On August 1, 2008, Hermosa Beach climber Nicholas Rice awoke after a freezing night at Camp IV and made his way to just below the “Bottleneck”.

Rice, 23, was attempting to climb K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, widely considered one of the world’s most difficult summit (and one of the most deadly).

The Bottleneck, as the name implies, was an exposed section of the climbing route where climbers were dependent on fixed ropes set by other climbers and Sherpas for passage up and down. In this way, the Bottleneck is similar to Mount Everest’s Hillary Step. Unlike the Hilary Step, however, the Bottleneck lay beneath a system of ice seracs—towering and unstable blocks of ice.

That morning at camp, Nick had spilled water on his socks, getting them wet. Consequently he got a late start that day. After about an hour of climbing, Nick (who was climbing without oxygen) still wasn’t warming up. He decided the prudent course of action was to turn back, and he did so, returning to Camp IV. After resting at camp for several hours, Nick decided to continue descending. Other climbers continued upward.

Soon after that, Nick learned that the ice blocks overhanging the Bottleneck had broken loose in an avalanche, killing three climbers and stranding others above by destroying the fixed ropes.

Like the events described in John Krakauer’s book Into Thin Air, the K2 avalanche has a ghoulish quality that lingers in the imagination. Discovering that the ropes—their lifeline—had been cut, the trapped climbers’ options were extremely limited. I expect we’ll see a great deal of coverage on this tragedy as more details emerge.

Nick has posted regular dispatches of his climb, including the avalanche and rescue efforts, on his website.

What an absolutely amazing adventure this was!

North Palisade offers the gamut of high alpine mountaineering challenges, from glacier travel to ice climbing to technical rock, making it not only one of the most challenging Sierra fourteeners, but also one of the most rewarding.

I had wanted to climb this route for some time, but simply didn’t have the skills or the mindset to try to solo it.

Of course I’ve also wanted to ski in the Palisades, but again I was intimidated by the terrain’s obvious technical character.

North Pal was simmering on my back burner this year when a Bishop guiding company, Sierra Mountain Guides, contacted me. That lead to my first guided trip, with North Pal being the obvious objective. The experience proved to be overwhelming positive. I learned a great deal, had a lot of fun, and got a chance to scout a number of ski descent possibilities for next year. I also got the pants scared off me (by some of the technical rock).

Let me just say a big Thanks to my guide, Neil Satterfield (who also provided additional photography for the TR), and the entire SMG crew. You can bet I’ll be back to try something like this again!

Full Trip Report here: North Pal via the U-Notch.