Norwegian Climber
KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: A Norwegian climber accused of walking past a dying Pakistani porter who fell from a narrow trail while attempting to ascend K-2 late last month has been cleared of wrongdoing after an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the porter’s death.
“A member of the five-member inquiry committee that initiated the probe earlier this month stated, ‘The inquiry has not assigned responsibility for the porter’s death to any individual, including the Norwegian climber and her teammates,'” the committee member reported.
The investigation was prompted by drone footage showing the Norwegian climber and her team passing by Mohammad Hassan, a high-altitude porter, who was hanging upside down from a rope and later died.
In the unsettling footage captured by Austrian climber Wilhelm Steindl and German climber Philip Flaemig, who had canceled their ascent due to bad weather that day, Norwegian climber Kristin Harila and her Nepali guide Tenjin “Lama” Sherpa were seen walking past the injured Hassan without stopping to help.
Their objective was to set a world record by scaling the 14 highest peaks in the world in 92 days. A Karachi-based senior journalist and Anadolu Agency’s Special Correspondent Aamir Latif reported this breaking news. AA is the Turkish government media organization, operating globally.
The troubling incident did not end there, as the drone footage also showed them stepping over Hassan’s body. Hassan later died during Harila’s ascent, and all team members were observed walking over his body.
Harila, 37, refuted the accusation, asserting that she and her team “did everything we could for him at the time.”
Regarding the violation of mountaineering ethics, an official who spoke to Anadolu on Wednesday under the condition of anonymity because of media restrictions, stated that the investigation had uncovered breaches of the international mountaineering declaration concerning the safety of the deceased porter.
The committee, which conducted an extensive investigation into the incident that garnered international attention, submitted its findings to the government of the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, home to K2 and four other peaks above 8,000 meters. The report is expected to be made public within a few days.
The investigation, which focused on mountaineering ethics, also gathered statements from Harila and her teammates. It was determined that Hassan was not part of Harila’s expedition.
According to the committee member, the investigation revealed a “clear” violation of Article 3 of the 2016 Kathmandu Declaration of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA), which pertains to the safety of employees hired for expeditions.
Although the inquiry did not assign blame for Hassan’s death to the Norwegian climber and her teammates, the official noted that Hassan’s life could have been saved with timely rescue efforts.
“The Norwegian climber was not the sole person who walked past the injured Hassan. There were others who did the same. However, it’s true that Hassan was severely injured,” the official stated.
In addition to recommending compensation for Hassan’s family, several measures have been proposed, including hefty fines and revocation of licenses for companies that fail to ensure the safety of their employees during expeditions.
Porters, also known as Sherpas in the Himalayas, are skilled professionals specializing in mountain climbing logistics.
K2, the world’s second-largest peak located in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, was the final mountain the team needed to conquer to set the world record.
The 8,611-meter (28,251-foot) K2, nicknamed the “savage mountain” due to its treacherous terrain, had never been scaled in winter until the previous year when a 10-member Nepali team achieved the feat.
It is the last peak above 8,000 meters (26,246 feet) to have been climbed in winter, 41 years after Mt. Everest was scaled in 1980 during winter.
Despite relatively better weather conditions, 86 climbers have lost their lives attempting to scale the mountain, which looms over Shigar valley in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Foreign climbers have often faced accusations of exploiting the impoverished Sherpas of Pakistan and Nepal, who frequently pave the way for mountaineers but receive inadequate compensation. Courtesy: Anadolu Agency
