|
|
K2 wrap-up: Marco airlifted - account of descent
12:19 pm CDT Aug 06, 2008
(K2Climb.net) Don't forget to check last night's ExWeb specials on the history of K2 and a report on Fredrik Strang.
As for news from the mountain, Marco Confortola and Roberto Manni were evacuated to a hospital in Skardu earlier today. The weather had worsened but Pakistani pilots took advantage of a short break to airlift the Italian climbers. A brief stop-over at the military base in Paiju allowed the chopper to return and perform another rescue on K2’s glacier.
Marco is currently being treated for severe frostbite.
Home in two days
"My feet are black and hurt, but doctors are optimist,” Confortola told Montagna.org in a call from the hospital. After talking to the medical team, Confortola decided to return to Italy asap for further treatment.
"Marco is flying to Islamabad tomorrow, and should be home one day later," Marco's brother Luigi told ExplorersWeb. Confortola received first aid on arrival in BC yesterday, while bad weater kept the rescue helicopter grounded.
A devastating experience
While in BC, he also spoke of the last seven days spent struggling for his life on the mountain, which he describes as a devastating experience, according to Montagna.org. Disoriented on descent, Marco spent the first night in the open together with Gerard, since they considered that going down the steep slopes in the dark was too risky.
Eventually they were met by Wilco, and the three resumed the descent. Shortly after, the falling serac took Gerard. "I saw my friend Gerard's boots falling among the blocks of ice and snow," Marco said. "That was the worst moment." Confortola states Pemba found him and took him to C4, thus saving his life.
Dutch Wilco told journalists, from another room in the same Skardu hospital, that people panicked on descent and lost their way. Also Wilco’s mate Cas is in the hospital, while Pemba, Mark, Roeland and Jelle are packing up in BC.
Farris and Singaporeans staying?
“Base camp now seems to be like a cage that everyone wants to escape,” Nick Rice reported yesterday. “The Koreans are hiring a few helicopters to take them out rather than walking. The Americans, Dutch, Serbian (Hoselito), and Norwegians are all waiting on porters to arrive so that they can head down. Very few people are considering staying and trying again. The Singaporeans, who arrived in base camp in mid-July, are reflecting within, and deciding whether to give K2 another try. Mike Farris, one of the Americans, is also considering staying in base camp, and seeing whether the conditions on the mountain improve. And finally, there is an American Ski Team who just arrived here from Broad Peak, and may still give it a shot.”
“No one is in any mood to think of a possible summit attempt,” the Singaporean team reported yesterday. "We have to wait until things are more settled here," team member Ed said.
Pakistan's air rescue services:
Askari Aviation
Links to teams in K2 2008:
Wilco van Rooijen's Norit K2 expedition
Serbian Vojvodinean expedition
Gerard McDonnell's dispatches
Marco Confortola's updates
Singapore expedition
Cecilie Skog's updates
Nick Rice's dispatches
Mike Farris expedition's website
Hugues d'Aubarede
Zerain's team blog.
|
|
Top Feature Stories |
|
Latest News |
more news |
|
Pakistan climbing fees - frozen another year
Full Story
|
|
StatCrunch, take 2: 8000er national ranking
Full Story
|
|
StatCrunch: 8000er mountaineers with 6 summits or more, updated
Full Story
|
|
ExWeb interview with Cecilie Skog, “Rolf is gone. But not my dreams and I hold on to those dreams really tight”
Full Story
|
|
ExWeb interview with Latok II rescuer Dave Ohlson, "deciding to help was automatic"
Full Story
|
|
Bulgarian Boyan Petrov's GII debrief: 30 tall meters of honor
Full Story
|
|
Karakoram 2009 Season's end Chronicle
Full Story
|
|
Arian Lemal: waste management +8000 m style
Full Story
|
|
|
|
ExWeb interview with Ryan Waters and Cecilie Skog, “The mental part was the most difficult part” Jan 22, 2010
|
|
Slam-dunk: Cecilie and Ryan bag polar history Jan 21, 2010
|
|
Antarctic wrap-up: Cecilie Skog and Ryan Waters did it! The first unassisted and unsupported expedition across Antarctica! Jan 21, 2010
|
|
9 out of 10 climbers use Thuraya in Himalaya: check out the price cut at HumanEdgeTech! Jan 20, 2010
|
|
Himalaya shakedown, continued: what’s the worth of a summit certificate? Jan 19, 2010
|
|
Himalaya shakedown, continued: what’s the worth of a summit certificate? Jan 19, 2010
|
|
ExplorersWeb Week in Review Jan 15, 2010 Jan 15, 2010
|
|
Monster slide in Pakistan's Hunza Valley leaves tens of thousands winter-stranded Jan 14, 2010
|
|
ExWeb 2010 CES report: Life's Good - here's your new LG TV Jan 12, 2010
|
|
ExplorersWeb Week in Review Jan 10, 2010 Jan 10, 2010
|
|
Pakistan climbing fees - frozen another year Jan 7, 2010
|
|
ExplorersWeb headed to Las Vegas for CES 2010 Jan 5, 2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
