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54-548: By 1953, four expeditions had attempted to climb K2. Oscar Eckenstein and Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi had led expeditions in 1902 and 1909 respectively, neither of which had made substantial progress, and the Duke of the Abruzzi had declared after his attempt that the mountain would never be climbed. However, two American expeditions in 1938 and 1939 had come closer to success. Charles Houston's 1938 expedition had established

108-510: A National Geographic Society sponsored expedition while Barry Bishop and Lute Jerstad followed Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay ’s South Col route established during their 1953 climb. It was the first simultaneous attempt from two directions. The grueling expedition cost Unsoeld nine of his toes due to frostbite, and required several months of recovery in the hospital. Unsoeld and the team reunited in July 1963 when they were presented with

162-581: A dozen students from The Evergreen State College on an ascent of Mount Rainier at the time. He died during the descent from their high camp in Cadaver Gap along with one student, Janie Diepenbrock from Sacramento, California. A later analysis of the mishap, excerpts of which were published by the American Alpine Club, said in part: "There are many guides who would not have taken on this particular climb with this particular group, but this

216-402: A full member of the climbing team. The biggest disappointment was that William House , who had played a major role in the 1938 expedition, was unable to return for business reasons. Other talented climbers, such as Willi Unsoeld , Paul Petzoldt and Fritz Wiessner himself were controversially not included because it was not felt that they would get on with the rest of the team. The expedition

270-455: A further five days and was itself gruelling; all the climbers were exhausted, George Bell had badly frostbitten feet and Charles Houston, who had suffered a head injury , was dazed and concussed . Houston has said that, while he is proud of the team's attempt to rescue Gilkey, he feels the successful descent was a greater achievement. During the descent, the climbers saw a broken ice-axe and some bloodstained rocks, but no other trace of Art Gilkey

324-413: A picture of his daughter was displayed over the fireplace) how he could continue climbing after losing his daughter, Willi responded: "What, you want me to die of a heart attack, drinking beer, eating potato chips, and watching a golf tournament on TV?" Unsoeld died in an avalanche during an Outdoor Education Winter Expedition climb of Mount Rainier on March 4, 1979, at the age of 52. He was leading over

378-713: A prominent member of the Alpine Club . Eckenstein is also credited with designing the modern crampon as well as analysing both knots and nail patterns for climbing boots. He was an advocate of guideless climbing in a period when conventional thinking in the Alpine Club called for gentlemen climbers to be led to the top of peaks by paid professional guides. He assisted Geoffrey Winthrop Young with his classic mountaineering manual, Mountain Craft . John Percy Farrar and J. Norman Collie also contributed to this book. When

432-424: A ski instructor from Seattle , Art Gilkey , a geologist from Iowa , Dee Molenaar , a geologist and artist from Seattle, Pete Schoening , also from Seattle and at 25 the youngest of the party, and George Bell , a nuclear scientist from Los Alamos . The eighth member of the team was Tony Streather , an English army officer who was initially appointed Transport Officer, but showed sufficient prowess to become

486-479: A small team of eight climbers and no high-altitude porters. The size of the team ruled out the use of supplemental oxygen as there would not be enough manpower to carry the extra weight up the mountain, but Houston was confident from his own wartime experiments, as well as the experience of the pre-war British Everest expeditions, that it would be possible to climb K2 without it. Houston and Bates considered many climbers, and selected them for their compatibility as

540-409: A team and all-round experience rather than individual brilliance. Houston was aware that personality clashes between team members had been detrimental to other Karakoram expeditions, most notably Wiessner's, who as expedition leader laid full blame for the incident on a junior climber rather than take any personal responsibility, and was keen to avoid them. The six climbers selected were Robert Craig ,

594-439: Is a matter of personal preference rather than a determination as to whether this climb was proper to attempt or not." Known as "The Father of Experiential Education," Willi Unsoeld influenced the growth of outdoor education , inspiring educational leaders like Simon Priest . His philosophical approach to living and global perspective mentored environmental visionaries like Caril Ridley . His philosophy focused on experiencing

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648-628: The American Alpine Club established the David A. Sowles Memorial Award for "mountaineers who have distinguished themselves, with unselfish devotion at personal risk or sacrifice of a major objective, in going to the assistance of fellow climbers imperilled in the mountains." The surviving members of the Third American Karakoram Expedition were among the first recipients. Schoening's action in arresting

702-465: The Confessions to six men, including "OSCAR ECKENSTEIN – who trained me to follow the trail" and he praises Eckenstein in several passages of the book, mentioning his gymnastic strength, including his ability to do one-arm chin ups. In 1900 Eckenstein travelled to Mexico to climb there with Crowley, they also climbed together on the expedition led by Eckenstein to attempt K2 in 1902. Eckenstein

756-617: The Godwin-Austen Glacier . This act became simply known as "The Belay." After the climbers had recovered and made their way to the tent at Camp VII, Gilkey was lost. He had been anchored to the ice slope as the exhausted climbers prepared the tent, and his muffled shouts were heard. When Bates and Streather returned to bring him to the tent, they found no sign of him. A faint groove in the snow suggested that an avalanche had taken place. Authors such as Jim Curran have suggested that Gilkey's death, while tragic, undoubtedly saved

810-600: The Hunza porters who would replace them had genuine mountaineering skills. Given the technical difficulty of the Abruzzi Spur it was therefore impractical to use porters to carry loads high on the mountain, so it was planned to use them only as far as Camp II. Additionally the steepness of the Abruzzi Spur meant there was limited flat space for tents, and camp sites to accommodate large numbers of climbers would be difficult to find. Houston and Bates therefore planned to assemble

864-535: The Stecknadelhorn (4,241 m) in the Pennine Alps on 8 August 1887; on 10 July 1906, together with Karl Blodig and Alexis Brocherel, he made the first ascent of Mont Brouillard . Eckenstein was one of the few people who readily climbed with mystic and magician Aleister Crowley . In Crowley's autobiography, the Confessions , he mentions that they first met at Wasdale Head in 1898. Crowley dedicated

918-520: The 1953 expedition would have been even better than climbing K2 in 1978. Many years after the expedition, Reinhold Messner , the first man to climb all fourteen 8000 m peaks, said that while he had great respect for the Italian team which first climbed K2, he had even more respect for the American team, adding that while they failed, "they failed in the most beautiful way you can imagine." In 1981

972-620: The English Lake District with George and Ashley Abraham , though their relationship was not always smooth, and in North Wales with Geoffrey Winthrop Young and J. M. Archer Thomson . An early advocate of bouldering , on the Eckenstein Boulder at Llanberis Pass he taught Archer Thomson the art of balance climbing, according to Winthrop Young. Together with Matthias Zurbriggen he made the first ascent of

1026-579: The Karakoram in 1958 and, with Andy Kauffman made the first ascent of Gasherbrum I ; at 8080 m the highest first ascent ever made by an American team. The account of the expedition, written by Bates and Houston with additional sections by the other climbers, was published in 1954 as K2 - The Savage Mountain . It received widespread acclaim, and is regarded as a mountaineering classic. Unlike many other K2 expeditions which have ended in acrimony and bitterness, such as Wiessner's 1939 expedition and

1080-713: The National Geographic Society’s highest honor, the Hubbard Medal , by John F. Kennedy . Unsoeld taught religious studies at Oregon State in the late 1950s and early 1960s. After a stint in the Peace Corps , Unsoeld joined Outward Bound and traveled about the country giving speeches and promoting the organization. After leaving Outward Bound he became one of the founding faculty at The Evergreen State College in Washington State. He

1134-535: The U.S. Congress from 1989 to 1995. In 1976, Unsoeld and his 22-year-old daughter Nanda Devi Unsoeld were on an expedition to climb her namesake mountain Nanda Devi , the second highest peak in India. His daughter died on September 7 during the climb, which was plagued by accidents and eventual tragedy. The reason for her death was blood clotting caused by the high altitude of the mountain. Asked at his home (where

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1188-668: The aid of his friend Avra M. Warren , the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan , obtained permission for an expedition the following year. Houston and Bates planned the expedition as a lightweight one, incorporating many elements of what would later become known as the Alpine style . There were practical reasons for this as well as stylistic ones. Since partition , the Indian Sherpas who had traditionally served as porters on Himalayan expeditions were unwelcome in Pakistan , and few of

1242-564: The book was published in 1920, Farrar wrote to Winthrop Young: "The book is magnificent ... It will be standard for so long as mankind is interested in mountaineering. The profound amount of work put into it staggers me." He was a railway engineer for most of his life – well educated, and insufferably arrogant (some said). He was not one to mince words, and a long feud with the Alpine Club caused many of its members to denigrate him. Eckenstein married Margery Edwards in February 1918, when he

1296-400: The bravery and selflessness of the attempt to save Art Gilkey, the expedition has been held up by writers such as Jim Curran as "a symbol of all that is best in mountaineering." Jim Wickwire , who made the first American ascent of K2 in 1978, described their courage and character as "one of the greatest mountaineering stories of all time", and wrote in a letter to Houston that to have climbed on

1350-487: The climbers began the traverse. George Bell slipped and fell on a patch of hard ice, pulling off his rope-mate Tony Streather. As they fell, their rope became entangled with those connecting Houston, Bates, Gilkey and Molenaar, pulling all these climbers off as well. Finally the strain came onto Pete Schoening, who had been belaying Gilkey and Molenaar. Quickly wrapping the rope around his shoulders and ice axe , Schoening held all six climbers, preventing them from falling into

1404-467: The end of May, flew on to Skardu , and after the long trek through Askole and up the Baltoro Glacier , arrived at the base of K2 on 20 June. The early stages of the climb proceeded smoothly, though progress was slow due to the expedition's tactics. The tragedies on Nanga Parbat in 1934 and K2 in 1939 had convinced Houston of the importance of keeping all camps well stocked at all times in case

1458-469: The expedition had to retreat in bad weather. Doing this required the climbers to make extra journeys up and down the mountain carrying extra supplies, which would prove crucial to their survival. By 1 August the route had been pushed as far as Camp VIII, at the base of the Shoulder at around 7800 m, and the next day the whole team assembled there to prepare for the final push for the summit. However,

1512-402: The feasibility of the Abruzzi Spur as a route to the summit, reaching the Shoulder at 8000 m, before retreating due to diminishing supplies and the threat of bad weather. Fritz Wiessner 's attempt on the 1939 American Karakoram expedition went even higher but ended in disaster when four men disappeared high on the mountain. In spite of the tragedy, the expeditions had shown that climbing K2

1566-415: The foot of the mountain". After five serious and costly attempts, the team reached 6,525 metres (21,407 ft) – although considering the difficulty of the challenge, and the lack of modern climbing equipment or weatherproof fabrics, Crowley's statement that "neither man nor beast was injured" highlights the pioneering spirit and bravery of the attempt. The failures were also attributed to sickness (Crowley

1620-469: The lives of the rest of the team, who were now free to concentrate on their own survival. Houston has agreed with this assessment, but Pete Schoening always believed, based on his other experiences of mountain rescue , that the team could have successfully completed the rescue, albeit with more frostbite than they eventually suffered. There is also controversy over the manner of Gilkey's death. Tom Hornbein and others have suggested that, realising his rescue

1674-505: The mass fall has itself achieved iconic status, and is known in American climbing circles simply as "The Belay". Schoening himself, however, was always modest about his achievement, claiming that he was merely lucky. Oscar Eckenstein Oscar Johannes Ludwig Eckenstein (9 September 1859 – 8 April 1921) was an English rock climber and mountaineer , and a pioneer in the sport of bouldering . Inventor of

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1728-457: The modern crampon , he was an innovator in climbing technique and mountaineering equipment , and the leader of the first serious expedition to attempt K2 . Eckenstein's father was a Jewish socialist from Bonn who had fled the Kingdom of Prussia following the failed revolution of 1848 . His mother was English. His sisters were Lina Eckenstein , the polymath feminist, and Amelia who

1782-496: The natives – possibly the first such "formal" competitions ever. Eckenstein collected his letters and diary notes from this expedition into a book published under the title 'The Karakorams and Kashmir'. Eckenstein was the leader of the first serious attempt to climb K2 in 1902. The attempt was on the Northeast Ridge, Aleister Crowley and Guy Knowles were also members of the expedition. Upon arrival in India, Eckenstein

1836-460: The party for the first time discussed retreating. The next day the weather improved, but thoughts of attempting the summit were quickly abandoned when Art Gilkey collapsed just outside his tent. Houston diagnosed him as suffering from thrombophlebitis — blood clots which would be dangerous at sea level, but would almost certainly be fatal at 7800 m. The whole team was now forced into a desperate attempt to save him. While they believed that there

1890-435: The sacred in nature enables you to cope more effectively with the problems of people. If it does not enable you to cope more effectively with the problems — and sometimes it doesn’t, it sometimes sucks you right out into the wilderness and you stay there the rest of your Life – then when that happens, by my scale of value; it’s failed. You go to nature for an experience of the sacred … to re-establish your contact with

1944-459: The sacred in nature, the importance of risk in education, and getting personal experience rather than relying on the experiences of others. His dynamic style of mentoring inspired thousands of followers. Why don’t you stay in the wilderness? Because that isn’t where it is at; it’s back in the city, back in downtown St. Louis, back in Los Angeles. The final test is whether your experience of

1998-552: The successful Italian expedition of 1954 , the 1953 expedition formed lifelong bonds of friendship between its members. Houston remarked that "we entered the mountain as strangers, but we left it as brothers", while Bates would later say that "the Brotherhood of the Rope established on K2 outlasted the expedition by many decades and was based on a shared sense of values, interests and mutual respect and affection". Because of this, and

2052-687: The summit on May 1, 1963. Unsoeld, Hornbein, Bishop and Jerstad reached the top on May 22, 1963. Unsoeld and Hornbein's climb was the first ascent from the peak's west ridge, and the first major traverse of a Himalayan peak. His subsequent activities included working as a U.S. Forest Service smokejumper , Peace Corps director in Nepal, speaker for Outward Bound , faculty member at Oregon State University and The Evergreen State College and mountaineering guide. He died on Mount Rainier in an avalanche. Born in Arcata, California , William Francis Unsoeld

2106-485: The trauma of the expedition, Charles Houston was keen to make another attempt on K2, and requested permission for a further expedition in 1954. He was extremely disappointed that a large Italian expedition had booked the mountain that year. The Italian expedition was successful, and while Houston had permission for 1955 he did not take it up, and gave up mountaineering in order to concentrate on his career researching high-altitude medicine. Pete Schoening, however, returned to

2160-503: The weather had been gradually deteriorating for several days, and soon a severe storm broke. At first it did not dispirit the team, and a secret ballot was held to decide which climbers should make the first summit attempt. However, as the storm continued for day after day their position became more serious. One of the tents collapsed on the fourth night, forcing Houston and Bell to crowd into other, already cramped tents. On 6 August, with weather forecasts offering little hope of improvement,

2214-469: The whole team was still trapped at an altitude that would have eventually killed them all. In spite of the continuing storm and avalanche risk, the team immediately began descending. On a makeshift stretcher made from canvas, ropes and a sleeping bag, Gilkey was pulled or lowered down steep terrain, until the team reached a point where they could traverse a difficult ice slope to their Camp VII, at around 7,500 metres (24,600 ft). A mass fall occurred as

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2268-514: Was 58. They lived in the small town of Oving . His health soon declined and he died of consumption in 1921. Willi Unsoeld William Francis Unsoeld (October 5, 1926 – March 4, 1979) was an American mountaineer who was a member of the first American expedition to summit Mount Everest . The American Mount Everest Expedition was led by Norman Dyhrenfurth , and included Unsoeld, Jim Whittaker , Lute Jerstad , Barry Bishop and Tom Hornbein . Whittaker, with Sherpa Nawang Gombu , reached

2322-770: Was a member of an expedition led by Sir Martin Conway to the Baltoro Muztagh region in 1892. The expedition was sponsored by the Royal Society , the Royal Geographical Society and the British Association , and included a young C.G.Bruce on his first major trek. Conway and Eckenstein had a deep personality conflict, and Eckenstein withdrew from the expedition after six months. In Kashmir, he conducted bouldering contests for

2376-533: Was a realistic goal, and further attempts would almost certainly have been made sooner had the Second World War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 not made travel to Kashmir impossible during the 1940s. In spite of the political difficulties they faced, Charles Houston and Robert Bates had harboured hopes of returning to K2 since their initial attempt in 1938, and in 1952 Houston, with

2430-418: Was abandoned, and Pfannl was evacuated to lower elevations and survived. In the late 19th century, the typical ice axe shaft measured 120–130 cm in length. Eckenstein started the trend toward shorter ice axes with a lighter model measuring 85–86 cm, which could be used single handed. Initially, this innovation was criticised by well-known climbers of the era, including his nemesis Martin Conway ,

2484-419: Was detained by British authorities for three weeks on suspicion of being a spy, and not allowed to enter Kashmir. He and Crowley were convinced that Martin Conway was responsible for trying to interfere with their attempt on K2, and only when they threatened to take the matter to the newspapers was Eckenstein released. In the early 1900s, modern transportation did not exist: It took "fourteen days just to reach

2538-502: Was endangering the lives of the others, Gilkey might have untied himself from the mountainside. Charles Houston initially believed that Gilkey, sedated with morphine, did not have the physical strength to untie the anchors. However, when recounting the events for a documentary in 2003, he changed his mind and concluded that Gilkey had indeed untethered himself. Other people, such as Robert Bates, remained convinced that an avalanche swept Gilkey away. The descent from Camp VII to Base Camp took

2592-461: Was found. On the team's descent to Base Camp, a memorial cairn was erected to Art Gilkey, and a service was held. The Gilkey Memorial has since become the burial place of other climbers who have died on K2, as well as a memorial to those whose bodies have not been found. Clothing and human remains, positively identified as Gilkey, were discovered close to K2 Base Camp in 1993 by an expedition led by British mountaineer Roger Payne . In spite of

2646-865: Was highlighted prominently in the first recruiting video in 1971, advising that "not every student should come to Evergreen". It was at The Evergreen State College where he created an Outdoor Education Program. This program consisted of four distinct Habitat Groups, one of which was the Winter Mountaineering Group. Unsoeld married Jolene Bishoprick Unsoeld in 1951; they had two daughters and two sons. Jolene Unsoeld passed away in November, 2021, and their two sons, Krag and Regon, reside in Olympia, Washington . Their daughter Terres Unsoeld lives in California. Jolene Unsoeld served three terms in

2700-436: Was little or no chance of saving him, the possibility of abandoning him was never discussed. However, the unacceptable avalanche risk followed by a renewal of the storm prevented a descent at that time, and the team remained at Camp VIII for several more days in the hope that the weather would improve. By 10 August the situation had become critical: Gilkey was showing signs of pulmonary embolism and deteriorating quickly, and

2754-707: Was privately funded, receiving no grants from either the government or American mountaineering bodies. The budget of $ 32,000 came from the team members themselves, some gifts, advances paid by the National Broadcasting Company and the Saturday Evening Post for a film and a series of newspaper articles, as well as significant loans. Some corporate sponsorship was also obtained, but mainly in the form of equipment and food rather than money. The expedition assembled in Rawalpindi at

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2808-821: Was raised in Eugene, Oregon . He received his bachelor's degree in physics from Oregon State College in 1951, and also studied at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Washington . He helped to create the OSC Mountain Club during his time at Oregon State University . In the late 1950s Unsoeld was a leading climbing guide in the Grand Teton Mountains . He climbed Mt. Rainier over 200 times. Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein ascended Everest's difficult West Ridge route in May 1963, on

2862-404: Was suffering the residual effects of malaria), a combination of questionable physical training, personality conflicts, and poor weather conditions – of 68 days spent on K2 (at the time, the record for the longest time spent at such an altitude) only eight provided clear weather. An Austrian climber named Pfannl became sick with pulmonary edema at the high point, which Crowley diagnosed. The climb

2916-791: Was to marry Julius Cyriax. He was a railway engineer and worked for the International Railway Congress Association founded in Brussels in 1885. He was an early and active member of the National Liberal Club . Interested in the life of explorer Richard Burton , he collected an extensive collection of documents about his life, which he donated to the Royal Asiatic Society before his death. In 1918 O.E. married Margery Edwards. There were no children. Eckenstein climbed in

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