Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Karakoram 2011: Ralf And Gerlinde Talk K2 On Video

The 2011 Karakoram season is now a fading memory, but even though the rest of us have just begun to move on, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Ralf Dujmovits have only now just returned home to Germany following a long trek out from K2 Base Camp and flights home from China.

As you probably recall, Gerlinde and three teammates became the first team to summit K2 in three years and in the process she became the first woman to summit all fourteen 8000 meter peaks without the use of supplemental oxygen. It was a very long, hard, climb for everyone involved, but in the end, their patience was rewarded with the opportunity to stand on top.

Immediately after their return home, Gerlinde and Ralf appeared on a German talk show to discuss their epic climb. The result was a 15+ minute long segment during which they talk about the challenges of climbing K2, what it was like on that mountain, and much much more.  You'll find the video below, and while it is in German, it has been close captioned in English. Simply hit the "CC" button to get an English translation.