you want to go. You are responsible for yourself in that environment. Good climbers know the risks and do not expect anyone else to be their responsibility.

Most of the complainers can't even walk down the street without getting winded, yet these Heroes think they would be able to give effective aid at 28,000 feet under treacherous conditions.

I don’t think I could celebrate.. (or even keep going) if I knew a man down wasn’t helped. Thx for exposing this, Dr.Grande... there appears to be greed and selfishness among the summit seekers.

Climbing those summits have RULES People. You’re risking your own life to help another. It’s talked about. Your on your own basically…and you KNOW that going in!! You can’t judge another for not choosing EXTRA death during an already deadly situation!!

My final though would be : $20 a day while the cost to climb is $15000 and above

May he rest in peace. That’s really sad but I’m not surprised that climbers who don’t care much about their own life, or leaving behind families, would walk over him.

This was a very interesting and sad case and I loved your analysis. I also loved your sarcasm regarding climbing K2.

When people are on the mountain in the death zone, saving a life could mean losing your own. Its a difficult decision to make, and i honestly don't know what I would do.

Some thoughts from a mountaineer: -Dr. Grande references the attempted rescue of Art Gilkey from high on K2 in 1953. I would suggest that this incident shows rather the near impossibility of such a rescue. Gilkey succumbed to illness, probably pulmonary edema, at the high camp at 7800 m. His team, which had been stuck at that camp waiting for a storm to subside, immediately abandoned the summit attempt, even though the weather was perfect for the summit, and coordinated a rescue. What follows was an epic of mountaineering, as his team fought storms and avalanches to get the helpless Gilkey down. Gilkie was swept off the mountain, where he had been anchored while the team attempted to make camp in a blizzard. The team got off the mountain with serious frostbite injuries. This was a highly experienced, cohesive group of mountaineers led by one of the pillars of American mountaineering. They behaved selflessly, and could not save Gilkey. They barely escaped with their lives. Several of the team went on record with the opinion that Gilkey, to save his friends who would not leave him, undid his anchors and fell to his death. There is a small, beautiful peak named Gilkey Tower between the South Teton and Nez Perce, which I have climbed. So, rescue is not so easy, at that altitude, in those conditions. Those who have never experienced the brain fog and fatigue of high altitude, the biting cold of oxygen-starved limbs, and the stress of dealing with exposure and objective hazards inherent in a route like that, or who have never spent a prolonged period camping in the snow and hanging on to wind-rattled tent poles, are of course entitled to their opinion. What is that opinion worth? Another observation: I've spent some time working with Sherpas in their homeland in Nepal. They work on K2. Sherpas are Tibetan Buddhists. The porters on K2 are Pakistani Muslims. I would not discount the possibility of language and cultural differences contributing to this accident.

The primary issue based on your explanation is that he was not given adequate equipment for the work he was given. For that the company is responsible and should compensate his family significantly. Imagine the consequence for the company if he were a paying climber and not given adequate equipment. His lack of experience is secondary as he had experience working at lower altitude and everyone who works at the higher altitude would have a first time for doing so.

This is the most emotion Dr. Grande has ever displayed 😢

Enjoy listening to you. Keep up the great work, you deserve your success.

Imagine the porter's family. ❤ The desperation over his death and the worry their future is immense.

The "bottleneck" which is in the death zone, is where most lives are lost. It's due to regular avalanches, altitude sickness (causing hallucinations) and just the fact that K2 is almost vertical with nowhere to rest for a few minutes. Add to it hurticane-type winds, the inability to breathe, frostbite, exhaustion, etc. Everest & K2 are very different; however, death zone rescues on either mountain are not possible if you are incapacitated and can't help to get yourself down some very technically challenging vertical 4-5 storey cliffs likd on Everest. K2 is a vertical nightmare all the way. Msny people here just have no clue at all that mountaineers & sherpas follow strict rules, which apply to everyone starting at 8,000 meters & higher.

Unfortunately, there's also the issue of needing extra oxygen to move a body down the mountain and the fact that there was deep fresh snow. They were in the death zone meaning that trying to save someone else could literally mean your own death. Most mountaineers, sherpa, and porters are aware that once you're into the death zone, it is truly everyone for themselves. Those that stepped over him though without even trying to help or even give him a word of comfort will meet a similar fate or worse. Often, climbers in the death zone have their bodies moved into a cervasse to become one with the mountain and one day will appear elsewhere on the mountain.

Among the elite in any endeavor, there is a certain level of contempt for those who appear to be in trouble as a result of incompetence, unpreparedness, arrogance, or any other deficiency. They see it as "not their problem". This brings to mind the tragic death of Rob Hall on Everest, who tried to save people who should have been left. The general public can think what they want, but opinions about these events should really be left to those who have lived the choices (in my opinion).

Never will I ever climb a mountain like K2 or Everest. The “dead zone” is a thing for a reason. Everyone knows in the dead zone you don’t stop for anything, it could mean your death. Even if you reach the peak, many die on the descent. Scary stuff .

Should we expect people to value someone else's life when they put their own life at such risk? Honestly these people aren't like the rest.

You are doing a fair job in describing the situation.

Good analysis with lots of insight in the permutations of this scenario!

I really appreciate how much research goes into your analysis of all these cases. Just brilliant and thank you so much for this content. I use to think climbing was on my bucket list. I don't think that any more. Way too dangerous. Thank you Dr. Grande, as usual, for your brilliant analysis, research, knowledge and the content of this channel.

Elite mountaineers tend to be callous anyway. On Everest, corpses of dead climbers are actually treated as landmarks.

I have never ever woke up and thought "I want to climb a snowy remote mountain". This is the main reason why.

Very thoughtful video thanks 👍

I would like to think that hypothermia set in and he just went to sleep. Prayers for his family. I'm sure he'll be greatly missed.

The Brazilian photographer deserves praise 👍🏻

Excellent your analysis, probably one of the best untill now, you explain quite clear details that many do not get withouth condemning or acussing anyone . Tragic death of a poor man earning some few dollars risking his life for sport hobby "adventurers"...

Unfortunatly you cant really stop in these situations because it actually risks more lives, just read about multi mt everst deaths because of the delay & then people cannot get back to base camp in time

Thank you for your well-reasoned thoughts on this. Sadly, people with way too much money and not nearly enough sense will throw said money at all sorts of stupid and dangerous stuff, and poor village dwellers get caught up in the dangerous schemes at the cost of their lives for a measly few dollars a day. The whole thing makes me sick to my stomach, to be completely honest.

I love dr. Grande's humor regarding rich people in there incomprehensible need to risk their lives

Love your videos!!!!’

This was a good video, Dr. Grande.

I do not understand people putting themselves in harm's way. They have families that need them.

All these high mountain climbers realize that if they get I’ll or injured; they’re probably going to die because it’s too dangerous (and pointless) to bring them down to base camps. I’ve seen videos of climbers walking past dead frozen bodies, and climbers succumbing to the elements.

The most thoughtful analysis I have seen if this tragic story.

Im a climber in PNW. I know Lucy Westlake the youngest woman to summit Mt. Everest from communication on social media. She made a summit attempt of K2 at this time but decided to turn around due to deaths and avalanche at that time. I cant believe the porter didnt have oxygen or gloves and if these climbers donated oxygen and gloves he may have lived. Or if gave him high altitude medicine. There should always be emergency medicine for climbers like this on huge expeditions on K2.

A tragedy fueled by wealthy thrill seekers. The first party (Kristin and her photographer) seem much less culpable than the nameless climbers who didn't try to help the poor man. The altitude alone would have killed the porter within a short time without oxygen and warm gear; he was betrayed by his employer as much as anything. Nonetheless, those who later celebrated are the epitome of wealthy dilettantes and I hope they meet their judgment one day. A very balanced and fair exposition, Dr.Grande. Thanks for the presentation.

And people call me a loser because I play video games. I dont got a 25% chance of dying.

💔💔💔 So heartbreaking and as a person who climbs, extreme cold hikes and is still inexperienced it’s very frightening.

I appreciate your calm demeaner and break-down

Sherpas are from Nepal. The word "Sherpa" doesn't mean a profession. Its the ethnicity of people in Nepal living at high altitude mountainous region who are physically superior in climbing mountains in extreme conditions.

Anyone who wants to learn more about this subject should read "Into Thin Air" by John Krakauer. He was on Everest when things went bad. It's a great book

These people put their ego drives ahead of life itself. It's no surprise they don't give two shakes about the lives of others. Those summit photo smiles tell you everything you need to know about what's inside the mountain-climbing set.

Thank you Dr Grande

There was no consideration for this man's life. Whomever "hired' him knew he did not have the equipment to be at that altitude.

THANK YOU FOR WALKING THROUGH THESE SITUATIONS.. YOU ALWAYS LEAVE ME FEELING BETTER AND SEEING THINGS FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES!!

I grew up in Colorado climbing high mountains. Not K2, but still, most of the 14ers. It always amazed me at how poorly prepared most mountain climbers are. Many showed up for a day's climb in flipflops, short shorts and maybe a sandwich and bottle of water and acted like they were on a playground. I can't count the number of times these people had to be helped down due to altitude or broken bones.

“The opportunity to unnecessarily risk their lives was passing by quickly” he’s roasting

Poor guy. He did not listen to advice and was unprepared. He was responsible for his own actions.