Art of Freedom by Bernadette McDonald

Author:Bernadette McDonald
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: RMB | Rocky Mountain Books
Published: 2017-03-16T04:00:00+00:00

TEN

The Shining Wall

Heaven is the place where you think of nowhere else.

—Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness

If there is one mountain that will forever be associated with Voytek Kurtyka, it is Gasherbrum IV. More specifically, the 2500-metre West Face. Sometimes called the Shining Wall, the West Face is split by a band of marble-like rock that shimmers in the evening light. American alpinist Michael Kennedy described it as “at once a glimpse of perfection and a daunting call to action.”46 Voytek first saw Gasherbrum IV in 1976 when he was part of the Polish K2 expedition led by Janusz Kurczab. He was enchanted by its geometrically perfect, triangular shape. Stark and elegant, it induced an insatiable desire to be high on the West Face, to explore its secrets, to touch its elusive summit.

Fourth-highest of the six-mountain Gasherbrum group, 7932-metre Gasherbrum IV is the most challenging to climb. It is a “climbers’ mountain,” revered more for its difficulty and beauty than its height. Just shy of the magical 8000 metres, it is sometimes overshadowed by its loftier neighbours: Gasherbrums I and II, Broad Peak and K2. But the sustained difficulties found on every side of the peak have created an aura around it; only a handful of teams have been high on the mountain, and only three teams have reached the summit. Located at the northeastern end of the Baltoro Glacier, it was ascended first in 1958 by Riccardo Cassin’s Italian expedition via the Northeast Ridge. Walter Bonatti, a member of the team, described the peak as “slender, rocky and aerial.”47 He and Carlo Mauri made the final, successful summit push, and their long, complex and dangerous route remains unrepeated.

During the late 1970s and early ’80s, several teams from Britain, the US and Japan attempted the mountain, some by the West Face and others by the Southwest Ridge. An American team led by Steve Swenson reached slightly higher than 7000 metres on the Northwest Ridge in 1983 – during the second of four attempts – before being stopped by deep, unstable snow. They were joined by Michael Kennedy and Mugs Stump, who attempted the West Face, alpine-style. The pair reached 6900 metres before being turned away by storms, avalanches and dwindling supplies. The following year, Werner Landry led another American team on the Northwest Ridge but turned back at a rock band on the upper ridge at around 7350 metres.

Voytek and Jurek had the unclimbed West Face firmly in their sight-lines when they wandered over to take a look in 1984. But the plan fell apart as the two discussed the climb. Some observers thought Voytek seemed overly anxious about the proposed route. Others felt Jurek was bullheaded about plowing ahead despite the marginal weather. Voytek’s recollection is clear: the daily snowstorms had made the West Face unacceptably dangerous, and his desire to climb it was outweighed by the threat of avalanches. It wasn’t the right moment to attempt the West Face of Gasherbrum IV.

His caution that year did not mean he was giving up on the West Face.

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