Greg Mortenson

Announcer: All who brave K2 are driven by a singular dream; to stand in glory on the summit. Fewer than two hundred have made it. Hundreds of others have tried and failed. But beyond the mountain, many discover rewards of a very different kind. For Greg Mortenson, the trip to K2 led to a final chapter and it amazed even him. In 1993 Mortenson tried to summit K2 and failed, too weak and depleted to go on.

Mortenson: I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Two porters, Musifer and Yaukub from a local village near K2 helped me off the mountain from base camp back to their village, which was about a seven-day walk.

Announcer: Mortenson wanted to give something back to the people who had given so freely to him. He found that the village had many children, but no school.

Mortenson: I felt that it wouldn’t take very much to build a school. And that would be a little I could do in return for all that they had done for me. I sold all my climbing gear, sold my car, cashed in my retirement policy with the University of California so that I would have more money for the school. But I was still short about $10,000.00.

Announcer: With a last minute donation, Mortenson’s vision came to life, and flourishes even today.

Mortenson: In only four years since the first school was done in ’96 we’ve been able to do 104 projects. Which includes 12 schools, we’re supporting 19 schools. Over 1,900 children are being educated that didn’t have a chance before.

Heidi Howkins: I think what Greg Mortenson has done with the Central Asia Institute before K2 is amazing. In a way I think he’s become the “Patron Saint” of K2 in the way that Everest and the Shurpas had ____ and Hillary to set up a school and clinics. And Greg Mortenson’s done the same for K2 and the surrounding communities.

Announcer: For Mortenson and many other climbers the most rewarding memories are found not on the summit of K2 but among the people and the land that surround it.

© 2002 National Geographic