Father, son feared dead in K2 slide

  • Breaking
  • 29/07/2013

By 3 News online staff / AP

A New Zealand man and his son are feared dead following an avalanche on the world's second-highest mountain, K2.

Marty Schmidt, 53, and his son Denali, 25, were last heard from Friday.

Marty Schmidt had been posting about the pair's climb on the website for Macpac, which sells outdoor equipment. Last week he wrote they hoped to become the first father-and-son team to reach the summit of K2, on the Pakistan-China border.

But Macpac yesterday posted a message saying Base Camp reports indicated the pair had been killed in an avalanche.

There is no confirmation at this stage of the pair's death, but it's not looking likely they survived. British climber Adrian Hayes wrote on his Facebook page that Schmidt last radioed on Friday and that Mr Hayes' fears for the pair were confirmed when Nepalese Sherpas discovered their camp had been wiped out, probably as they slept.

New Zealand Alpine Club general manager Sam Newton says even if they weren't caught in an avalanche, they have been alone at altitiude for a long time.

"A sherpa was sent up to check out Camp 3, and the sherpa reported back that Camp 3 had been swept by an avalanche," he said on Firstline this morning. "Even if they weren't caught in that avalanche, they've been a long time at a very high altitude. We… expect the worst."

Mr Hayes said the pair were well-known, experienced and strong mountaineers. But he said that other climbers had turned back Friday due to unsafe snow conditions.

"Sadly, at times the mountains do not differentiate between ability and experience, least of all K2," Hayes wrote. "The poignancy of the tragedy is not lost in that, had the rest of us not turned back that day - including Marty and Denali's Australian teammate Chris Warner - we also all would have been sleeping at Camp 3 when the avalanche struck."

Mr Newton says K2 is one of the most difficult of the world's mountains to climb.

"K2's nicknamed the 'Savage Mountain' by climbers. It's extremely challenging… K2 often goes a whole season or a whole year without it being climbed due to the snow conditions."

He says Marty Schmidt was one of New Zealand's most experienced and respected climbers.

"He had a real enthusiasm and a passion for the mountains. He worked very hard as a guide to provide really great mountaineering experiences for his clients.

"He'll be remembered as a physically gifted climber who could climb many of the world's highest mountains without supplementary oxygen."


Denali Schmidt

Mr Newton says he didn't know Denali, but assumed he was a "chip off the old block" as he'd been climbing mountains "his whole life".

"It's a real tragedy for the family – our thoughts and feelings are with them. It's a real loss for the climbing community and a double blow for the family."

AP / 3 News

source: newshub archive