Gilkey Memorial at K2 Base camp is a sombre reminder of all the fallen comrades of K2 but seldom sheds light on the great sacrifice of Arthur Karr Gilkey on K2 in the year 1953. Art was part of an ambitious American Expedition vying to scale K2 for the first time ever. Led by Dr. Charles Houston and Robert Bates, Art was part of the team being a geologist and member of the climbing team. This was the fifth ever attempt to scale K2 and only the first after WWII.
As they progressed to higher camps, news broke about Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay’s successful ascent of the Everest-the highest mountain in the world, leaving K2 as the tallest mountain in the world which has never been climbed. The team naturally found themselves amidst a historic event unfolding so they decided to cast a ballot for the first person to stand on top of K2.
The team has reached 7600m and have setup Camp-7 (Camp-3 today) on the Abruzzi Ridge. The team was confronted with a fierce storm. Art developed a blood clout in his leg- a serious disease at sea levels but a fatal one on K2. The team after long discussions decided to abandon the attempt and escort Art back to the base camp.
They lashed together a stretcher from a sleeping bag and a torn tent, and through hurricane winds and snow, they lowered him down the slopes, battered and frostbitten but unwilling to let go of their friend.
Then, on a narrow traverse, fate struck: a slip dragged six men hurtling toward death. Only Peter Schoening, belaying from behind, arrested the fall in one of mountaineering’s greatest acts of heroism—forever remembered as “The Belay on K2.”
After the terrifying fall, the team was battered and bruised, some with broken ribs, yet they somehow staggered into Camp VII amid the raging storm. Too exhausted to do more, they secured Art to the slope while they struggled to raise their tents. But as they worked, faint cries pierced through the blizzard. Rushing back, they found only a shallow mark in the snow where Art had been.
The official account claimed he had been swept away by a small avalanche. Yet many of his teammates believed otherwise—that Art, fully aware of the danger his rescue posed, chose to cut himself loose to save his friends. The truth will never be known. What is certain is that his disappearance gave the others the will to survive and fight their way back down to Base Camp.
Decades later, in 1993, Art’s remains were discovered on K2. But the mystery of his final moments endures—an echo of sacrifice, loyalty, and love on the world’s most unforgiving mountain.
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