How many died when swept off K2 mountain by a Serac in an area known as “the bottleneck”?
Italian: Poor equipment, errors hurt on K2 By MUNIR AHMAD – 2 days ago ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — An Italian who survived an avalanche that killed fellow climbers on the world’s second-highest peak said Wednesday poor equipment and a mistake by a porter contributed to the tragedy. Marco Confortola was among 30 mountaineers who began their ascent of K2 on Friday. He was stranded after an ice fall swept some climbers away and left others stranded in frigid conditions just below the 28,250-foot summit. In all, 11 people died. Confortola said poor equipment — including ropes and spikes that broke — as well as sloppiness and inexperience were partly to blame for the disaster. A Dutch survivor, Wilco Van Rooijen, has said advance climbers laid ropes in some of the wrong places, including in a treacherous gully known as “The Bottleneck,” about 1,150 feet below the summit, where the avalanche later took place. Confortola was rescued from K2 Wednesday and taken to a hospital with severe frostbi
