K2: ONE WOMAN’S QUEST FOR THE SUMMIT
A Daring Bid to Conquer the World’s Most Challenging Mountain

WASHINGTON—Dubbed the “Savage Mountain,” K2 in the Himalayas is the world’s second-highest peak and one of the most remote. With a 8,611-meter (28,250-foot) summit, routes that are steeper and more difficult than those to the top of Everest, and surrounding weather that is significantly colder and less predictable than on Everest, K2 is the ultimate challenge for many climbers. Of the 183 men and five women who have reached its summit, 19 of the men and three of the women never made it back down.

K2: ONE WOMAN’S QUEST FOR THE SUMMIT (National Geographic Adventure Press, ISBN 0-7922-7996-4, May 2001, $26), is mountaineer Heidi Howkins’ extraordinary, first-person account of her two historic bids: to be the first American woman to summit K2 and to climb in minimalist style—without porters or supplemental oxygen.

Howkins also recounts her previous Himalayan expeditions, including her summit of Gasherbrum II (8,035 meters); her successful attempt to be the first woman to reach the summit pyramid on Kanchenjunga (8,598 meters), the third-highest mountain in the world; and her climb up Everest, where she reached 8,000 meters without supplemental oxygen to acclimatize for her second attempt on K2.

In addition to the compelling tales of Howkins’ climbs as a member of the American K98 and K2000 expeditions, K2 is a riveting chronicle of the perils, trials, friendships and competition in the climbing world.

From physiological maladies to lack of mental clarity, Howkins describes the risks and dangers associated with high-altitude climbing. On Kanchenjunga, she retreated to base camp when her partner became partially blind from retinal hemorrhages in one eye.

Describing the harsh and often deadly storms that assault K2, Howkins tells of how both her attempts to summit were thwarted by severe weather. On her second attempt during the K2000 expedition, 29 days of snow in July prevented the team from advancing past Camp 4.

Howkins also discusses the challenges of being a female climber among predominantly male teammates and the controversy she faces as the single mother of an eight-year-old.

To Howkins, the rewards of living on the edge outweigh the risks of climbing. “Mountaineering is a life-or-death situation,” she explains, “And I have to be ready for whatever challenge I may face. I take it very seriously. My daughter gives me a desperate kind of strength that helps motivate my training.”

With 16 pages of stunning color photographs of Howkins’ K2 and Everest expeditions, K2: ONE WOMAN’S QUEST FOR THE SUMMIT is an unforgettable tale of adventure in one of Earth’s most dangerous regions.

A graduate of Wellesley College, Howkins lives with her daughter in Ridgefield, Conn.

Heidi Howkins and the American K2000 Expedition will be featured in Surviving K2 on National Geographic EXPLORER, premiering Sunday, May 6, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CNBC.

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April 2001