Читать книгу Edge of the Map. The Mountain Life of Christine Boskoff онлайн

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The race to meet the demand for adventure companies exposed a divide between those who’d been raised on alpine-style climbing and those who were seeking expedition-style adventures. Guiding companies were launched by those with climbing experience, talent, and raw energy. These were necessary assets, but the business knowledge was sometimes missing. Clients were looking for the full package: companies that could provide the training, handle the logistics, and get them up the mountain. Furnishing perks while providing a focus on proper training and safety set in motion an incongruity that persists today.

The year 1990 marked a milestone for Scott and subsequently for Mountain Madness. Lhotse, a next-door neighbor to Everest and the world’s fourth highest mountain, remained unclimbed by Americans. With little fanfare, Scott and his climbing partner, Wally Berg, climbed to 27,940 feet until there was no longer mountain to climb.

Next up was K2, second to Everest in height, but a brutal and more technically challenging mountain. Nestled in the Karakoram Range, K2 is one of the range’s few peaks over 8,000 meters, each marked by glaciers and steep, dark slopes that exemplify the Turkish translation for Karakoram—black stone. Partnering with Ed Viesturs, Scott’s trip up the mountain in 1992 started and ended with drama. An early fall from a loose ice block dislocated his shoulder, stranding him at base camp for two weeks until it healed enough to try again. A subsequent attempt yielded a close call with an avalanche and the rescue of Chantal Mauduit from a high camp. After the rescue, Scott and Ed reached the summit of K2, but during a harrowing descent they were called to a second rescue, this time of New Zealand climber Gary Ball, who was suffering from high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). K2 had lived up to the hype, a reminder that it could be very dangerous to heed the alluring call of its summit.