Norwegian record-setting mountaineer Kristin Harila denies claims of crossing a sick Sherpa during her K2 ascent. Despite the backlash, she explained the circumstances of the Sherpa's fall and set up a GoFundMe page for his family.
Mountaineer Denies Climbing Over Dying Sherpa While Reaching The Summit Of K2
A mountaineer who achieved a new record has refuted allegations that she ascended K2's summit by passing over an ailing Sherpa.
After successfully reaching an elevation of 8,611 meters, Kristin Harila, a Norwegian athlete, posted a video on social media to commemorate her accomplishment.
Nonetheless, numerous individuals have raised concerns that the 37-year-old may have crossed Mohammad Hassan, the Sherpa, during her ascent in her pursuit of reaching the summit.
The athlete from Norway first shared the video on August 8 to express her joy at reaching the peak of K2 in Pakistan.
A world record effort that saw her and her partner, Lama, ascend 14 peaks in under three months and one day included her arduous trip.
The mountaineer exclaimed over the achievement in an Instagram video after completing her ascent, which she subsequently shared with her 160,000 followers.
However, while climbing, porter Mohammed Hassan collapsed from a height of roughly 8,200 meters.
The 27-year-old then, unfortunately, departed away, leaving behind a wife and three young sons.
Several users descended on Harila's social media after pictures and videos of the crew allegedly climbing over him during the ascent started to surface online.
One wrote: “Mohammad Hassan died, how dare you celebrate your stupid record? Where is your humanity?”
Another added: “…The only real mountain you climb successfully is full of shame, no love, and pure sadness…”
Despite this, Harila responded to the growing rumors by posting a statement on her website.
She criticized those who circulated videos of the sherpa's death and the "misinformation" surrounding it in the lengthy essay.
She also remembered that day's sad incident and how Hassan had been a member of another squad ascending with them.
The skilled sherpa fell five meters as the parties ascended the steep way to the summit, leaving the 27-year-old in peril from the elements.
Although Hassan's body temperature had already started to drop, Harila reports that a member of her crew attempted to assist in helping to pull the injured guy to safety.
A number of people—including Harila's team—arrived on the scene to offer assistance, and they assisted the injured Sherpa for more than an hour.
When Hassan arrived at treatment, the mountaineer and her group eventually resumed their ascent.
Harila gave readers an explanation of why, stating: “We decided to continue forward as too many people in the bottleneck would make it more dangerous for a rescue… We did not fully understand the gravity of everything that happened until later.”
She concluded the lengthy speech by describing the occurrence as unfortunate and requesting that everyone be kind in light of Hassan's untimely passing.
For the Sherpa family, the mountaineer has also published a GoFundMe page.
