Alpinist Magazine Issue 37 | Winter 2011-12 Back Issue

K2 Part I - During the early climbing history of K2—"the geologic personification of angst"—the mountain's sustained steepness, objective hazards and violent storms gave it the allure (and menace) of an almost metaphysical challenge. Perhaps as a result, K2 provided the setting for so many of the classic tales that helped define the desires, ideals and fears of our community. Steve Swenson relives the lore in Part I of our two-part Moutnain Profile. Meanwhile, Kazakh mountaineer Denis Urubko defines the meaning of alpinism; Andrew Burr photographs the Sichuan; and poet Mark Goodwin lives in rhyme.