A Norwegian mountaineer, Kristin Harila, is facing backlash after drone footage showed her team seemingly climbing over a dying sherpa to reach the summit of K2 in Pakistan. Despite this controversy, Harila achieved a world record by completing the K2 climb on July 27, becoming the fastest person to scale all 14 mountains with elevations over 8,000 meters in just three months and one day, surpassing the previous record held by Nirmal Purja.
Critics argue that Harila will be remembered for her inhumanity rather than her record-breaking feat, as her team failed to save the dying sherpa, Mohammed Hassan. The scandalous footage was released by Austrian climbers Wilhelm Steindl and Philip Flämig, who witnessed multiple climbers walking over Hassan’s body to continue their summit. Steindl described the lack of a rescue operation, even though sherpas and mountain guides were present.
Steindl also revealed that Hassan, who was hired as a rope fixer despite having no mountaineering experience, took the job to pay for his diabetic mother’s medical expenses. While Harila insists that her team did everything possible to save Hassan, they were unable to rescue him due to dangerous conditions. Harila’s team provided oxygen and hot water to warm him up before an avalanche occurred near the fixing team, diverting Harila and her sherpa’s attention.
Harila’s cameraman stayed behind with Hassan, but eventually had to leave due to a lack of oxygen. When Harila’s team descended after reaching the summit, they found Hassan dead. Harila asserts that it would have been too perilous to bring Hassan’s body down the narrow bottleneck on the mountain.
She considers Hassan’s death a tragic accident and rejects the blame placed on individuals. Harila emphasizes the importance of proper training, equipment, and guidance for mountaineering expeditions. A GoFundMe campaign was initiated by Steindl to support Hassan’s family, raising over 100,000 euros to aid them in overcoming the loss of their income.
While these events have overshadowed Harila’s achievement, it is essential to remember the difficulty of conquering K2, which is widely regarded as one of the most challenging mountains in the world.
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