
In the early morning hours of August 1st, 2008, more than three dozenmen readied in the starry darkness for their final ascent to the summitof K2, the world’s second highest mountain. In little more than 24hours, 11 climbers would be dead. News of the K2 catastrophe rocketedthrough the international media. The annals of high altitudemountaineering are filled with stories of storm and slaughter – but thistragedy occurred in perfect weather, under bright, windless skies. Whathappened? How had the mountain killed so many, so quickly?
The insider’s account of what really happened on K2 is many things: adark portrayal of the hubris, racial tensions and ethical ambiguitiesthat threaten to consume modern mountaineering, and a honest portrait ofhow heroism can transcend those divisions. It is not only a tale ofhigh-stakes mountain adventure, but also a chronicle of the grief andanguish experienced by the families of lost climbers, the guilt thathaunts those who survive, and society’s macabre attraction to tragedyand how it can subvert the truth. Authored by alpinist and veteranclimbing writer Freddie Wilkinson, One Mountain Thousand Summitsis a thought-provoking study of modern morality told at the break-neckpace of an action thriller, and an urgent work of investigativenon-fiction.














































