K2: The Savage Mountain | The Death Zone | 2
Against The Odds
Audible
4.7 • 7.9K Ratings
🗓️ 8 June 2021
⏱️ 46 minutes
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Summary
An international group of climbers are close to summiting one of the world’s tallest, and most dangerous, mountains. Their goal was to reach the peak by mid-afternoon and get down before dark when temperatures drop to 40 below and the thin air and darkness can leave climbers confused and lost. But problems with the rope line have put them behind and they are using all of their strength to push past the traverse. The summit is so close… but so is nightfall, and not all of them will make it back.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, Prime members, you can listen to against the odds at free on Amazon music. Download the app today. |
| 0:17.7 | It's 4.30 p.m. August 1st, 2008. |
| 0:22.2 | Cecilia Skug stands on a vast snow field staring up at the summit ridge of the second tallest mountain in the world. |
| 0:28.7 | She's been climbing non-stop for almost 20 hours, except for a short nap at Camp 4. |
| 0:35.3 | But for a moment, she forgets her aching muscles. The sight is breathtaking. |
| 0:40.5 | The snow sparkles in the brilliant sunshine and the top of the mountain is finally visible, |
| 0:46.5 | silhouetted against the immaculate blue sky. The most dangerous parts of the climb are behind her for now, |
| 0:53.0 | the icy traverse and the steep narrow bottle neck. Now she just needs to put one foot in front of the other and dig in. |
| 1:00.7 | As she makes the slow trek up the 30 degrees slope through the deep snow, her breathing is labored in the thin air. |
| 1:08.6 | At 28,000 feet, many of the climbers on the mountain are using supplementary oxygen, |
| 1:14.8 | but Cecilia left her bottle below with her husband Rolf. Without oxygen, it feels like |
| 1:20.7 | breathing through a straw with a 10-pound sack of potatoes on her stomach. |
| 1:24.8 | But she tries to keep her mind on the goal. She turns to her teammate, Lars Nessa. |
| 1:30.8 | Have you ever seen anything so perfect? I've never seen anything like K2. |
| 1:37.8 | Lars is 28 years old and the most junior member of the four-person Norwegian team. |
| 1:43.3 | He's not a full-time climber like Cecilia and Rolf. Back at home, he's a nurse. |
| 1:48.5 | When he agreed to the trip, he never imagined he would make it this far. |
| 1:52.6 | If they reach the top, you'll be one of an elite group of mountaineers who summited K2. |
| 1:58.6 | Cecilia looks up to see a climber coming their way. He has a confident, easy walk and he doesn't wear an oxygen mask. |
| 2:07.6 | When he gets close, Cecilia sees its Alberto Zaron. She remembers him from Camp 2 on the way up. |
| 2:16.1 | He's a solo climber from the Basque Country in Spain. She saw him helping Pemba Sherpa earlier that morning, |
| 2:22.5 | laying rope across the traverse. His face is ruddy from the fresh air. |
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