By Kristy McCaffrey
The legendary climber Reinhold Messner has described K2, the
second highest mountain in the world, as the most beautiful of all the high
peaks. “An artist has made this mountain,” he said.
K2 is located on the border between China and Pakistan in
the Karakoram Mountains, and is the only 8000-meter peak not to have been
climbed in the winter. The optimal season for summits is July and August. Most
climbers approach from the Pakistani side, starting in Islamabad, then take a
bus ride to the town of Skardu. From there, it’s a 10-day treacherous hike to
get to base camp, situated at 18,000 feet.
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| K2, located in the Karakoram Mountains. |
The name K2 is derived from the notation used by the Great
Trigonometrical Survey of British India, given because it was the second peak
measured in the Karakoram Range. Locally, the mountain is called Chogori.
K2 was first surveyed in 1856, but the first attempt to
climb it came in 1902 with the occultist Aleister Crowley as one of the members
of the expedition, but the team never got any higher than 21,000 feet.
Subsequent expeditions in 1909, 1938, 1939 and 1953 all failed to reach the
summit. In 1954, an Italian team finally succeeded. A second successful ascent
wouldn’t happen again until 1977.
The difficulty in climbing K2 lies in the fact that it’s
prone to frequent and severe storms that make treacherous climbing conditions
even more challenging. The number of climbers who have reached the summit is only
a small fraction compared to successful summits of Mt. Everest, and proportionally
K2 has the second highest fatality rate of all 8000-meter peaks (Annapurna, the
10th highest mountain, has the most.)
Ambition and courage at the top of the world …
Lindsey Coulson likes to scale mountains. With her sister,
Alison, she has made a name for herself climbing the tallest and most
treacherous peaks in the world. But when Alison dies on a K2 expedition—the
second highest mountain on earth—Lindsey stops climbing. Unable to shed her
grief, it becomes clear she must return to the wilderness and only one place will
do—K2, the Savage Mountain.
Tyler Galloway has finally secured a permit from the
Pakistani government to bring an American team to K2. When Lindsey Coulson
inquires about joining the expedition, he gladly brings the famed mountaineer
on board. Her strong climbing resume precedes her, and she’ll be a welcome
addition to the small crew he has assembled. But K2 is a force unto itself, as
is Lindsey. Both will test his limits. And both will test his heart.
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Lindsey's earlier euphoria had given way to a headache that had
started pulsing behind her eyes. Trying to ignore it, she paused to take in the
expansive view. An endless array of peaks, whiter than usual, filled the
horizon. The world was crisp and new, the sun a small, shining dot in a sky as
blue as a swimming pool. Lindsey had to imagine the warmth it could offer,
because no rays of sunshine had reached them as yet.
She attempted an invigorating inhale of fresh mountain air,
but instead it was like dragging ice cubes through her nose, and her lungs
struggled for oxygen that wasn’t there. With one final sweep, she enjoyed the abundance
of mountains surrounding them, a mythical, almost unreal collection of
snow-covered summits and the frozen river at the bottom carved by glacier
movement.
Ty, covered in a yellow and black climbing suit, motioned
for her to precede him. David, clad in a blue suit, was already at the top of
the Black Pyramid. He hooked onto the fixed rope, faced the mountain, then
disappeared.
Ty stepped in front of her and gently pulled at her harness,
doing a safety check on her once again. She didn’t bother to suppress the smile
that crept on her face since the balaclava hid it. Despite the exhaustion
pressing on her, she’d already checked her gear three times.
Giving a reciprocal tug on his harness, she eyed the buckle.
All good.
Carefully she kneeled and clipped her harness to the fixed
rope with a figure-eight device and then eased herself over the edge. The
memory muscle of rappelling kicked in, and she began her descent.
Suddenly, Ty released a guttural roar. She glanced up just
as Elena’s red clad body careened toward her. Lindsey scrambled to move, but it
was too late—the woman slammed into her and with a jerk, they snapped to a stop.
Stunned, Lindsey hung upside down with her back to the
mountain, struggling to hold Elena against her chest since the other woman
likely wasn’t tied on—to anything. Lindsey’s descender had snapped off the
fixed rope and was dangling in her face. Her backup clip must have caught her,
but how long would it hold?
“Elena,” she said, trying to get her attention.
“Here,” she replied, her head near Lindsey’s.
Good, she was conscious.
“Before I can let you go, you’ve got to get hooked to the
rope.”
Elena flailed and a wave of dizziness hit Lindsey, her
stomach boiling.
Oh no.
“Hold on,” Ty yelled.
“Don’t move,” Lindsey ground out between her teeth. “Wait
for Ty.”
“I’m below you.” David’s voice echoed beside her ear.
“I’ll get Elena,” Ty said, now closer.
The woman was yanked from Lindsey’s grasp. From below, David
pushed Lindsey’s shoulders as Ty leaned down and took hold of her harness as
well, but rather than attach her to the fixed line, he hooked himself directly
to her. A wave of nausea hit as she shifted upright; she had no time to offer a
warning and barely got her balaclava free before she lost her breakfast.
Twisting downhill, she vomited, barely missing David.
“Sonovabitch,” he bellowed.
Coughing, a second wave of convulsions overtook her, the
bluish contents of her stomach splattered across the white snow.
“Lindsey, take it easy,” Ty said, his voice calm and
soothing.
She hung off the rope, praying the queasiness would pass.
This wasn’t the place to be sick.
“David, we need to get her down.” The icy change in Ty’s
tone signaled the urgency of the situation.
Copyright ©
2019 K. McCaffrey LLC
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