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By Root 1066 0

more thoughtful and patient human being, after having successfully climbed and descended K2. There is no comparison. K2 is the ultimate test of climbing ability, judgment, and patience at extreme altitudes. The bonds that form during the hardships we undergo on such climbs stand the test of time, even while they are difficult, if not impossible, to explain.

—Ed Viesturs

My strongest link to the fascinating history of K2 lies in long-term friendships with some of its principal characters—especially Charlie Houston, Bob Bates, Bob Craig, and Fritz Wiessner. The privilege of listening to them tell their stories has been one of the joys of my life as a mountaineer. In addition, I was delighted by more sporadic friendships with K2 veterans Dee Molenaar, Paul Petzoldt, and Jim Curran, and as a journalist, I had the rare experience of meeting and getting to know Walter Bonatti and his teammate Lino Lacedelli.

Many people helped Ed Viesturs and me gain access to important photographs, for the use of which they gave unstinting permission. They include Polly Wiessner, Charlie Houston, Greg Glade, Ed Webster, Charley Mace, and Chris Klinke. Ed and I hired freelance researcher Alice Gifford to hunt down the availability of and rights to the historical photos. She accomplished this difficult task superbly.

Dee Molenaar not only let us quote from his K2 diary, but also he helped us adapt his own incomparable maps and diagrams for this book. Many thanks to Dee for his involvement and aid.

Our editor at Broadway Books, Stacy Creamer, not only got this project off the ground, but also championed it through a series of frantic deadlines and logistical mine fields. Upon her abrupt departure last spring to another publishing house, Charlie Conrad stepped in and smoothly guided the book toward its finish line. Throughout the whole process, assistant editor Laura Swerdloff performed many valuable tasks.

Once again, Ed and I are deeply indebted to our masterly agent, Stuart Krichevsky, who not only “closed the deal” but offered his constant advice about matters as minor yet consequential as finding a subtitle and getting the cover photo right. Stuart’s colleague Shana Cohen and his assistant Kathryne Wick came through (as usual) with all kinds of important chores and details.

The American Alpine Club library in Golden, Colorado, proved an invaluable research resource. And I am grateful to my longtime climbing buddy Ed Ward, and to my wife, Sharon Roberts, for reading the book in manuscript and offering pithy comments and vivid reactions.

—David Roberts

Bibliography

Barry, John. K2: Savage Mountain, Savage Summer. Sparkford, U.K., 1987.

Bonatti, Walter. Le Mie Montagne. Bologna, 1961.

____________ The Mountains of My Life. New York, 2001.

____________ On the Heights. London, 1964.

Bowley, Graham, and Andrea Kannapell. “Chaos on the ‘Mountain That Invites Death.’” New York Times, August 6, 2008.

Buffet, Charlie. La Folie du K2. Chamonix, France, 2004.

Carter, H. Adams. “The August Catastrophe on K2.” American Alpine Journal: 1987. New York, 1987.

Child, Greg. “A Margin of Luck.” Mixed Emotions. Seattle, 1993.

____________ “Another Tragedy on K2.” Postcards from the Edge. Seattle, 1998.

____________ “The Dangerous Summer.” Mixed Emotions. Seattle, 1993.

____________ “Death and Faxes.” Postcards from the Edge. Seattle, 1998.

Cranmer, Chappel, and Fritz Wiessner. “The Second American Expedition to K2.” The American Alpine Journal: 1940. New York, 1940.

Crowley, Aleister. The Confessions of Aleister Crowley. 1929. Reprint. New York, 1969.

Curran, Jim. K2: The Story of the Savage Mountain. London, 1995. K2: Triumph and Tragedy. London, 1987.

Desio, Ardito. Ascent of K2: Second Highest Peak in the World. London, 1955.

____________ “The Italian 1954 Expedition to the Karakoram,” The Mountain World: 1955. New York, 1955.

Diemberger, Kurt. The Endless Knot. Seattle, 1990.

Filippi, Fillipo de. Karakoram and the Western Himalaya. London, 1912. Hornbein, Thomas