Marie-Pier Desharnais reached the top of K2 B次元官网网址� renowned as one of the toughest mountains on earth B次元官网网址� becoming one of the only women in Canada to summit the 8,611-metre monolith on the China-Pakistan border.

The climber from Victoriaville, Que. conquered whatB次元官网网址檚 been dubbed B次元官网网址渢he King of MountainsB次元官网网址� on July 22 at 5:45 a.m. after an ascent of nearly 11 hours from Camp 3.

Back in the valley six days later, Desharnais spoke to The Canadian Press by phone.

B次元官网网址淚t was a long expedition, but it was a monumental challenge,B次元官网网址� the 35-year-old Quebecer said in French from Skardu, Pakistan.

B次元官网网址淭he B次元官网网址榮ummit pushB次元官网网址� was a physical challenge. ItB次元官网网址檚 such a steep, calf-burning incline, there are no places to take breaks. Sometimes thereB次元官网网址檚 barely the tip of the crampons thatB次元官网网址檚 hooked and itB次元官网网址檚 like that for hours and hours.B次元官网网址�

DesharnaisB次元官网网址檚 expedition began on June 11, as she worked out administrative details in Pakistan and acclimated herself to the altitude. She completed five days of acclimatization on K2 with a Sherpa before returning to base camp, which sits 5,135 metres above sea level. Then a long wait set in, as she watched for better weather.

A record and a tragedy

Finally, a favorable weather window allowed around a hundred mountaineers to make the ascent on July 22, including Marie-Pier Desharnais with the Elite Exped team. That number marks a single-day record. Since its first ascent in 1954 by the Italians Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, fewer than 400 people have reached K2B次元官网网址檚 peak.

A video shared by Nepalese mountaineer Mingma Sherpa on social media shows a traffic jam that Friday in B次元官网网址渢he Bottleneck,B次元官网网址� a steep section of the ascent that rears up more than 8,200 metres above sea level.

However, those successes were overshadowed a few days later by the death of two mountaineers, Quebecer Richard Cartier and Australian Matt Eakin. The news put Desharnais B次元官网网址渋n shock,B次元官网网址� as she had spent part of the afternoon with Cartier the day before he died, when they were both at Camp 3.

B次元官网网址淔irst, Richard was missing and we were looking for him. We still had hope that he was alive. Then the news came that his body had been found,B次元官网网址� she recalled.

The tragedy also served up a grim reminder: B次元官网网址淭here is no one who is completely safe from danger.B次元官网网址�

Beyond the technical skills required to climb K2, Desharnais reckons luck plays a role.

B次元官网网址淲hat was the most difficult or what scared me the most was the descent,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭here are falling rocks all the time because there are other climbers above you who are sending rocks down and you end up below them on a 60-degree slope, so itB次元官网网址檚 almost vertical.B次元官网网址�

Desharnais took a rock to the hand, which she thought was broken, and finished rappelling with her other hand.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 Russian roulette,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 think thatB次元官网网址檚 why itB次元官网网址檚 such a tragic mountain. You can manage the risks, do everything you can, have a great team, but there are still some elements that you cannot control.B次元官网网址�

K2 is one of the deadliest peaks over 8,000 metres, with a fatality rate of 29 per cent, according to data compiled through 2012 by mountain specialist Eberhard Jurgalski. In contrast, Mount Everest has a four per cent fatality rate, his research found.

In 2018, a K2 expedition made up of Quebecers took a tragic turn with the death of mountaineer Serge Dessureault.

Inspirations

Marie-Pier Desharnais was part of a team led by seasoned mountaineer Nirmal B次元官网网址淣imsB次元官网网址� Purja, made famous by the film B次元官网网址�14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible,B次元官网网址� where he recounts his ascent within seven months of the worldB次元官网网址檚 14 mountains that boast peaks above 8,000 metres.

B次元官网网址淚 knew Nims, who is my mentor, before he was famous during his project. He had three mountains left,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲e became friends and I started doing technical mountains with him, including Ama Dablam, in Nepal.B次元官网网址�

Desharnais believes her life changed at that moment, when she began to consider climbing K2, which sheB次元官网网址檇 previously deemed out of reach.

B次元官网网址淣ims manages to see things in you, he manages to make you realize your full potential,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淥nce you get that, it not only affects the mountains but the rest of your life as well.B次元官网网址�

Desharnais, who survived a tsunami in Thailand in 2004, also found inspiration in disaster management. She stresses that the courses of one of her geography professors at the Universit茅 du Qu茅bec 脿 Montr茅al, Sylvain Lefebvre, helped her find meaning and drive.

B次元官网网址淎 theme that is very present in my life is resilience: personal, organizational in my work, and obviously I use it in the mountains more than ever,B次元官网网址� said Desharnais, who works as a disaster management expert in Qatar.

With 10 years spent in the Middle East in a profession composed mainly of men, along with her passion for mountaineering B次元官网网址� a very masculine milieu B次元官网网址� the theme of women has taken an important place in her life, she says.

B次元官网网址淢y current project B次元官网网址� the Apex Woman Project B次元官网网址� is to climb five of the highest and most difficult mountains on the planet where, precisely, there have not been many women,B次元官网网址� she explained. B次元官网网址淚 want it to elevate the feminine footprint to those heights.B次元官网网址�

After seven years in mountaineering, she has seen changes. Her recent K2 expedition was the first she took part in where women outnumbered men.

B次元官网网址淛ust because youB次元官网网址檙e a woman doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean things have to be out of reach,B次元官网网址� she says.

Johanna Pellus, The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Marie-Pier Desharnais was the first Canadian woman to reach the K2 summit.

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