Swedish climber and skier Fredrik Ericsson dies on K2

[Devil Soul]

Swedish climber and skier Fredrik Ericsson dies on K2
AP, Aug 7, 2010

STOCKHOLM: The Austrian News Agency says Swedish climber and skier Fredrik Ericsson has fallen to his death on K2 while trying to conquer the world's second highest peak.

The agency cites members of his expedition as saying the accident occurred Friday during a sudden warm spell that increased the danger of the climb.

Fellow climber Christian Stangl told APA that fog also interfered with the climb.

At 8,611 meters (28,250 feet), the peak in the Chinese-Pakistani border region is the second highest after Mount Everest, at 8,848 meters (29,030 feet).

Sweden's Foreign Ministry was informed about the accident by Ericsson's family, but was waiting for local authorities to confirm his death, ministry spokesman Anders Jorle said.

Swedish news agency TT said Ericsson was 35. A posting by a colleague on Ericsson's official website on Aug. 4 said the warm conditions had prompted a lot of movement on the mountain and that ``avalanches and rock fall could be heard all day.''

The site described Ericsson as an avid climber and skier who traveled to mountain peaks worldwide to do photo shoots for ski magazines, websites and sponsors.

He had made several trips to the Himalayas and was working on a project to ski the world's three highest peaks, Mount Everest, K2 and Kangchenjunga.

 

[Areesh]

May he rest in peace. A very sad news indeed.

 

[nomi007]

very sad news

 

[alibaz]

Rest in peace brave man

 

[Icarus]

Very few people want to visit Pakistan as tourists, we lost one of them.
R.I.P.........

 

[Archie]

I have a Question , What is the Full name of K2
Doe it simply means 2nd highest peak in the world or is it something different

 

[Gin ka Pakistan]

Very few people want to visit Pakistan as tourists, we lost one of them.
R.I.P.........

First of all no one in the world knows about K2 or its in Pakistan second Mountain climbers know K2 is more difficult then Everest

 

[Shabaz Sharif]

First of all no one in the world knows about K2 or its in Pakistan second Mountain climbers know K2 is more difficult then Everest

K-2 Death rate is about 6-7 times higher then Everest.

 

[GentlemanObserver]

I have a Question , What is the Full name of K2
Doe it simply means 2nd highest peak in the world or is it something different

K2 =

The name K2 is derived from the notation used by the Great Trigonometric Survey. Thomas Montgomerie made the first survey of the Karakoram from Mount Haramukh, some 130 miles (210 km) to the south, and sketched the two most prominent peaks, labelling them K1 and K2.

The policy of the Great Trigonometric Survey was to use local names for mountains wherever possible and K1 was found to be known locally as Masherbrum. K2, however, appeared not to have acquired a local name, possibly due to its remoteness.

 

[zagahaga]

k 2 is named for killer 2 that what i heard... and it not eazy to climb that soo many people died on there and i think only 1 or 2 people got up there but died on the way

 

[Break the Silence]

Rest in peace sir!

 

[mean_bird]

I have a Question , What is the Full name of K2
Doe it simply means 2nd highest peak in the world or is it something different

K2 was named when the area was surveyed and the different peaks were labeled as K-1,k-2, k-3, etc. The "K" stands for Karakoram since they belong to that mountain range.

K-2 is also known as Mount Godwin Austin as its english name. It also have a local name in the local language around the area but it has slipped my mind. Will add it if I recall.

added: The local name is Chogori, which is a Balti language word, meaning 'King of Mountains'.

P.S. K-2 is far more dangerous to climb than Everest but even more dangerous than both is Nanga Parbat which is nicknamed 'Killer Mountain'

 

[GentlemanObserver]

K2 was named when the area was surveyed and the different peaks were labeled as K-1,k-2, k-3, etc. The "K" stands for Karakoram since they belong to that mountain range.

K-2 is also known as Mount Godwin Austin as its english name. It also have a local name in the local language around the area but it has slipped my mind. Will add it if I recall.

Mount Godwin Austin

was rejected. It was only a suggested name.

 

[Spring Onion]

I have a Question , What is the Full name of K2
Doe it simply means 2nd highest peak in the world or is it something different

The local name for K2 is Chogori from Balti language

Savage Mountain

Dubbed the "Savage Mountain," K2 in the Himalayas is Earth’s second-highest peak and among the top three hardest climb in the world. With a 8,611-meter (28,250-foot) summit and surrounding weather that is significantly colder and less predictable than on Everest, reaching the top of K2 and coming down alive is every veteran mountaineers dream.

K is for Karakorum

K is for Karakorum and K2 was first summitted on this day, July 31, in 1954. Since then, there have been around 240 summits (compared with approximately 2000 on Everest). Fifty six climbers have died on K2, twenty-two while descending from the summit. In terms of the overall summit/fatality rate of 23%, it is the third most deadly mountain in the world. Only Nanga Parbat and Annapurna are deadlier. K2s statistics for female climbers are particularly dramatic. Some even say K2 is "cursed" for women. Six women have reached the top, but of those 6, three died on the descent. (2 have since died on other 8,000-meter peaks.)

Shangri-La of ultimate fear

Situated in the middle of an isolated paradise, it is thought to be part of the fictional Shangri-La that James Hilton wrote about in Lost Horizon. In spite of the dangers, the mountain continues to lure climbers to it´s slopes of dark gray rock. It is the ultimate fear and as such must be faced and overcome by climbers aiming for alpine excellence. In scaling Everest, you are a great climber to the world. Summit K2, and you are a true climber to climbers.

A history of blood and triumphs - K2 100 years ago

The first attempt on K2 took place in 1902. One of the members of the doomed expedition, the ‘wickedest man on Earth’ and also one mean climber, was Aleister Crowley. He had many important solo climbs in the Western Alps, including a couple of firsts. For several years he had been moving swiftly up the ranks of the occult orders much to the dismay of the senior members. After offending just about every person involved in black magic at the turn of the 20th century and incurring several ‘attacks’, Crowley left his home in London. An accomplished climber, he found his way on to the K2 expedition.

Bad omen

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.

Down from thin air into deep fogs of Heroin

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. Soon after the expedition Crowley began a long descent into heroin addiction. His behavior became more bizarre and iconoclastic and his activities more infamous each day.

Bat wife

At one point he became convinced his wife was a bat, Crowley forced her to sleep tied upside down in a closet at nights. By the time of his death, Aleister Crowley, was a permanent fixture in the world’s history of the occult, and a lesser known climber on the first attempt on K2.

 

[Hyde]

Rest in Peace