Norwegian climber denies she could have done more to save the life of Pakistani porter

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila pushed back against claims that she could have done more to save the life of a Pakistani porter who died near the peak of K2.

BERLIN — A record-setting Norwegian mountaineer pushed back Sunday against claims that she could have done more to save the life of a Pakistani porter who slipped off a narrow trail near the peak of the world’s most treacherous mountain and died there after several hours.

The circumstances of Mohammad Hassan’s July 27 death on K2, the world’s second-highest peak, have generated controversy, with two climbers arguing that he could have been saved if all those on the mountain that day had aborted their climb and focused on getting him down safely.

The fallout from Hassan’s death overshadowed a record established by Norwegian climber Kristin Harila and her Sherpa guide, Tenjin. By climbing K2 that day, they became the world’s fastest climbers, scaling the world’s 14 highest mountains in 92 days.

Harila told The Associated Press on Sunday that “in the snowy condition we had up there that day, it wouldn’t be possible to carry him down.”

“I’m sure that if it was possible that we saw a chance to carry him down from there, everyone would have tried that,” she said by Zoom from Norway. “But it was impossible.”