Broad Peak

The World’s Twelfth Highest Mountain • 8,051 meters • Pakistan

Since I had reached the summit of Everest, my primary mountaineering ambition was to scale K2. Only slightly less high, it is renowned as the ultimate climbing challenge. I had originally hoped to join an expedition in the northern hemisphere summer of 2020, but this had to be postponed owing to the Covid-19 epidemic. For the following summer, I booked myself onto an expedition with a plan to climb Broad Peak first, and then K2. But things did not go to plan.

Broad Peak is not well known outside of mountaineering circles, but it is one of the ‘eight thousanders’ - peaks more than 8,000 meters in height. It is a formidable challenge, including steep couloirs, and is the 12th highest mountain in the world.

Timing and bad luck affected the expedition. The company organizing the trip was inexperienced, and the pandemic affected supplies and logistics, including of oxygen. Some of the high-altitude porters, the Pakistani equivalent to sherpas, experienced illness - not all had oxygen tanks.

My confidence was high as a climber. I felt increasingly fitter during the rotations and reached the summit, my third eight thousander. On the descent, however, a succession of crises included the fatal fall of one climber and several of us becoming stranded, for several hours, in the darkness and bitter cold, while running out of oxygen. I experienced severe altitude sickness and suffered frostbite to my hands.

The trajectory of my life had taken a severe and unexpected turn.