Never-before-seen footage from a new documentary shows Norwegian climber Kristin Harila’s team trying to save Pakistani mountain porter Muhammad Hassan at 27,000ft on K2, before continuing towards the summit and a world record.
The incident took place during Harila’s record-breaking ascent in 2023, when the team encountered Hassan hanging upside down in darkness on one of the world’s most dangerous mountain routes.
They faced a choice between abandoning their attempt and turning back to help him, or continuing towards the summit, where they were close to completing the fastest ascent of the world’s 14 highest mountains.
Harila, now 40, ultimately reached the summit on July 27, 2023, completing the challenge in 92 days. The decision to continue later led to months of criticism, abuse and death threats.
Footage shows desperate rescue attempt on K2
Speaking in the documentary Savage Mountain, Harila recalled seeing that something was wrong with the rope around Hassan’s legs.
“He was naked on his stomach and his back,” she said.
The film shows climbers crossing the mountainside at night as they tried to reach the porter. One member of the team attempts to secure an ice screw before slipping on the slope.
Harila said: “People were worried about everything collapsing, so of course no one wanted to stay there. I told Lama, we need to do something.”
Her climbing partner, Tenjen “Lama” Sherpa, described clipping around ten people into the route in order to get closer to Hassan.
“I picked him up and held his hand,” he said. “We were on a big slope with very slippery blue ice. It was a very dangerous place.”
The team eventually secured Hassan with a new rope, but Harila said it would not have been possible for everyone to turn around and descend.
Cameraman Gabriel said Hassan was already in an extremely serious condition when they reached him. “He was completely frozen. No oxygen, no gloves, no down suit,” he said.
Gabriel said he tried to warm Hassan, move his fingers and give him hot water. At one point, he gave the porter his own oxygen bottle, but was later told he had to continue upwards and leave him.
At about 3.20am, an avalanche came down from the side of a serac shortly after the Bottleneck, one of the most dangerous sections of K2. Harila said two members of the team were already ahead, prompting her and Lama to split from Gabriel while he remained with Hassan.
When daylight arrived, the climbers were unable to do anything more to save the porter and continued their ascent. The documentary shows Harila and her team celebrating on the summit after breaking the record.
Backlash after viral K2 footage
Their celebrations were later overshadowed by a viral video which appeared to show climbers stepping over a dying Hassan. Harila said the footage had been filmed during the day, while the team had found him in darkness and spent hours trying to save him.
She said the team’s biggest mistake was failing to explain what had happened immediately after returning from the climb.
“What really happened wasn’t controversial,” she said. “But the story of rich Western climbers stepping over a dying porter to take the record was really controversial.”
Harila said she received more than 20,000 abusive messages, including death threats. She later wrote that “sending death threats is never okay”.
An inquiry into Hassan’s death concluded that the expedition company had failed to carry out adequate checks and balances. Questions were also raised over the porter’s equipment and preparation, and the company was required to suspend operations for two years.
Sirbaz Khan, the first Pakistani to summit all 14 of the world’s highest peaks, questioned why Harila had been singled out when about 100 people were attempting to reach the summit that day.
Harila said the expedition had been intended to demonstrate that women were as capable as men in mountaineering and could set records. She lost most of her sponsors after the backlash and said she came to regret the climb.
Tenjen “Lama” Sherpa was later killed in an avalanche on Shishapangma on October 7, 2023, alongside American climbers Anna Gutu and Gina Marie Rzucidlo and guide Mingmar Sherpa.
