The Most Deadly Mountain in the World: the story of K2
On Netflix there is a documentary called The Summit. It's the story of, up until April 19, 2014, the deadliest mountain climbing expedition in history. The event became quite controversial afterward as 11 people lost their lives. On April 20, 2014, 13 people died on Mt. Everest making that the most deadly expedition in history.
"You climb Everest if you want a good story for a backyard BBQ, real mountain climbers climb K2." -An Interviewee in The Summit.
K2 is now famous for being one of the deadliest mountains to climb. As the second highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest is the only peak that rises above K2. For every four people who reach the summit of K2 one person dies trying. That makes this mountain one of the greatest challenges on earth that human beings have to face. No one has ever reached the summit of K2 during the winter months.
One climber who lived through the ordeal on K2 stayed in the "death zone" (the most risky part of the K2 expedition) for 60 hours straight. He lost every single one of his toes to frostbite, but he lived. Some died because of their own errors, and some almost inexplicably so. The people who were there couldn't even explain it. Many years later when they recount the experience they still can't clarify why some of those people died. The documentary becomes very interesting when you learn about the drama that unfolded on the mountain on that fateful day.
So why do we do it? Why do we love to find the next extreme? What is it about these deadly expeditions that people love?
It may be difficult to pinpoint the date, but ever since humans have had sports there's been a growing desire for those sports to become more extreme. Humans are competitive by nature and will go to great lengths to out-do what has been done before. When these "extreme sport lovers" find a new height or a more difficult Everest they instantly flock to it.
The more insurmountable the odds are of completing the task, the more precious the achievement is in doing so. Why do we love to risk it all? Why do we love to push the limits of human capabilities? Why would someone be so insane that they would be willing to climb to the top of a mountain knowing full well that they have a 25% chance of never making it home?
