In the wee hours of the morning of August 1, 2008, some thirty
climbers from ten different expeditions set out from their high
camps on the Abruzzi Ridge of K2. At 28,251 feet the world's
second- tallest mountain, K2, thrusts skyward out of the
Karakoram Range of northern Pakistan. After weeks of sitting out
bad weather, the mountaineers were poised to go for the summit
on a clear and windless day. During the endless storms, morale
at base camp had reached rock bottom, and some climbers had
thrown in the towel and gone home. But now everybody still on
the mountain was jazzed. As they emerged from their cramped
tents to clip on crampons and hoist packs, the climbers were
riding a manic high. Sometime that day, they thought, they would
claim one of the most elusive and glorious prizes in
mountaineering. For most of these men and women, K2 was the goal
of a lifetime. Chapter 1: T H E M OT I VATOR Although the
various teams were operating independently, they had tried to
cobble together a common logistical plan t