In the ruthless universe of mountaineering, where each step can be the last, a recent tragedy on the slopes of the K2, at 24,000 feet, aroused a wave of indignation and ethical questions. Images captured by a drone have revealed a freezing reality: a high altitude carrier, Muhammad Hassan, was abandoned to his fate by a climbing team while he was dying in the “zone of death”. These images, which have become viral, show a line of climbers spanning his body without stopping, in a hurry to reach the top. This scene has rekindled a burning debate on morality in the high mountains, where personal ambition sometimes seems to take precedence over humanity.
The K2, the second highest peak in the world, is known for its dangerousness. In July 2023, Muhammad Hassan, a Pakistani carrier, participated in an expedition. Inexperienced at such altitudes, he was the victim of an avalanche and a snowstorm, according to an official report by the Ministry of Tourism of Gilgit-Baltistan. Wounded and exhausted, it collapsed at more than 8,000 meters, in an area where oxygen is rare and extreme conditions. The images of the drone show that he was still alive, but none of the climbers stopped to help him. This decision, described as “macabre” by some, shocked the international community.
Mountaineering in high altitude is a challenge where survival often depends on heartbreaking choices. Climbers, faced with their own physical and mental limits, sometimes must make rapid decisions. But letting a man die, when he was still aware, raises deep ethical questions. Images of the drone, of implacable clarity, show a raw truth: the obsession of the summit can transform heroes into selfish. Some defend the climbers, arguing that stopping at such an altitude would have endangered their own lives. Others, however, denounce a lack of humanity, stressing that mutual aid is a fundamental value of mountaineering.
This drama is not isolated. The history of mountaineering is full of stories where lives have been sacrificed in the name of the conquest. In 2006, Lincoln Hall, left for dead on Everest, was saved by a team that renounced the summit. In 2018, Élisabeth Revol was rescued at Nanga Parbat, but her companion Tomasz Mackiewicz did not survive. These examples show that rescue is possible, even in extreme conditions, when solidarity prevails.
The images of the drone, beyond their brutality, oblige a collective reflection. They expose the fragility of ethics in the face of ambition and recall that the mountain, so majestic, can reveal the best as the worst of humanity. Muhammad Hassan, father of three children, has become the symbol of a preventable tragedy. His death, immortalized by technology, challenges: how far are we ready to go for a summit? The answer, perhaps, lies in our ability to remain human, even at 24,000 feet
