Talk:Kristin Harila

The report about Mr. Muhammad Hassan's death
@Ivanvector@Aszx5000 Here is the report about Mr. Muhammad Hassan's death: K2 2023 Coverage: Harila and Tenjen Cleared on Muhammad Hassan’s Death Szelma W (talk) 20:02, 9 September 2023 (UTC)


 * Better perspective is now emerging. I would also like to wait for the main climbing media to write about this as it will also add perspective and they will give an additional "considered" opinion on this tragic affair. Aszx5000 (talk) 21:57, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

Source about helicopters flying to peaks (2023)
In June 2023, she said that members on her team used helicopters to fly to the (top of the) peaks. Thereafter team members would work their way down the mountain, making preparations for her to climb up. Source: Friflyt.no "Himalay-veteran: -Ikke innafor etisk". 46.15.12.224 (talk) 17:23, 15 June 2023 (UTC)


 * Please don't try an turn her BLP into an "attack page". Using oxygen is not "controversial".  If we considered route preparation "controversial", almost every mountaineering BIO would have a "controversy section".  With time, quality RS will opine on the nature of her records and whether any clarification is needed (i.e. we don't qualify that most mountaineers never reached the true geographic summit of many eight-thousanders), but it is too early for that. Aszx5000 (talk) 09:53, 29 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Dear Aszx5000, you should provide us with some reasoning behind your arguments. Using oxygen is definitely controversial (not only from the biological point of view but also because it really lowers dangers inherently associated with mountaineering and thus it degrades an achievement as such - it is similar to using any other support and it is reflected in the fact that supported and unsupported records are usually hold apart (as in, say, circumnavigation of the globe by bike etc.)). I agree that time will show the value of her achievements, however it does not mean that a "controversy section" is not needed, basically it is (needed) just bc of that. Pandajbc (talk) 08:00, 1 August 2023 (UTC)
 * We don't have "controversy" sections on 1953 British Mount Everest expedition, even though they used extensive oxygen, fixed ropes, assistance etc. Neither do we have "controversy" sections on modern equivalents such as Nirmal Purja, who also used extensive oxygen and helicopters in places. Aszx5000 (talk) 09:26, 1 August 2023 (UTC)
 * You are free to add those controversies sections, I would be pleased as I am coming from scientific background where it is normal to share such facts! I do not want to underestimate you, so I hope you know that absenting sections on another wikipages do not have any relation to the need of having controversy section on this page. I kindly asked you to provide some reasoning and you have failed. Because of that I will revert your changes back to the state with the controversy section. I hope you know what is wikipedia about, it is not about presenting your opinions or about covering the facts, it is about providing the people with the facts. The factual state of things is that her attempt was controversial (if you know what that word does stand for), apart from the fact it was definitely physically and logistically difficult (similarly to efforts of Purja), as it is evident from comments of prominent climbers. I do not suggest we should abandon her bc of her usage of oxygen, I am just saying we should provide the people with the facts. Pandajbc (talk) 16:13, 2 August 2023 (UTC)
 * I given you the reasoning above (using oxygen not a "controversy" on high-altitude climbs). Sealioning is not a productive approach, and nor is creating WP:UNDUE attack sections. Aszx5000 (talk) 21:26, 2 August 2023 (UTC)
 * You do not need to add the Controversy section. You can add facts in the Climbing career section. Facts are she used  supplental oxygen, she had supporting team of mountain guides. For using helicopters for transporting equipment and supporting team you will need reliable source. Szelma W (talk) 21:39, 2 August 2023 (UTC)


 * "In June 2023, media said that Harila was criticised in regard to the summiting of Annapurna 1 and Manaslu "because the guide company that she uses, used helicopter to fly sherpas up to the altitude camps, and thereafter [guides did rope-fixing from high altitude, down to lower altitudes or] establishing the climbing route from top-to-bottom". Among those criticising her, are Jon Gangdal (author and mountain climber). He opined that this kind of use of helicopters is unethical".--The wiki-article now sources this.--The title of this thread is "... Helicopter". On the other hand, supplemental oxygen is not being disputed in media, and that is fine by me. 2001:2020:31B:948F:EDB3:A991:95F0:8298 (talk) 16:58, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

death of m. hassan
@Szelma W : i am active at the german wikipedia, and my english is bad... you have deleted the part of hassan more than once, by saying harlia was not involved, wich is not true. in germany and austria there are dozens of articles about it. now harila gave a long interview about the topic. is she herself finally source enough? please use google translate if you dont speak german. https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000182564/extrembergsteigerin-harila-nach-k2-drama-wir-haben-unser-bestes-getan Fraxs (talk) 20:59, 10 August 2023 (UTC)


 * I believe that the paragrath about the death of Mr. Mohammad Hassan should be in the K2 article. About 100 climbers walked by the body of Mr. Mohammad Hassan, but there are no articles about these climbers in the Wikipedia. Adding the paragraph in the Kristin Harila article puts blame on her. This is not right. Kristin Harila has nothing to do with the death of Mr. Mohammad Hassan. He was not a member of her team. He was not an employee of the Seven Summit Treks. He died because his employer neglected safety standards. Please feel free to add the paragraph into the K2 article. Regards Szelma W (talk) 21:24, 10 August 2023 (UTC)
 * +1. 31.187.2.214 (talk) 23:44, 10 August 2023 (UTC)
 * No, this is a topical news story and Kristin Harila is at the center of the allegations as she and her team are on video, bypassing Mr. Hassan. A quick news search confirms this and Ms. Harila is speaking publicly about it.  Just because the story is not flattering towards Ms. Harila does not mean it is not relevant to the wiki page about her. 67.197.32.172 (talk) 01:45, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * @Szelma W I speak several languages, including some English (my apologies for my limited vocabulary), and I completely agree with Fraxs. In Wikipedia articles in other languages, there's a paragraph about the controversy and other controversies as well (for example, that she used means that are not considered sportsmanlike within the mountain climbing community). I find it a weak excuse to say that Hassan was not in her team. Is that a reason to leave someone who can still be saved behind? The mountain is 28,251 feet high, and they found the man at 1,300 feet. It's also a fact that Harila posted a video in which she triumphantly laughs, accompanied by laughing emojis in the video description, indicating that it was an emotional moment. She posted this video on her social media channels after walking past the body of Hassan, who had since passed away. When she referred to an "emotional moment," she wasn't referring to the young father's death, but to the fact that she was taken to the summit by the Sherpa after stepping over the dying man's body. I don't find it strange that there's controversy as a result. The American, British, Dutch, Belgian, and German media have dedicated various articles to the controversy. Hiding the truth is in my opinion vandalism. --145.224.19.129 (talk) 02:45, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * +1IPPON01 (talk) 05:07, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * "Kristin Harila has nothing to do with the death of Mr. Mohammad Hassan." This is not true. In the meanwhile Kristin Harila confirms that she was aware of the situation of Mohammad Hassan and says that her team tried to help him. In addition Kristin Harila says that she received death threats because of the story. So in any case the tragedy of Mohammad Hassan is related to Kristin Harila and has to be mentioned. --NeoUrfahraner (talk) 05:47, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Also, Hassan was part of the shared rope fixing team. That means, he brought stuff like ropes on the mountain, that was used by sherpas to prepare the track. Harila used that track and so used his service.
 * Sources: https://explorersweb.com/k2-last-three-hours-muhammad-hassans-life/ and https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66471990 83.215.253.250 (talk) 20:16, 13 August 2023 (UTC)
 * its not an argument that a dying person is not member of a sports team. It is not in the spirit of sport to step over dying persons. 2001:A61:24F1:8901:F9A9:105A:ECC3:86F2 (talk) 07:16, 14 August 2023 (UTC)
 * +1 83.215.253.250 (talk) 08:39, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

—
 * I also completely agree with @Fraxs. I note there have been other edits and revisions because the inserted text is poor or insulting, but your contribution was mostly fair.
 * @Szelma W, what you believe and who you blame or don't blame and your personal opinions are neither noteworthy nor newsworthy (and neither are mine for that matter), and I say this purposely to keep emotion or opinion out of it.
 * Accusations and criticism have been made primarily of Harila, and that is a fact, regardless of whether those accusations and criticisms are fair or warranted. Harila is a notable and newsworthy personality, in part because of her world record that involved the ascent of the scene at the time in question. Perhaps as a result of Harila's involvement in setting a record and being a notable personality, she was drawn attention to the treatment of Sherpas and porters (particularly in the mountaineering and climbing community), but the primary focus so far in the general media has been Harila.
 * The criticism and accusations are widespread across quality German and Austrian news outlets (where photos and video footage first emerged) and as of today, every major British quality newspaper (i.e. broadsheet; the Times, the Telegraph, the Guardian etc), and in other countries.
 * Harila herself has responded to those accusations and criticisms. This is her right to reply, which she has chosen to do so, which in itself is newsworthy and notable.
 * Balanced discussion or presentation on this topic should involve both a summary of the accusations and criticisms along with Harila's responses, and updating it as the story evolves. Montezuma69 (talk) 10:32, 11 August 2023 (UTC) Montezuma69 (talk) 10:35, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Multiple news agencies mentioning Harila directly now, feel free to read refs attached/cited. IP user 31.187.2.59 is rowing back any attempts to add info by multiple users, is certainly interesting/questionable AlbusWulfricDumbledore (talk) 17:39, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * I inserted the first try to cover the German/ Austrian quality newspaper coverage that Kristin Harila stepped over the dying person and agree what you write. 2001:A61:24F1:8901:F9A9:105A:ECC3:86F2 (talk) 07:15, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

Proposal
I do think that this "incident" has appeared in enough quality RS now that it merits mention. She has also replied on her website which is helpful (and shows how inaccurate some headlines are). I would not create a whole new "section", but add a paragraph that says something like:

This is my take from reading the RS and her blog (and knowing how very dangerous the "bottleneck" is). Aszx5000 (talk) 11:04, 11 August 2023 (UTC)


 * BBC News published an article today. 2001:2020:303:5B62:196E:C3C7:D19D:2ED9 (talk) 16:03, 11 August 2023 (UTC)


 * Based on what little I've read on this incident, I agree that the coverage in reliable sources warrants a mention here per WP:BALANCE. But what are your references? Just putting in a placeholder for a reference doesn't help evaluate the proposal. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 17:23, 11 August 2023 (UTC)


 * Multiple sources addressing Harila and her team directly - incredulous it has not been added, and the rowbacks by IP users


 * The Telegraph - Top mountaineer defends walking past dying Sherpa in pursuit of K2 record
 * Sky News - Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila denies group stepped over dying porter during world record K2 climb
 * The Guardian - Record-breaking mountaineer denies climbing over dying porter on K2
 * Euronews - Norwegian mountaineer denies her team ignored dying Sherpa on K2
 * The Independent - Climber denies stepping over dying porter on K2 – says danger meant need to split up
 * Deutsche Welle - Death on K2: Could Hassan have been saved?
 * New York Post - Mountaineer denies stepping over dying porter during record-breaking K2 climb: A 'disgrace'
 * Al Jazeera - Why Norway’s record-breaking climber is facing backlash after Sherpa death
 * CBS News - Climber Kristin Harila responds after critics accuse her of walking past dying sherpa to set world record
 * Evening Standard - Mountaineer accused of stepping over dying Sherpa in pursuit of K2 record
 * News.com.au - Footage shows climbers ‘walked over dying porter’ on K2 mountain
 * HuffPost - Mountaineer Denies Claims She Ignored Dying Sherpa During K2 Record-Breaking Climb

See the neutrality section for the controversy about climbing style

Your proposal on her cameraman staying behind, and claims of overcrowding need to clarified as coming from her team. The warring originated from Harila not being mentioned directly, which she has now by multiple sources AlbusWulfricDumbledore (talk) 18:25, 11 August 2023 (UTC)


 * Here's a rewrite of 's proposal above. I've added some supporting references from those provided by ; we don't need to use every one of these (see WP:OVERKILL). I've removed the porter's name per WP:BDP, WP:BLPPRIVACY, and WP:NOTMEMORIAL, and I changed some details to better reflect the sources.


 * I did not prepare a proposal for the criticism regarding use of helicopters, because this is a common criticism of commercialized mountain climbing in general, not a criticism specifically of Harila, and shouldn't be included here. Any thoughts on this rewrite? Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 21:06, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * That is a very good proposal which I would support. This woman has pissed-off everyone by showing that a non-climber can quite easily climb the 14 eight-thousanders via the normal route (which we have always known).  The blowback to her has been extreme imho, and I think as the weeks go by, they will realise that her team was the only one that rescued this guy and tried to save him (even though he was not part of her team). What you have written is far more balanced and factual description of what is known. thank you for assisting here. Aszx5000 (talk) 21:16, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Well let's not get into that, unless it comes up in the sources to the point that it's relevant to mention. Otherwise it's just an opinion, and probably one that is correct, but I could just as easily say that the violent criticism is a relic of sexism over a woman holding the record. My only point is that us guessing at it isn't helpful to developing the article. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 21:27, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Totally agree (and could well also be a factor as it is the first time in history that a woman had held a mountaineering record in her own right), but I think it also means that this article will need longer-protection/watching. Aszx5000 (talk) 21:34, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Yeah, these sorts of topics do tend to attract people with opinions. I semiprotected the article earlier over the edit-warring, and I put in a request at WP:RFPP for full protection which I don't really think is necessary at this point. We don't protect preemptively, but if problems come up I'll try to recruit some other neutral admins to keep an eye on things. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 21:47, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Be that as it may, none of these opinions relate to the reporting of an actual event reported by multiple news agencies referring to her and her team specifically, invoking sexism, personal experience, and the like, ignores whats at hand imo AlbusWulfricDumbledore (talk) 22:58, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * I support your proposal. I would remove these words "had inadequate training". I have not seen these in the RS. Szelma W (talk) 22:25, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * The many sources were to highlight the strength of sources discussing Harila and her team directly. The sources used are fine.
 * The deceased should definitely be named imo, Mohammed Hassan, 27 - none of the WPs cited apply in this instance
 * WP:BDP does not apply (quote specifically word for word: does not apply to material concerning people who are confirmed dead by reliable sources)
 * WP:BLPRIVACY (person is not living, there is no expectation of privacy from deceased/family considering reports - not the intention of the rule),
 * WP:NOTMEMORIAL according its guidance specifically doesn't apply here - "unless an article is being created about victim of a notable event, this policy is automatically inapplicable"
 * "despite mountain guides and sherpas in the area who could have assisted" - this quote from Flamig ignores the context of his remark "no organised rescue operation" and "If he had been a westerner, he would have been rescued immediately" - choosing this excerpt specifically carries quite an apologist tone, none of us know the facts, and we should keep to what has been reported by these news articles, so should either use all of this context or not at all.
 * The claims of her and her team also need to be qualified as 'claimed' as these are not proven to be true as no-one knows
 * Philip Flamig and Wilhelm Steindl's footage leading to all this attention as has been reported by nearly every single article in your citations, so needs to be included in some way, which even a cursory glance at these articles will tell
 * Her cameraman staying - news reports qualify this with "She did not say if anyone was with the injured porter when her cameraman left, or when they passed his body upon their descent."
 * I get some of you admire her work, which is understandable, but all claims and assertions here need to be qualified, and important aspects of the story reported in many sources need to be included imo AlbusWulfricDumbledore (talk) 22:48, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Also believe that info about her widely reported climbing style with helicopters should be included on a seperate note - relevant to the article, and highly specific to her in report not just all commercial climbers (see Neutrality talk section) AlbusWulfricDumbledore (talk) 22:51, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * @Ivanvector@Aszx5000 BTW. Are there an RS which clearly states that Ms. Harila and her team are on the movie presented by the Austrian climbers? Szelma W (talk) 22:58, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Not that I've seen. The Guardian attributes that point of view to "fellow climbers", and the others are pretty clear that even Flamig and Steindl didn't identify the climbers in the video. When I originally drafted this I used phrases like "unidentified climbers" but the sources also don't say that, so what you see is what I came up with.
 * Regarding the points above:
 * I didn't see that the passage was a quote from Flamig, I pulled it from another user's edit because I thought it was a sufficient summary, and I think it's actually paraphrased and not a direct quote, but I see your point. His statements carry an allegation of racism, which is serious and isn't expanded on by the sources, so I think it's a minority viewpoint which should not be included. We would have to attribute it to Flamig anyway, and there's no evidence he's an authority on racism. It's being amplified by social media, and we should wait for the dust to settle before we start including things like that. If our choice is to include all of Flamig's words or none of them, I prefer none.
 * I did try to attribute Harila's teams actions as things that she said and not proven facts, but I can see that it could be done better. At the same time we have to watch for weasel words. I'll think about this, but someone else can try.
 * Regarding the footage, there's confusion about whose footage it is. News.com.au says that the video was taken by one of Harila's sherpas, and the others say that Flamig took drone video "later" but they don't say that it's their video that we're looking at. Deutsche Welle says that Steindl aborted his ascent well below where Hassan fell, so the handheld video is certainly not theirs. I think it's best not to say, hence "a video emerged...".
 * I see your point about including Hassan's name, and won't oppose it.
 * To your point about "admiring her work", frankly I don't. I hadn't heard of Harila before today, and I generally view extreme mountaineering as no different from billionaire oligarchs riding dick rockets to the edge of the atmosphere: a brutal and incomprehensible waste of resources for nothing but bragging rights. Of course none of this is particularly relevant, I'm only mentioning it to point out how making assumptions about other editors' motivations probably isn't going to be helpful in working towards a neutral biography that appropriately balances significant aspects of this person's life and career, which is my interest here: neither a glowing fan page celebrating only positive aspects of her career, nor a coat rack for things people don't like about her profession. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 23:55, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Cool, including his name/age would be good
 * Take your point in terms of weasel words, shouldn't be a problem as long there is a clear attribution to the person, and in the way used by some of these sources, as it definitely could be made clearer in the proposal
 * Was referring to other user's mentioning Harila as the subject of a sexist/jealous drive narrative in earlier sections - but take your point, easier to judge based on actual wording vs motive re: neutrality.
 * Otherwise, with these changes imo, proposal is concise and addresses the main point at hand clearly AlbusWulfricDumbledore (talk) 08:38, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
 * There are no RS confirming her (or her cameraman who stayed behind even longer) in this picture. Given that the RSes state that the accident happened at around 2.30am, and she and her team spend 1.5 hours rescuing Hassan and hauling him back to the ledge, that get us to 4am, which is still dark.  So it is very unlikely that she is in the picture. Aszx5000 (talk) 00:26, 12 August 2023 (UTC)


 * I think this article on CNN is relevant for this topic: "Mountaineer denies ignoring dying porter on K2 record-breaking climb", especially this part:


 * copyright violation removed Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 00:01, 12 August 2023 (UTC)


 * This should be enough to qualify for some notice regarding the incident. In my opinion it can not be relevant that the porter was with another group, everyone has a duty to help in such circumstances. Ulflarsen (talk) 23:23, 11 August 2023 (UTC)


 * Sorry,, we can't reproduce so much of a source for discussion, per WP:COPYVIO. I've removed your excerpt from the article; any of us can click on your link to review it. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 00:01, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
 * That being said, it's a good read - it seems to be a more in-depth review of what happened and how people involved are reacting. Hopefully we will see more articles of this sort in the coming days - the others out today are more "breaking news"-type articles that are probably rushed and might not be completely accurate. Many already have retractions.
 * I think it's relevant to note from this article that Steindl and Flamig explicitly did not identify any of the climbers in the video, and CNN seems to be framing their words as directed at all of the climbers who were on the mountain and (in Steindl and Flamig's view) could have helped, not directed at Harila and her team specifically. We need to be careful about that. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 00:25, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
 * I think as the days pass and we get a more sensible reporting of the story, we will find that her team behaved better than reported (and her cameraman deserves a lot of credit). What we will also find out is why Hassan's team abandoned him, and why the wider sherpas (who act as a team fixing ropes), also abandoned him.  Some RSes mention that Hassan's team told him not to climb so high (he had poor clothing) but he seemed to ignore them. Everything looks so easy at that altitude (per the video footage), but each footstep is agony and takes minutes, and anything other than personal survival is impossible. This affair feels like the famous "Into Thin Air" vs. "The Climb" (i.e. same event, but with two very different conclusions). Aszx5000 (talk) 00:31, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
 * "was gravely injured at an altitude of about 8,200 m (26,900 ft)"
 * Are you sure that's correct? That's almost at the top! According to other media, the man got insured at 1,300 ft (369 meters).
 * Source 1:
 * Source 2:
 * Source 3:
 * Is it not allowed on the English Wikipedia to describe the controversy (like Wikipedias in other languages do), of course without taking a stance? Now people see only her side of the story, and not the reasons why people are angry with her, such as, for example, celebrating a victory party afterwards and smiling triumphantly in a video, saying "I am happy," without showing any compassion to the victim's family. The controversy is the reason why she is making headlines. 145.224.19.129 (talk) 01:32, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
 * This is en-WP - standards are very high, and especially for WP:BLPs, that must have a balanced analysis of considered sources, and not headline sensationalism (i.e. WP:NOTNEWS). This is an encyclopedia not a newspaper. Anything that is not 100% objective, balanced, and factually proven, will get deleted over time.  So much of the excitement/energy that is put into wedging unbalanced news headlines in to BLPs is completely wasted.  A lot of "controversy" sections get deleted over time. Aszx5000 (talk) 01:45, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
 * The first two sources there say he fell 1,300ft from the summit, which corresponds to the height of the bottleneck according to our article, and is 400m below the ~8,600m summit. So those both check out. We cannot use the Daily Mail as a source so I did not check it. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 02:06, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your answers. Only presenting the climber's side of the story doesn't strike me as truly objective either. I hope that a form will be found that meets the requirements of the English Wikipedia. 145.224.19.129 (talk) 02:59, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Yes, agreed, more an issue of slight wording changes, so the proposal above doesn't sound like Harila's accounts are exactly what happened but what she claimed/reported to the media (like the porter not being trained for which I can't find any sources, her cameraman staying behind, them helping for an hour, or the sherpas being available to help but also the fact there was "no organized rescue operation" used in the same remark) AlbusWulfricDumbledore (talk) 08:43, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
 * @Ivanvector In light of the time elapsed, and the general agreement that your proposal has generally been accepted to be good with some minor changes discussed and agreed above, ready to be included I feel, would be good and pertinent to include this in the article, considering the level of coverage by now. Thanks AlbusWulfricDumbledore (talk) 14:39, 15 August 2023 (UTC)
 * (here from BLPN): The one thing I would be sceptical about in IvanVector's proposal is the use of the New York Post to support the final two sentences. Some of it is based on this Telegraph story which could be cited instead; the rest is based on the statement on Harila's website, and I'm not convinced that citing NY Post's retelling of Harila's statement is any improvement on just citing the statement directly. Caeciliusinhorto-public (talk) 14:53, 15 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Oh I think the proposal needs significant rework, in light of the comments here, and also in light of new sources providing more in-depth coverage of the incident (e.g.  ) including a newer Telegraph article, which hadn't been published when I drafted this. I'm busy today but I'll come back to this this evening, or someone else can give it a try (the version that  kept trying to add is completely unacceptable). Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 15:54, 15 August 2023 (UTC)


 * I agree that the New York Post should not be considered a source. The New York Post website states that climbers Wilhelm Steindl and Philip Flämig are "Australians". The error is on the site for several days. If there is a bug in such a basic thing, the source is unreliable in everything else. Szelma W (talk) 18:40, 15 August 2023 (UTC)


 * Mr. Lakpa Sherpa from 8k Expeditions, in the interview for the Fri Flyt, said that he saw the accident. The interview was published on the Fri Flyt website, but access to the website requires payment now:
 * https://www.friflyt.no/klatring/kristin-harila/kristin-harila-muhammed-hassan-k2?utm_source=vgfront&utm_content=hovedlopet_row9_pos2&utm_medium=dre-64d617e3ccac1ccb8285e238
 * Only a part of the information from the above website I found here:
 * https://www.nrk.no/norge/harila-forteller-om-ulykken-pa-k2_-klatrekollega-falt-i-doden-1.16512012 Szelma W (talk) 13:32, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

Edit break: K2 controversy proposal
I'm back with a revised proposal. I said I would do this days ago but I got busy last week, and also was counting on more in-depth and fact-checked reporting coming out after the first wave of "breaking news" articles, and I don't see any new articles being published on this in nearly a week now so it seems we're dealing with a more stable narrative. Here are some things to consider that have become better known since that first wave of reckless reporting:


 * Sources generally agree that Hassan fell from a ledge in the pass at around 2:30am, and was poorly equipped. Hassan's equipment was previously attributed to Harila's account, but this has been backed up by other sources in the last week.
 * According to Harila's account, her team found him dangling from a rope not long after he fell, and worked for some time to pull him back up to the ledge, but did not move him beyond that. An avalanche higher up led Harila to continue up the mountain to check on her team while her cameraman stayed behind with Hassan, sharing his oxygen until he began to run out. When the cameraman rejoined the team higher up, some Sherpas turned back, and Harila understood that to mean that Hassan would get more help. They learned on their descent that Hassan had died, but they were not equipped to move his body down the mountain.
 * Sources generally describe this account as Harila's account (as opposed to reporting her account as fact). The only other account that I have seen reported is Steindl and Flamig's, which they pieced together from "eyewitness interviews" and their drone video, but see the point below.
 * The video published by the Telegraph which seems to be the source of the social media outrage was clearly not a drone video. Several seconds into the full video the camera pans to show the videographer's forearm and then their face; they are clearly standing on the bottleneck and holding the camera. Steindl and Flamig had aborted their climb well below where this video was taken. The Guardian attributes a photo of the same scene (from the same perspective, etc.) to Lakpa Sherpa. Sky News published a video with an excerpt of what is probably Flamig's drone video, but only a few seconds of it spliced together with the handheld Telegraph video.
 * Steindl has commented on what he would have done or what should have been done, from his perspective having turned back well below the summit because of the conditions, and from reviewing a drone video taken hours after the incident, which may or may not have been published or released publicly (see point above); CNN reported explicitly that they did not see Flamig's video.
 * Early reports said Steindl accused Harila directly of walking past Hassan while he was still alive. Steindl himself has denied that, and at least Al Jazeera points out that no climbers in the Telegraph video were identified by anyone.
 * Among Steindl's allegations are that a Westerner would have been rescued immediately. The National quotes a Pakistani government official saying that rescue was not possible, even by helicopter, because of the poor conditions. Most other sources have made "hand-wave" allusions to the dangers of mountain climbing and the numbers of climbers who succumb at high elevations and are never recovered, and several others have quoted other well-known mountain climbers agreeing that rescue would have been impossible. This leads me to believe we should not include any sensationalized accusations of racism (per WP:UNDUE) since neither Steindl nor Flamig are experts in racism, and no other sources have repeated the accusation except as attributed to one or both of them.
 * Different sources give different spellings for Hassan's first name. I just picked one.
 * I probably used more sources than are actually necessary, but I think it's good to show broad and reasonably consistent reporting across multiple sources on subjects like this.
 * I can't read the sources that are published in other languages. I could run them through Google Translate but it's not very reliable, and it would probably be more productive if editors who read those languages want to take a look and see if there is any conflicting information.
 * Pakistani authorities have launched an investigation into Hassan's death, which I see is expected to be released tomorrow, so we may end up rewriting this anyway.

Notwithstanding the investigation expected to be reported tomorrow, here is what I've come up with, based on the proposal above and the subsequent comments, and my points here:

Interested in more thoughts on this proposal. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 21:26, 21 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Also: I didn't include anything about parties after Harila's summit. That part is just not a very widely reported detail, and the sources that do report it are inconsistent as to whether there was a celebration at the summit or only after descending to base camp. It seems to have been blown out of proportion by social media, and I think it's detail we don't need to include. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 21:30, 21 August 2023 (UTC)
 * agreed on that. Aszx5000 (talk) 23:37, 21 August 2023 (UTC)


 * I like it. The only edit is to clarify that Hassan was not part of her expedition (something that some sources get wrong).  I also don't even think he was part of any rope-fixing team (some of your sources note that his fellow team told him to go back down).  A porter with no gloves/poor down jacket etc. was not going to be part of the rope-fixing team (i.e. rope-fixing does require mountaineering skills, and he is really a porter).  However, we will need to wait for inquiry as to why he forced his way into the "bottlneck". Aszx5000 (talk) 23:43, 21 August 2023 (UTC)
 * I like this proposal. It should be emphasized that the accident happened at night, and Harila's team was the first on the scene when it was still dark. Szelma W (talk) 20:50, 22 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Plese have a look at photos at this webpage:
 * https://www.insider.com/death-k2-real-story-climbers-stepped-dying-man-kristin-harila-2023-8?amp Szelma W (talk) 14:19, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Excellent article. Shows that Hassan was a porter and not a sherpa (and not part of the rope-fixing team).  Kristin and her team rescued him, but I suspect that at that altitude (above the death zone), and with no proper o2 or clothing, he was probably in the process of oedema (and dying); hence why he seemed fine after rescuing him but then relapsed. Good to see other climbers (Mr Doe) starting to come out and give more accurate accounts of what happened (eight-thousanders are notorious for this) Aszx5000 (talk) 15:36, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Insider is questionable as a reliable source (per WP:BI), so I'd like to see the finer points of their investigation corroborated by other sources before we make our content rely on it. But leaving that aside, sections like " and "" seem to indicate that he was part of the rope-fixing team, though may not have been fixing rope himself. I didn't see anything in the article confirming or suggesting that he wasn't, nor that anyone told him to go back down. These details may come out in the formal investigation, which now seems to have conflicting timelines depending on the source (it wasn't released yesterday as expected, anyway).
 * Regarding the comments, how about changing the second sentence to:


 * I think it makes clear enough that Hassan wasn't part of Harila's team, that they found him in the middle of the night, and reads that he was with the rope-fixing team without saying he was actually fixing rope. I couldn't find a good article to link "down suit"; ski suit is close but maybe someone can find something better, otherwise we can just not link it. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 17:01, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
 * That is a better sentence. I think over the next weeks clarity will come out on the events and we can refine things. Porters can help fix rope at bottom camps (just relaying existing rope), but a porter like this (no gear), would never be rope-fixing at this altitude, and not in the bottleneck. I did see an RS we that stated that Hassan had been told to descend by his team but he ignored them, but I just can't find it again.  Regardless, what you have drafted is pretty good for this stage. Aszx5000 (talk) 17:13, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Seeing no more comments here, I've added the proposed text to the article with the change just above. I've also removed the POV notice as I believe it was referring to this matter. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 14:21, 25 August 2023 (UTC)
 * @Ivanvector Would you please have a look at the following request and reply?
 * Please add the information that at 2:15a.m. it was still dark there. Not everyone knows what time the sun rises on K2 in July. Szelma W (talk) 17:18, 25 August 2023 (UTC)

The racism that left M Hassan to die is at work on English Wikipedia

 * Record-breaking mountaineer denies climbing over dying porter on K2


 * “If he had been a westerner, he would have been rescued immediately,” [Austrian climber Wilhelm Steindl] added. “No one felt responsible for him. What happened there is a disgrace. A living human was left lying so that records could be set.”

Then balance that to the world reaction and rescue attempts made when some billionaires paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to visit Titanic in an uncertified submersible. In the previous month 750 African migrants had drowned in the Med. If this doesn't highlight the active discrimination and a disparity between the way we treat humans based on socio-economic, racial variation, and demographics, there is no hope!146.199.57.209 (talk) 12:02, 11 August 2023 (UTC)


 * That statement is why we have to be very careful with this WP:BLP. Having read more into this event, it is not the fault of Kristin Harila that this person died. He was not a member of Harlia's team.  He was not even clothed properly to be so high up on K2 (he had no gloves!!!) - absolutely shocking that his team allowed him to ascend to the "bottleneck" on K2.
 * Hassan's own sherpa team seemed to have abandoned him, as did all other sherpa teams apart from Harlin (hence why the racism is a ridiculous statement), and only Harila and her team spent over 1.5 hours in one of the most dangerous sections of any eight-thousander (the "bottleneck" is a legendry killer) to haul him back up to the ledge to try and help him, but to no avail.
 * The comments by Steindl are inaccurate and he presented a very misleading footage which implied that the situation was fixable, when everybody knows that a rescue of a person at - or above - the "bottleneck" is almost impossible, and certainly would take days to execute. To compare the "bottleneck" to the Alps (as Steindl did) was equally misleading.  Aszx5000 (talk) 14:22, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * If you researched the key sources, you would have read that he was part of the shared rope fixing team. He brought up material that Sherpas of the rope fixing team used to prepare the way for Harila and the others. So Harila used his service too and so her team shares at least a moral responsibility too.
 * The behaviour of her and the other climbers on that mountain that day is widely criticized by experts including world renowned mountaineers like Reinhold Messner. Some Wikipedia authors here - seemingly Harila fans - believe, they know more on that topic than world renowned mountaineers that have been on eighthousenders.
 * It is deeply wrong, not mentioning the criticism on her K2 approach here.
 * Same wrong is, just copy pasting her statement - which is not independent - here.
 * Correct would be something like:
 * "Kristin Harila has faced criticism for her K2 approach due to the death of a Pakistani porter, Mohammed Hassan¹, who was part of the shared rope fixing team that prepares the route. Hassan had fallen off a ledge on K2 and video footage appears to show a group walking by him³. Harila has denied allegations that her team climbed over the dying porter to reach the summit of K2 in Pakistan¹. She stated that she and her team "did everything we could for him at the time" and that her cameraman stayed with Hassan for an hour while others continued their ascent². However, world-renowned mountaineers such as Reinhold Messner criticized the decision to continue. Messner stated that “If an accident happened in the past, everyone would have stopped and tried to start the rescue”. Harila's team was also criticized for celebrating their world record at base camp with a party including fireworks the day after Hassan's death². These events have sparked controversy and debate within the mountaineering community."
 * Sources:
 * (1) Record-breaking mountaineer denies climbing over dying porter on K2 .... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/10/record-speed-mountaineer-denies-climbing-over-dying-sherpa-on-k2.
 * (2) K2: Climbers deny walking by dying guide in bid to break record. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66471990.
 * (3) Climber Kristin Harila responds after critics accuse her of walking .... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kristin-harila-responds-dying-sherpa-record-fastest-to-summit-14-highest-peaks/.
 * (4) https://www.welt.de/sport/article246872002/Reinhold-Messner-zum-K2-Hier-findet-kein-Alpinismus-mehr-statt-sondern-Tourismus.html 83.215.253.250 (talk) 20:03, 13 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Your edit is not what happened, but a distortion of what happened to fit your narrative. There is no place for that in Wikipedia. Aszx5000 (talk) 20:12, 13 August 2023 (UTC)
 * No, it is the accurate representation of the events. Again: who are you, to say that Steindl's comments are inaccurate? Did you even read or watch his interviews? In my edit Steindl is even not mentioned, just a citation of both sides (criticism and her answer) that all are based on linked articles.
 * Your own private opinion "everybody knows that a rescue of a person at - or above - the 'bottleneck' is almost impossible" - this has nothing to do on Wikipedia. Who is "everybody"? Many mountaineers have different opinion:
 * Reinhold Messner (see cite above); Wilhelm Steindl (read his interviews); Lukas Furtenbach who owns a expedition firm that does K2 expeditions; Lukas Woerle rescued a Pakistani from above 8000 meters on Broad Peak on a solo attempt (https://tribune.com.pk/story/2430028/austrian-climber-hailed-for-heroic-rescue-on-broad-peak); Harila on her own said, that she thought he gets help when she left; In February 2021 an attempt was made by two Pakistani to find and rescue a group of two also at the bottleneck (https://explorersweb.com/k2-pakistani-climbers-attempting-rescue/); Gelje Sherpa, who did several rescues on eighthousenders and has been on K2 said, that it is unsure if it would have been successful but an attempt could have been done (https://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/bergsteigen-sherpa-gelje-k2-nepal-pakistan-interview-1.6122133?reduced=true)
 * So who are you, to just denounce those opinions instead of independently showing both sides? 83.215.253.250 (talk) 15:11, 14 August 2023 (UTC)
 * There were about 100 persons who walked by Mr. Hassan and ascended the summit of K2 on July 27, 2023. Were the names of these persons listed in reliable media? Did these persons organize a rescue action? Ms. Harila's team was the first on the scene. They did what they could at night. The next teams were there in the morning, so they had better conditions to help. There are no witnesses of Ms. Harila's team action except members of her team. Her team consisted of very experienced mountaineers. They decided to leave a person with Mr. Hassan. Other teams did not organize a rescue action. I am writing to show that there are no independent sources of information about what exactly had happened on K2 on July 27. Szelma W (talk) 16:18, 14 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Anybody who thinks a porter with no down jacket, no gloves, and an antiquated o2 mask, would be part of the rope-fixing team (and even more so in this section of K2), is presenting a narrative and not the facts. Hassan had zero mountaineering experience.
 * Invoking Messner in this case is ironic given his even more (in)famous incident when he abandoned his own brother chasing mountaineering's greatest prize on Nanga Parbat, which dogged his own career for decades (here).
 * The actual truth of what happened here will come out over the next few weeks/months, and will be chronicled on Wikipedia. However, narratives scraped from misleading/ones-sided journalism has no value here. Aszx5000 (talk) 16:19, 14 August 2023 (UTC)


 * Wilhelm Steindl: “If he had been a Westerner, he would have been rescued immediately. No one felt responsible for him”. (The Telegraph, 10 August 2023)--91.54.20.125 (talk) 19:49, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

Fluff
"In her 2023 project “She Moves Mountains”, she planned to scale the mountains without supplemental oxygen. But later, she had to use oxygen cylinders because of safety issues".--Please remove all of that fluff. 2001:2020:303:5B62:196E:C3C7:D19D:2ED9 (talk) 16:19, 11 August 2023 (UTC)


 * That's definitely FLUFFY 2601:5CF:8000:6B60:1C9D:1E06:2504:2695 (talk) 03:00, 18 August 2023 (UTC)
 * The name of the project is relevant information. Szelma W (talk) 09:16, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Witnessing an incapacitated Pakistani porter on K2, and also the helicopter incidents
Please be bold and add: Controversy: In June 2023, media said that Harila was criticised in regard to the summiting of Annapurna 1 and Manaslu "because the guide company that she uses, used helicopter to fly sherpas up to the altitude camps, and thereafter [guides did rope-fixing from high altitude, down to lower altitudes or] establishing the climbing route from top-to-bottom". Among those criticising her, are Jon Gangdal (author and mountain climber). He opined that this kind of use of helicopters is unethical. Witnessing an incapacitated Pakistani porter on K2: In August 2023, allegations were made that about 50 mountaineers (including Harila and her team) passed the dying 27-year-old Pakistani porter Mohammad Hassan on K2, during the ascent to the "bottleneck" and again afterwards, on the way back. Hassan was not properly equipped, he had no gloves, he had no down suit, he had no oxygen mask and he had no alpine training. His legs and belly were exposed to the wind and the cold. No organized rescue operation took place after his accident, although sherpas and mountain guides were on site who could have helped. On 11 August, BBC News said that "Video posted on social media appears to show a group walking by Mr Hassan, who reportedly died a few hours later". --2001:2020:31B:948F:A529:27E1:30A0:C774 (talk) 17:10, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

Neutrality - rowbacks of cited material
Agree with the neutrality tag added by another user recently, although work added has not been rowed back of my own (yet at least). Although there are legitimate thoughts of adding the issue about the guide to the wider K2 article before she was named directly multiple times, often times, work has been removed, including by IP users.

Not confined to this topic but also her climbing style using helicopters, which is also being removed

The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/27/kristin-harila-norwegian-claims-record-ascent-worlds-14-highest-mountains - " amid controversy over modern climbers' use of helicopters.) El Pais - https://english.elpais.com/sports/2023-08-01/kristin-harila-and-empty-records.html - "blatant use of a helicopter, not only to fly from one mountain to another, sparing themselves weeks of trekking"

Material of this work looks like in the past has been removed too, even though there are multiple reputable new sources - outside of whether it belongs in a different page here. So adding this section to discuss this neutrality AlbusWulfricDumbledore (talk) 18:07, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

Party at base camp after the death of Muhammad Hassan
Harila is also accused of holding a party shortly after her record setting. On Instagram at the time, she posted a final summit reel celebrating their success. After stepping twice over Muhammad Hassan as he died... über Leichen gehen. Quote: "Later, Harila's triumph was celebrated with a party at base camp, he said. "I didn't go, it disgusted me. A person died up there!" (Deutsche Welle - Death on K2: Could Hassan have been saved?) --91.54.20.125 (talk) 20:03, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Seriously, IP, stop it. If you want to participate in the discussion of how to add relevant material to the article in compliance with Wikipedia's policies, notably the policy on biographies of living persons, it's occurring a few sections above. If you just want to use this page as a forum for your personal feelings about the article subject, I will not hesitate to block you from it. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 21:10, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree with the IP. It is relevant information for her article. Even BLP isn't immune to relevant critique. And as a Norwegian, I am ashamed of her behavior and lack of empathy towards human life she knew very well was in danger. She probably wasn't responsible for his death, but she was indeed part of the people that walked passed him while they knew he was dying, and celebrated their "achievement" once they reached the top. Obviously completely ignoring the tragic death of the mountain worker/guide. She should have tried to help or get help, or at least cancel her event and go back down, and certainly not celebrate at the top of the mountain. A critique of her is absolutely warranted in this article. When someone dies during a sports event such as basketball or football, the whole match is stopped and cancelled because it would be very tasteless to continue. Her extensive use of helicopters in a nature sensitive area of the world and when the world is suffering from climate change is also very questionable. 2A01:799:1B9B:C300:AD11:18F6:18AB:EACD (talk) 21:15, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Then participate in the discussion above. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 21:17, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * This is why this BLP will need longer-term protection imho. By showing that a mountaineering novice can climb all of the 14 eight thousanders via the normal route, she has really pissed people off.  But we all knew this to be the case, which is why the best modern alpinists (e.g. Mick Fowler) completely ignore these routes. Aszx5000 (talk) 21:19, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
 * @ Aszx5000 - i think this talk page will be fine, with less spin. The use of the word novice: are you talking about people who started climbing one year ago, or two years ago?--While we are looking for sources about "helicopter-assisted record", I am hereby forwarding another reference, El Pais, english.elpais.com/sports/2023-08-01/kristin-harila-and-empty-records.html. 2001:2020:313:86A4:3C69:3F6B:CA9D:7A43 (talk) 15:21, 30 August 2023 (UTC)
 * "He said Mr Hassan took the job of rope fixer to pay for his mother’s medical bills, though he had no experience.". The "bottleneck" in K2 (one of the deadliest features in eight-thousander climbing) is a great place to get to learn rope-fixing. Proper analysis will come out from the current knee-jerk clickbait headlines and opinions. Aszx5000 (talk) 18:44, 30 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Media quoted (August 30) a confidential source (an unnamed official), that "There was not the Norwegian climber alone who walked past the injured Hassan. There were many who did that. But this is also true that Hassan was badly injured," the official said."--Source, www.aa.com.tr/en/world/inquiry-into-death-of-pakistani-porter-at-k2-clears-norwegian-climber/2978907# .--In regard to all the grandstanding on this talk page: please turn it down a bit. 2001:2020:327:AE31:5C3C:7F62:FE30:7785 (talk) 22:34, 30 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Agree completely, comment on the above section with proposals to effect any changes AlbusWulfricDumbledore (talk) 23:02, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

Protect page edit request 15 August 2023
In the first sentence, please change the piped link on "cross-country skier" to Cross-country skiing (sport) — Shelf Skewed  Talk  21:22, 15 August 2023 (UTC)
 * ✅ I expect that to be uncontroversial. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 22:50, 15 August 2023 (UTC)

One report finished (as of August 30, 2023)
A source dated today, it is listed in article at simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=K2&oldid=9033337.--The one governmental report is now finished, and will be released in "a few days".--Suggestion: an anonymous government source, has made claims about the contents of the report. I am thinking, wait a few days more, in regard to what (might be, or) is in the report. 2001:2020:313:86A4:3C69:3F6B:CA9D:7A43 (talk) 15:05, 30 August 2023 (UTC)