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A wicked man for a wicked mountain - part I of II
13:39 p.m. EST Mar 9, 2004
He was the ‘wickedest man on Earth’ and also one mean climber. His name was Aleister Crowley and in 1902 he was part of a doomed expedition to climb K2. Crowley had many important solo climbs in the Western Alps, including a couple of firsts. His behavior though, may have both jeopardized and saved the lives of the men in this ill-fated expedition.
As part one of a two-part story we will take a look at this strange figure in climbing lore and recount some of the events that occurred during the first attempt on K2. Check back later this week for part two where we will see just how demented our mountaineering precursor really was.
The first bad omen for this first attempt on K2 was the arrest of Eckenstein, the expedition leader. Rumor has it that Eckenstein’s old nemesis, William Conway, then the president of the Alpine Club, had arranged for the incarceration in Kashmir. Three weeks later Eckenstein was released and joined his team at base camp only to walk into a raging debate on which route to take. The irreverent and bizarre Crowley wanted to attack the South-East Ridge but the team decided on the North-East Crest. As it turned out Crowley was right; the team had to turn back at 6,000 meters. To make his point during the frustration of failure, Crowley took out a revolver and threatened several members of the team. The expedition regrouped and planned for a second attempt.
A second attempt, this time via the saddle between K2 and Skyang Kangri (7,544m, The Staircase), redeemed Crowley and his superb mountaineering skills. When a fellow climber was struck by pulmonary edema, Crowley was the only one to recognize the severity and insisted on taking the sick man off the mountain. This decision saved the climber’s life but prevented the team from reaching the peak.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of K2. There are several expeditions scheduled, including two Italian teams. The first to reach K2’s peak were the Italians Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni.
Photo courtesy of hermetic.com
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