High Altitude Leadership: What the World's Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us About Success

Chapter 2. Danger #2 SELFISHNESS

Before the deed comes the thought. Before the achievement comes the dream. Every mountain we climb, we first climb in our mind.

—Royal Robbins, climber and entrepreneur

K2, Summit Day, continued

4:30 P.M. Fifteen hours after leaving Camp 4, we finally reach K2's summit. Of the two dozen climbers who left the camp, only sixteen of us made it to the top. But it is too late in the day for us to enjoy this moment for long. Darkness can be seen on the eastern horizon. The sun is quickly setting. Soon the temperatures will plunge. We are still hours from the tents.

5:30 P.M. Descending into the mountain's shadow, we come upon two determined Italians still climbing upward. We are all surprised. I radio base camp, and their ...