The Women Of K2

That mountain is K2, the world's second highest peak in Pakistan. Only 196 climbers have seen the view from K2 at 28,261 feet, while nearly 2,000 have been atop Everest. As for the women -- Wanda Rutkiewicz, Liliane Barrard, Julie Tullis, Chantal Mauduit and Alison Hargreaves -- all five are deceased. That fact laid the framework for Jordan's documentary, "The Women of K2." Jordan wrote and produced the film for National Geographic along with climber/filmmaker Jeff Rhoads. The couple is now on a short U.S. film tour, which includes a stop in Colorado.Of the five deaths, three came during the descent of K2, while a fourth was narrowly averted. Mauduit and Rutkiewicz survived K2, which is part of the Karakoram Range in Pakistan, but each died on other 8,000-meter mountains -- of which there are only 14 worldwide. The project examines the lives and deaths of the five women. Jordan doesn't shy away from controversial subjects: climbing experience, media criticism and even pressure female Alpinists feel to prove themselves in a male-dominated sport. Concrete answers are tough to come by, but the opinions at times are surprisingly honest. "Women definitely affect the group dynamics of an expedition. . . . I don't know why women disturb men so much, but they do," said climber Thor Kieser in the film. Kieser also aided a snowblind Mauduit off K2.  "I climbed with Chantal because I loved Chantal, not because I thought she was safe," Kieser added. Though Kieser comes off a bit smug, he was one of the few climbers willing to express his biases.  "I really applaud him for his honesty. . . . What he's saying is the truth: Not one woman has climbed that mountain without the help of a man," Jordan said.     Mauduit was the final member of the five to die. Jordan, a native Vermonter, learned this during an interview with Charlotte Fox, a Everest '96 survivor. Jordan left her job at public radio station WGBH in Boston to pursue the book project. She met Rhoads, who is from Idaho, on her first visit to K2 in 2000. The couple then moved to Salt Lake City. When Spanish climber/model Araceli Segarra asked Rhoads to join her team's attempt to summit K2 in 2002, the couple pitched the story to National Geographic. Jordan, who isn't a climber, remained at base camp (16,500 feet) while Rhoads lugged a camera alongside Segarra, Hector Ponce de Leon and the rest of the team. Weather thwarted any chance of a push for the summit. No climbers reached the peak of K2 in '02 or '03. While the film follows Segarra, it intertwines her attempt with the stories of the ill-fated five. But at just over 47 minutes, "the film really is the thumbnail sketch of each of these women," Jordan said. "I kept telling myself, 'It's all right Jennifer; you still have the book,' " she added.A companion book by Jordan aims to delve deeper into why K2 has such a lethal record when it comes to women. Gruesome reality: K2 has earned a particularly treacherous reputation. It's more remote (the crew had an eight-day walk to base camp after the "road" ended) and it's eight degrees north of Everest, making weather more unpredictable and severe. Its menacing, pyramid shape makes for a technical climb and leaves no room for error on descent.  "You could sled down Everest from Camp 2 or Camp 3," Jordan said. As for K2, "you've got to climb up or climb down every stretch of that mountain." The shape, the weather and frequent avalanches also lead to K2's most gruesome reality. When ropes break, or gale-force winds -- like the ones that blew Hargreaves off the mountain -- kick up, the remains inevitably end up at the base of the glaciers, some 12,000 feet from the summit.     Headless bodies, feet rising from the snow and ice, equipment, mittens and other traces scattered just above base camp aren't uncommon.  Yet, the question of "why" persists. Gender aside, mountaineering is a high-risk endeavor, but the odds aren't much of a deterrent for Alpinists. "I cannot explain it," Segarra said in the film. "I have not words for something like that. Sometimes, it's like being in love -- you are, and you cannot tell why." She may not be able to explain, but Segarra's haunting words near the end of the film provide the best glimpse into climbers' mentality.  After weeks of bad weather the team reluctantly made the decision to head home. Before departing, a funeral pyre is constructed for members of a Japanese team whose remains were discovered after they died in 1997. Segarra looks up at the peak and utters, "That's such a beautiful place to die. We are going to die, we cannot avoid that."