Surviving climber tells of doomed K2 descent

AN American climber spoke yesterday of the ice fall that caused the deaths of 11 climbers on K2, including Limerick climber Gerard McDonnell.

A number of expeditions were on the mountain during the disaster and as many as 20 climbers set out for the summit on Friday, when weather conditions seemed excellent, said Nicholas Rice, a 23-year-old mountaineer from Los Angeles.

“It was perfect summit weather,” Mr Rice said in an interview via satellite telephone from the base camp. As part of a French expedition he had been forced to turn back late last week from Camp 4, not far from the summit, because of frostbite in his fingers.