Never-before-seen footage showing the final hours of Pakistani porter Muhammad Hassan on K2 has reopened questions over why a full rescue operation was never launched as dozens of climbers continued towards the summit.
The footage appears in the documentary Savage Mountain, which examines the events of July 27, 2023, when Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila completed her record-breaking ascent of all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre mountains in just 92 days.
Hassan died near the Bottleneck at around 27,000ft — one of the most exposed and dangerous sections of K2.
The first images from the documentary show his blurred body hanging upside down in darkness while members of the climbing group attempt to reach and secure him.
Later footage shows Hassan lying on the narrow traverse as climbers continue past his body towards the summit.
Hassan Pulled Back Onto Traverse
According to the account presented in the documentary, climber Tarso and Pakistani high-altitude worker Shigri used a pulley system to establish a block and tackle as the rescue attempt developed.
At around 3.30am, they were able to haul Hassan back onto the traverse.
He was given hot tea and supplied with oxygen through a climbing mask.
Earlier, Harila described seeing Hassan suspended awkwardly from the rope.
“We saw there was something wrong with the rope around his legs,” she said.
She recalled seeing him lying exposed on the mountain and immediately recognising the seriousness of his condition.
Climbers Faced Choice Between Rescue And Summit
Once Hassan had been brought back onto the traverse, the problem changed.
Saving him would have required a coordinated evacuation down the mountain.
According to the documentary account, climbers waiting to pass through the Bottleneck would have needed to stop their summit attempts and descend.
Sherpas and high-altitude workers would then have faced the extremely difficult task of moving Hassan down the steep traverse using ropes, ice screws, blankets and other equipment.
The documentary argues that there was additional bottled oxygen available among the expedition groups which could potentially have been used during such an attempt.
Hassan was already severely cold and would likely have faced serious frostbite even if rescued.
But he may still have had a chance of survival.
‘Nobody Initiates A Rescue’
The documentary focuses heavily on what happened next.
Despite numerous expedition teams being present around the traverse, no group took charge of organising a full evacuation.
Climbers remained queued on the route and continued moving upwards.
By this stage, Harila and her climbing partner Tenjen “Lama” Sherpa had already left the immediate site of the accident and resumed their ascent.
For Harila, only the final section of K2 remained between her and the record she had spent months pursuing.
The documentary frames that moment as one in which her record and Hassan’s fate became permanently linked.
Hassan Had Helped Prepare Route
Hassan was working as a Pakistani high-altitude porter on the mountain.
The documentary says he had been eager to demonstrate that he could operate alongside the experienced Nepali Sherpas working higher on K2.
He had helped establish fixed rope on the mountain — the same system expedition climbers, including Harila, would rely upon to move safely through the route.
When Hassan suffered his accident, however, the ascent continued around him.
Harila Says Team Tried For Hours
Harila has strongly disputed suggestions that Hassan was simply ignored.
She says her group spent hours attempting to assist him in darkness before the footage which later circulated around the world was recorded.
Her climbing partner Lama described traversing past around 10 people to reach Hassan.
“People were scared,” he said.
“I picked him up and held his hand. We were on a big slope with very slippery blue ice. It was a very dangerous place.”
The documentary’s cameraman, Gabriel, also remained with Hassan after Harila and Lama continued towards the summit.
Cameraman Gave Hassan His Oxygen
Gabriel described Hassan as severely hypothermic and inadequately equipped for the conditions.
“He was completely frozen. No oxygen, no gloves, no down suit,” he said.
He attempted to move Hassan’s fingers, warm him and give him hot water.
He also gave Hassan his own oxygen bottle.
Gabriel eventually concluded that Hassan’s condition was extremely grave and later continued upwards after being told he could not remain where he was.
Avalanche Added To Danger
The rescue efforts were taking place in one of K2’s most dangerous areas.
At around 3.20am, a large avalanche reportedly came down from the side of a serac near the Bottleneck.
The terrain consists of steep ice beneath enormous overhanging glacial formations, leaving climbers vulnerable to avalanches and falling ice.
Harila said two members of her team were already ahead when the avalanche occurred.
She and Lama continued upwards while Gabriel remained behind with Hassan.
Images Later Show Climbers Passing Hassan
After daylight, footage recorded from elsewhere on the mountain showed Hassan lying on the traverse as climbers passed close to him.
Those images became the defining pictures of the controversy.
They appeared to show mountaineers stepping over or moving around a dying man while continuing towards the summit.
The footage spread around the world and prompted accusations that climbers had valued reaching K2’s summit more highly than saving the life of a Pakistani porter.
Harila Says Viral Footage Did Not Show Full Story
Harila argues that those images presented only the final part of what had happened.
“This was filmed in the middle of the day, when it was light,” she says in Savage Mountain.
“We were there when he fell in the dark. We tried for hours to save him.”
Harila believes her team made a major mistake by failing to immediately publish a detailed account of their attempts to help Hassan.
She said the story instead became one of wealthy Western climbers stepping over a Pakistani porter to secure a world record.
Summit Celebration Became Controversial
Harila eventually reached the summit and celebrated completing the fastest ascent of all 14 of the world’s mountains above 8,000 metres.
The documentary includes footage of that moment.
But images of the celebrations would later be juxtaposed with the footage of Hassan still lying on the mountain below.
The two events — Harila’s record and Hassan’s death — became inseparable in the public debate surrounding the expedition.
Harila Received Thousands Of Abusive Messages
Harila said she subsequently received more than 20,000 abusive messages.
Some accused her of murder, while others sent death threats and told her to take her own life.
She has repeatedly rejected suggestions that Hassan was treated differently because he was Pakistani or because he was working as a porter rather than climbing as a paying expedition client.
Inquiry Examined Hassan’s Equipment
An investigation was subsequently launched into Hassan’s death.
It raised serious questions about the preparation and equipment provided to him by the expedition company for which he was working.
The inquiry concluded that adequate checks and safeguards had not been carried out.
Questions were raised over Hassan being high on K2 without equipment considered essential for surviving extreme altitude and cold.
The company responsible for him was subsequently ordered to suspend operations for two years.
Pakistani Climber Questions Why Harila Was Singled Out
Sirbaz Khan, the first Pakistani climber to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre mountains, was involved in the investigation.
He points out in the documentary that Harila was only one of a large number of climbers attempting K2 that day.
“There were 100 people trying to summit that day,” he said.
“Why was Kristin singled out?”
The footage now being shown in Savage Mountain presents both sides of the controversy more clearly: climbers did attempt to help Hassan after his fall, but once he had been pulled back onto the traverse, no expedition team initiated the much larger rescue operation that would have required climbers to give up their summit attempts and turn back.
