Ger McDonnell

Infobox Celebrity
name = Gerard McDonnell


caption =
birth_date = 1971
birth_place = Limerick, Ireland
death_date = August 2 2008
death_place = K2, Himalayas, Pakistan
occupation = Mountaineer, engineer
salary =
networth =
website =

Gerard McDonnell (1971 – 2 August 2008) was a mountaineer and engineer, best known for becoming the first Irish person to reach the summit of K2,cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7539069.stm|title="K2 climber missing after ice fall"|date=2008-08-02|accessdate=2008-08-12|publisher=BBC] the second-highest mountain on Earth, in August 2008. He gained wider recognition for his death on the descent. A total of eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died following an avalanche on the descent,cite web|url=http://www.everestnews.com/pak2008/k22008sadnews081020080101.htm|title=K2 2008: List of climbers who passed away released|author=everestnews.com|publisher=everestnews.com] in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7539543.stm |title= Eleven climbers feared dead on K2 |accessdate=2008-08-06 |work= |publisher=BBC News |date=2008-08-03] [The most deadly climbing "season" on K2 was in 1986, when thirteen climbers died in seven separate accidents. See cite book |title=K2: The Story of the Savage Mountain|last=Curran|first=Jim|authorlink=|coauthors=|year=1995 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|location= |isbn=978-0340660072|pages=pp.183-207]

McDonnell was born in Kilcornan, County Limerick. [cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0803/mcdonnellg.html|title="Limerick man presumed dead in Himalayas"|date=2008-08-03|accessdate=2008-08-12|publisher=RTÉ] A decade before his K2 success, he had moved to Anchorage, Alaska. He hoped not only to work there but also to develop his skills as a mountaineer. McDonnell was well known in Anchorage's Irish community. Among his interests was playing the bodhrán in a band. He was described as a "philosopher" and a "great storyteller".cite web|url=http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=18790|title="Lost on K2: Irish climber had made his home in Alaska"|date=2008-08-06|accessdate=2008-08-12|publisher="The Irish Echo"] McDonnell famously pucked a hurley from the summit of Mount Everest in 2003 but was unsuccessful during an earlier attempt on K2 in 2006 when he was hit by a rock and airlifted to hospital. [cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/family-seek-explanation-for-what-went-wrong-1446615.html|title="Family seek explanation for what went wrong"|date=2008-08-05|accessdate=2008-08-12|publisher="Irish Independent"] He also travelled to the South Pole, after which he met Irish President, Mary McAleese. She was among the dignitaries to pay tribute to him following his death. [cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/family-mourns-loss-of-k2-climber-1445962.html|title="Family mourns loss of K2 climber"|date=2008-08-04|accessdate=2008-08-12|publisher="Irish Independent"]

McDonnell's group had been on a mammoth expedition for eight weeks, surviving in sub-zero temperatures. In an online despatch, he said that after the team set July 31 as their date for the summit bid, spirits were high. "Let luck and good fortune prevail, fingers crossed," he wrote. However, following the avalanche, a serac fell, cutting all the fixed lines on his and his fellow members of the Dutch-led Norit K2 Expedition'scite web|url=http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=18790|title="Lost on K2: Irish climber had made his home in Alaska"|date=2008-08-06|accessdate=2008-08-12|publisher="The Irish Echo"] path.

It was said by the surviving members of McDonnell's team that he refused to descend because he was helping the others that were injured. Expedition leader Wilco van Rooijen, a 40-year-old Dutch climber who was airlifted to a military hospital in Pakistan after surviving the accident, said that poor preparations had contributed to the disaster. He suggested that advance climbers laid ropes in the wrong places on the mountain, hampering the climb of several teams of mountaineers and ultimately contributing to deaths of three of the climbers on his team. "Everything was going well to camp four, and on summit attempt, everything went wrong," said van Rooijen from his hospital bed in the Northern Pakistani town of Skardu. "The biggest mistake we made was that we tried to make agreements. Everybody had his own responsibility and then some people did not do what they promised. With such stupid things, lives are endangered." He singled out another team for only bringing half the length of rope they were supposed to. [cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/mistakes-on-mountain-led-to-tragic-deaths-1446535.html|title="Mistakes on mountain led to tragic deaths"|date=2008-08-05|accessdate=2008-08-12|publisher="Irish Independent"] Ger McDonnell's satellite phone was found in some belongings two surviving climbers brought back to camp. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7539506.stm|title="Irish K2 mountaineer feared dead"|date=2008-08-03|accessdate=2008-08-12|publisher=BBC] Mr McDonnell's partner, brother JJ and sister Denise flew to Islamabad in search of answers. Whilst McDonnell's body was not recovered, a memorial service was held in Kilcornan on August 17 2008 and an [http://www.patfalvey.com/condolences.php online] book of condolence was opened. [cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/last-survivor-hears-of-tragedy-after-arrival-at-k2-base-camp-1447474.html|title="Last survivor hears of tragedy after arrival at K2 base camp"|date=2008-08-06|accessdate=2008-08-12|publisher="Irish Independent"] Ger's mother, brother, partner, van Rooijen and Falvey later appeared on "The Late Late Show" on October 3.

References

Articles

* [http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/ger-died-doing-what-he-loved-touching-the-void-1445893.html "Ger died doing what he loved: touching the void"] — Mountaineer Pat Falvey writes for the "Irish Independent", August 4 2008
* [http://www.independent.ie/national-news/dreamers-who-risk-death-to-feel-most-alive-1451315.html "Dreamers who risk death to feel most alive"] — Derek Fanning writes for the "Irish Independent", August 10 2008

External links

* [http://www.phiodyssey.com/k2008 "Norit K2 Expedition 2008"] — Alternative K2 2008 expedition website in English, includes Ger's expedition blog

Persondata
NAME = McDonnell, Ger
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Irish mountaineer
DATE OF BIRTH = 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH = Limerick, Ireland
DATE OF DEATH = August 2 2008
PLACE OF DEATH = Bottleneck, K2, Himalaya