Week Nine: K2 the Savage Mountain

The savage mountain that kill one in four, is correctly acclaimed to be the most dangerous mountain. It is vastly different in the other Himalayan mountains. The climbing of this great beast is more technical, harder to camp on, difficult to get to, and most importantly deadly.

K2: The Savage Mountain is more than just a little different from the previous texts we have read thus far in the seminar. First off, it is the most modern book we have read, thus, bringing to light new technologies, such as, airplanes. Airplanes allow the members of the expeditions to get closer to K2 without having to trek (usually by foot) hundreds of miles. Second, this book is the first Himalayan expedition with most Americans participating in it. Another signifying feature was the compassion the team had for one another, which was very unique.

Inevitably, technology is bound to get better, it is the nature of mankind’s progression as a species. However, although technology has been progressed tremendously in recent times, does not necessarily make it better. For example, the sleeping bags that Bates found from the reminisce of the 1938 expedition were better than the ones they brought 15 years later. Furthermore, although a ferry boat may have been better, the Pakistanis still used a ferry that was said to carry Alexander the Great’s armies across the Indus River 2500 years ago. Maybe a modern motor would have been a nice addition, but hey, if it is not broken don’t fix it! Another example of technological progression is the advancement of the stove. Although, they did run out of fuel, these stoves were much more efficient than, say, the 1938 expeditions. Crampons were better as well, and multiple other simple yet necessary inventions that allowed for the expedition member to survive.

The fact that this is the first text we have read that had Americans in charge, and running the expedition, allowed me to look at the command structure of the entire operation and realize that it was not like the other military like command systems. In Annapurna or Imperial Assent, the command structure was more of a tally of votes, and if you had more experience in a particular area, you might have a larger vote. This semi-democratic structure of the expedition allowed for outstanding compassion for the brotherhood of the rope. It truly became a brotherhood, because there was no one to report to, every decision was their own and would take into account the other climbers. There was not the usual dominance hierarchy. In a less extravagant example,  the climbers decided to allow for the Pakistani official, Ata, to stay and help run their base camp, even though they had not planned for the extra mouth to feed and for the larger amount of gas to be used. The non-existent command structure is what allowed for the expedition to be less devastating than it could have been.

In any event, the goal was not reached, but the repercussions of the disaster could have been much worse! Through a combination of innovative modern technology and a desire for all to survive, allowed for lives to be saved. The blood thirsty mountain is the true Abominable snowman!

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