Fifty-three-year-old Canadian climber Serge Dessureault has fallen to his death on K2.
Dessureault had been leading a nine-member international team that had planned to climb both K2 and Broad Peak. A message posted on the team’s Facebook page stated that early on July 7, Dessureault fell near Camp 2, just below House’s Chimney, at approximately 6,700m.
Dessureault previously attempted K2 in 2016, but called off his ascent after a severe avalanche at Camp 3. The weather had looked more promising this year, with summit attempts planned for late July. The Montreal firefighter had spent Friday night at Camp 2 and had been descending towards Base Camp when the accident occurred. It is not immediately clear what caused the fall, though Garett Madison of the K2 Madison Mountaineering expedition has suggested that an old fixed rope could have been to blame.
Dessureault’s body has been retrieved from the mountain and brought down to Advanced Base Camp.
Updated July 12: After the tragedy, expedition members decided to end their project and have returned to Skardu.
