After the war, due to the political conditions, no expeditions were made to Karakorum until 1953 when the Americans again headed for K2. The expedition consisted of eight men, including the veterans Houston and Bates (from the 1938 expedition), Tony Streather (who had been with the Norwegians on Tirich Mir in 1950) and George Bell (famous for his climbs in the Andes) in the front line.

On June 19, Base Camp is established below the Abruzzi-Spur at 5,000 metres. The expedition didn't have any Sherpas since they had been denied entrance to Pakistan, they had to manage with carriers from the Hunza-people, who did show climbing talent. During the following three weeks the Camps were established - mainly in the same places as in 1938 and 1939. The weather looked good, but slowly turned. Suddenly storm winds became common, and all climbing activity was stopped for several days.

Finally, on August 1, the entire eight man team was together in Camp VIII at 7,750 metres, all in their very best shape and ready for the final attack.

Then the Gods of the mountain attacked! A violent snowstorm started to rage day and night. Thanks to Houston they had supplies for 10 - 12 days. A vote was taken, and two rope-teams were chosen for the attack against summit. All they needed was a few days of good weather. However, the storm never calmed down. Instead, the wind increased, shaking the tents more and more. On August 4 the 26-year-old Gilkey suffered a thrombus in one of his legs, it was almost impossible for him to move. His condition deteriorated and also his lungs were attacked after a few days. In the raging storm there was no possibility to get him down quickly to Base Camp - most probably, it would have been difficult to transport him at all.

Now it was a fight for everybody's life. It was clear that the storm would continue for some time. On August 10, the situation got critical in the highest camp. There were almost no supplies left and Gilkey's condition was very serious. Bell had also lost the feeling in his toes.

It was decided to make an attempt to get Gilkey down and the whole crew started to descend. There was no alternative anymore if they wanted to survive. The first day they only managed a few hundred metres downwards. In the evening the ropes entangled between the different rope-teams and five men fell, but Schoening managed to hold them alone! Fortunately no one got seriously injured. While the bivouac tents were put up, Gilkey had been secured a bit away. When went back to him, an avalanche had decided his destiny, nothing is left, his provisional stretcher attached with ice axes had been torn away, and in the howling storm nothing could be heard. The other seven climbers continued their struggle downward and finally they reached Base Camp after five days. Bell had serious frostbite to his feet and was carried all the way to Skardu - almost 200 kilometres.

The third American expedition had again been close to success. That all seven climbers managed to get down the steep Abruzzi-Spur under such adverse circumstances was literally more than a miracle!

1953 Italian Professor Ardito Desio and Mario Puchoz scouted the terrain, seeking possible routes up K2. They probed the terrain up to 6,000 metres and made a lot of observations. When Desio got home, he made the final plans to reach the summit. He said that the only chance of succeeding depended on the the plan being followed with a military discipline and that every member was to leave his personal ambition for the expeditions best.

The 21 chosen members first had to pass through a medical examination and were tested in a pressure chamber. In the middle of January 1954, all members gathered in a tent camp at 4,000 metres altitude on the Mount Blanc massif. The oxygen devices were tested and every person's physical and mental condition was examined in detail. From this group, 10 men were chosen for the expedition. They immediately leave for a training camp on 4,500 metres on Monte Rosa.

Just before the departure, a few men joined the party since the expedition failed to recruit any Sherpas. At the last minute the famous mountain guide Cassin resigned his alpine leadership.

The Approach followed the schedule and the route is the same as before, through the Abruzzi-Spur. Despite the bad weather, the higher camps were established one after another.

In the middle of June, all supplies for the final attack were stored in Camp IV. The expedition hoped to reach the summit before the end of the month. Hard winds and storms raged all over Karakorum during the following weeks and no progress was made. Would they not reach higher than their fellow countrymen from 1929? (The expedition from which Desio is a veteran).

The hard winds and storms calmed during the second half of July and the weather seemed to stabilise. Desio decided to take this opportunity as a last chance to reach the summit before the monsoon. Camp V was established at 7,300 metres and the next 300 metres above. At this point, an unfortunate thing happened: the 36 year old mountain guide Maria Puchoz from Courmayeur died of pneumonia in Camp II on July 20.

The expedition continued and Camp VIII was pushed forward to 8,150 metres, right below the 200 metre high and steep wall that is considered to be the climb's key to success. On July 28, four men reached Camp VIII in the evening and spent the night there. Of these four, two climbed on towards the summit next morning. Up on the ridge, just 200 metres below the top the oxygen suddenly ran out. What to do? Continue or descend? They continued without oxygen and finally reached the summit in the afternoon after a hard struggle. K2's summit is reached for the first time. They didn't stay long. The descent became dramatic when one of the companions fell but managed to stop the fall with his ice axe and his partner's safety. At 2:30 p.m. the duo reached Camp VIII where their friends welcomed them with hot drinks. Everybody safely reached Base Camp on August 2.
.

Who were the two climbers that reached the summit? It wasn't made public until the expedition came back to Italy. Desio wanted everyone to have the credit; the whole team was responsible for the success. The ascenders were Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni.

If you like this article, you can find more like it at http://www.jerberyd.com/climbing/stories/k2