Pete Schoening
Encyclopedia
Peter K. Schoening (July 30, 1927 - September 22, 2004) was an American mountaineer. Schoening was one of two Americans to first successfully climb the Pakistani peak Gasherbrum I
in 1958, and was one of the first to summit Mount Vinson in Antarctica in 1966. He was born July 30, 1927, in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Olympia, a city
surrounded by the Olympic Mountains
. He dropped out of school to serve in the US Navy in the last year of the war. Later, he earned a degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington, where he became involved in mountain climbing. He died of cancer at his home in Kenmore, Washington.
Schoening is perhaps best remembered for his heroics during "The Belay" while part of the American K2 expedition
in 1953. He single-handedly averted the loss of the entire expedition when he used an ice axe
to set and hold a line saving five of the team who had slid off the mountain and dangled thousands of feet in the air.
In 1996 at age 68, he went to Everest together with his nephew, Klev Schoening. He stopped his ascent well short of the summit, at Camp Three, after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. The disastrous events of that week
are recounted in several books, including: Into Thin Air
by Jon Krakauer
and The Climb
by Anatoli Boukreev
.
led by Charles Houston
. On the seventh day, climbing without oxygen, they became trapped at over 25,000 feet (7,620 meters) on the Abruzzi Ridge of K2
. One of the expedition members, Art Gilkey
, collapsed with deep venous thrombosis, followed by pulmonary embolism
. Realizing Gilkey would surely die if not taken off the mountain immediately, they began to lower Gilkey, wrapped in a sleeping bag, over treacherous rock and ice in the middle of a storm.
While attempting to traverse an ice sheet, climber George Irving Bell
lost his footing, pulling Tony Streather loose. Streather fell into the rope joining Charles Houston
and Bob Bates
. Bates and Houston fell into the rope connecting Dee Molenaar
to Gilkey. Schoening, despite already holding Gilkey on belay during the attempted traverse to Camp VII, was able, through strength, quickness, and skill, to arrest the fall of all six men, with his ice axe wedged against a boulder frozen in the mountainside. Schoening considered himself merely lucky, but his companions felt otherwise.
During the team's scramble to recover from the fall and establish a forced bivouac, they discovered that Gilkey, who had been in voice contact with them, suspended still in the protective sleeping bag from a line secured on either side to ice axes, had vanished in a slide along with the supporting anchors. Houston, among others, has speculated that, following Bell's fall, Gilkey cut himself loose to save the lives of his five colleagues, who were variously injured and at risk for their own safety.
The story of the expedition is told in the book K2 — The Savage Mountain by Charles Houston, M.D. and Robert Bates. Today, The Belay is considered to be one of the most famous events in mountaineering history. Schoening's ice axe is currently on display at the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum in Golden, Colorado.
Schoening's actions clearly saved the lives of five of his climbing partners. He was awarded the David A. Sowles Memorial Award
for his heroics by the American Alpine Club in 1981 as a "mountaineer who has distinguished himself, with unselfish devotion at personal risk or sacrifice of a major objective, in going to the assistance of fellow climbers imperiled in the mountains."
Gasherbrum I
Gasherbrum I , also known as Hidden Peak or K5, is the 11th highest peak on Earth, located on the Pakistan-China border in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan and Xinjiang region of China. Gasherbrum I is part of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakoram region of the Himalaya...
in 1958, and was one of the first to summit Mount Vinson in Antarctica in 1966. He was born July 30, 1927, in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Olympia, a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
surrounded by the Olympic Mountains
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...
. He dropped out of school to serve in the US Navy in the last year of the war. Later, he earned a degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington, where he became involved in mountain climbing. He died of cancer at his home in Kenmore, Washington.
Schoening is perhaps best remembered for his heroics during "The Belay" while part of the American K2 expedition
Third American Karakoram Expedition
The 1953 American Karakoram Expedition was a mountaineering expedition to K2, at 8,611 metres the second highest mountain on Earth. It was the fifth expedition to attempt K2, and the first since the Second World War...
in 1953. He single-handedly averted the loss of the entire expedition when he used an ice axe
Ice axe
An ice axe, is a multi-purpose ice and snow tool used by mountaineers both in the ascent and descent of routes which involve frozen conditions. It can be held and employed in a number of different ways, depending on the terrain encountered...
to set and hold a line saving five of the team who had slid off the mountain and dangled thousands of feet in the air.
In 1996 at age 68, he went to Everest together with his nephew, Klev Schoening. He stopped his ascent well short of the summit, at Camp Three, after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. The disastrous events of that week
1996 Everest Disaster
The 1996 Mount Everest disaster refers to the events of 10-11 May 1996, when eight people died on Mount Everest during summit attempts. In the entire season, fifteen people died trying to reach the summit, making it the deadliest single year in Mount Everest's history...
are recounted in several books, including: Into Thin Air
Into Thin Air
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster is a 1997 bestselling non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It details the author's presence at Mount Everest during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster when eight climbers were killed and several others were stranded by a 'rogue storm'...
by Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer is an American writer and mountaineer, primarily known for his writing about the outdoors and mountain-climbing...
and The Climb
The Climb (book)
The Climb is an account by Russian mountaineer Anatoli Boukreev of the 1996 Everest Disaster, during which eight climbers lost their lives on Mount Everest. The co-author, G...
by Anatoli Boukreev
Anatoli Boukreev
Anatoli Nikoliavich Boukreev, , was a Kazakhstani climber who made ascents of seven of the 8,000 metre peaks without supplemental oxygen. In total he made 18 successful ascents on peaks above 8000 m . Boukreev was lost under an avalanche on Annapurna...
.
The Belay
In August 1953, the same year that Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed Everest, an American team of seven set out to climb K2K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
led by Charles Houston
Charles Snead Houston
-References:-External links:* - Daily Telegraph obituary* Independent obituary, 1 October 2009.-Notes:...
. On the seventh day, climbing without oxygen, they became trapped at over 25,000 feet (7,620 meters) on the Abruzzi Ridge of K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
. One of the expedition members, Art Gilkey
Art Gilkey
Art Gilkey was an American geologist and mountaineer. He explored Alaska in 1950 and 1952. He died during a 1953 American expedition to K2. Approaching the summit of the peak, he suffered from thrombophlebitis or possibly deep venous thrombosis, followed by pulmonary embolism...
, collapsed with deep venous thrombosis, followed by pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...
. Realizing Gilkey would surely die if not taken off the mountain immediately, they began to lower Gilkey, wrapped in a sleeping bag, over treacherous rock and ice in the middle of a storm.
While attempting to traverse an ice sheet, climber George Irving Bell
George Irving Bell
George Irving Bell was an American physicist, biologist and mountaineer, and a grandson of John Joseph Seerley. He died from complications of leukemia after surgery.-Education:...
lost his footing, pulling Tony Streather loose. Streather fell into the rope joining Charles Houston
Charles Snead Houston
-References:-External links:* - Daily Telegraph obituary* Independent obituary, 1 October 2009.-Notes:...
and Bob Bates
Robert Bates (mountaineer)
Robert Hicks Bates was an American mountaineer, author and teacher, who is best remembered for his parts in the first ascent of Mount Lucania and the American expeditions to K2 in 1938 and 1953.-Early life:...
. Bates and Houston fell into the rope connecting Dee Molenaar
Dee Molenaar
Dee Molenaar is an American mountaineer, author and artist from Burley, Washington. He is best known as the author of The Challenge of Rainier, first published in 1971 and considered the definitive work on the climbing history of Mount Rainier....
to Gilkey. Schoening, despite already holding Gilkey on belay during the attempted traverse to Camp VII, was able, through strength, quickness, and skill, to arrest the fall of all six men, with his ice axe wedged against a boulder frozen in the mountainside. Schoening considered himself merely lucky, but his companions felt otherwise.
During the team's scramble to recover from the fall and establish a forced bivouac, they discovered that Gilkey, who had been in voice contact with them, suspended still in the protective sleeping bag from a line secured on either side to ice axes, had vanished in a slide along with the supporting anchors. Houston, among others, has speculated that, following Bell's fall, Gilkey cut himself loose to save the lives of his five colleagues, who were variously injured and at risk for their own safety.
The story of the expedition is told in the book K2 — The Savage Mountain by Charles Houston, M.D. and Robert Bates. Today, The Belay is considered to be one of the most famous events in mountaineering history. Schoening's ice axe is currently on display at the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum in Golden, Colorado.
Schoening's actions clearly saved the lives of five of his climbing partners. He was awarded the David A. Sowles Memorial Award
David A. Sowles Memorial Award
The David A. Sowles Memorial Award is the American Alpine Club's highest award for valour, bestowed at irregular intervals on mountaineers who have "distinguished themselves, with unselfish devotion at personal risk or sacrifice of a major objective, in going to the assistance of fellow climbers...
for his heroics by the American Alpine Club in 1981 as a "mountaineer who has distinguished himself, with unselfish devotion at personal risk or sacrifice of a major objective, in going to the assistance of fellow climbers imperiled in the mountains."
Books
- Houston, Charles and Bates, Robert. K2 — The Savage Mountain
- Krakauer, Jon, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt Everest Disaster