Ger McDonnell
Encyclopedia
Gerard McDonnell , mountaineer
and engineer
, was the first Irish
person to reach the summit
of K2
, the second-highest mountain
on Earth
, in August 2008. He lost his life along with ten other mountaineers following an avalanche
on the descent, in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.
McDonnell was born in Kilcornan
, County Limerick
. 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
". McDonnell famously pucked a sliotar
with a hurley
from the south col achieving the highest Poc Fada in the world and later summited Mount Everest
with Mick Murphy in 2003. He was unsuccessful during an earlier attempt on K2 in 2006 when he was hit by a rock and airlifted to hospital. Irish President
, Mary McAleese
was among the dignitaries to pay tribute to him following his successful Everest climb in 2003 and in 2008 following his death.
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 31 July 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's 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. Ger McDonnell's satellite phone
was found in some belongings two surviving climbers brought back to camp. 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 17 August 2008 and an online book of condolence
was opened.
Ger's mother, brother, partner, van Rooijen and Pat Falvey
later appeared on The Late Late Show
on 3 October 2008. In 2009, a memorial fund was set up in his honour to provide first-aid training and safe climbing technique for high-altitude porters.
The Gerard McDonnell Memorial Fund sponsors the children of the high-altitude porters who died in the tragedy on K2. Gerard McDonnell Memorial Fund.
Ger's former DCU
Electronic Engineering college classmates established a Living Trust in memory of Ger and are seeking donations via the DCU Educational Trust.
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
and engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, was the first Irish
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
person to reach the summit
Summit (topography)
In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
of K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
, the second-highest mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, in August 2008. He lost his life along with ten other mountaineers following an avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
on the descent, in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.
McDonnell was born in Kilcornan
Kilcornan
Kilcornan is a parish in County Limerick. It is about seventeen Kilometers west of Limerick City on the N69. According to the 2006 census of Ireland the population of Kilcornan was 671, an increase of 39 since 2002. According to Lewis's Topographical Dictionary the earliest identifiable settlements...
, County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
. A decade before his K2 success, he had moved to Anchorage, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. 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
Irish diaspora
thumb|Night Train with Reaper by London Irish artist [[Brian Whelan]] from the book Myth of Return, 2007The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa,...
. Among his interests was playing the bodhrán
Bodhrán
The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
in a band. He was described as a "philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
" and a "great storyteller
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
". McDonnell famously pucked a sliotar
Sliotar
A sliotar or sliothar is a hard solid sphere slightly larger than a tennis ball, consisting of a cork core covered by two pieces of leather stitched together. Sometimes called a "puck" or "hurling ball", it resembles an American baseball with more pronounced stitching...
with a hurley
Hurley (stick)
A hurley is a wooden stick used to hit a sliotar in the Irish sport of hurling. It measures between 70 and 100 cm long with a flattened, curved end which provides the striking surface...
from the south col achieving the highest Poc Fada in the world and later summited Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
with Mick Murphy in 2003. He was unsuccessful during an earlier attempt on K2 in 2006 when he was hit by a rock and airlifted to hospital. Irish President
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
, Mary McAleese
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as president. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in...
was among the dignitaries to pay tribute to him following his successful Everest climb in 2003 and in 2008 following his death.
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 31 July 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
Serac
A serac is a block or column of ice formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier. Often house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers since they may topple with little warning...
fell, cutting all the fixed lines on his and his fellow members of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
-led Norit K2 Expedition's 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
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
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
Skardu
Skardu , is the main town of the region Baltistan and the capital of Skardu District, one of the districts making up Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan....
. "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. Ger McDonnell's satellite phone
Satellite phone
A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites...
was found in some belongings two surviving climbers brought back to camp. Mr McDonnell's partner, brother JJ and sister Denise flew to Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
in search of answers. Whilst McDonnell's body was not recovered, a memorial service was held in Kilcornan on 17 August 2008 and an online book of condolence
Guestbook
A guestbook is a paper or electronic means for a visitor to acknowledge their visitation to a site, physical or web-based, and leave their name, postal or electronic address , and a comment or note, if desired...
was opened.
Ger's mother, brother, partner, van Rooijen and Pat Falvey
Pat Falvey
Pat Falvey led the first ever Irish expedition to reach the South Pole on 8th January, 2008. The party also included Dr. Clare O'Leary, Jonathan Bradshaw, and Shaun Menzies...
later appeared on The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
on 3 October 2008. In 2009, a memorial fund was set up in his honour to provide first-aid training and safe climbing technique for high-altitude porters.
The Gerard McDonnell Memorial Fund sponsors the children of the high-altitude porters who died in the tragedy on K2. Gerard McDonnell Memorial Fund.
Ger's former DCU
Dublin City University
Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...
Electronic Engineering college classmates established a Living Trust in memory of Ger and are seeking donations via the DCU Educational Trust.
Articles
- "Ger died doing what he loved: touching the void" — MountaineerMountaineeringMountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
Pat FalveyPat FalveyPat Falvey led the first ever Irish expedition to reach the South Pole on 8th January, 2008. The party also included Dr. Clare O'Leary, Jonathan Bradshaw, and Shaun Menzies...
writes comments in the Irish IndependentIrish IndependentThe Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
, August 4, 2008 - "Dreamers who risk death to feel most alive" — Derek Fanning writes for the Irish Independent, August 10, 2008
External links
- "Norit K2 Expedition 2008" — Alternative K2 2008 expedition website in English, includes Ger's expedition blog