8,200m Up K2, He Walked Away Alone: Peter Hillary on Survival, Fear & Sir Edmund’s Advice

At 8,200 metres on K2, in deteriorating weather and near the summit, Peter Hillary made what he calls a “bravely independent” decision: he turned around and descended alone into the storm. The rest of the group stayed together and pushed for the top.

It was one of the loneliest descents of his life — and it’s the reason he's here to tell the story. None of the others survived.

In this conversation, we trace how a lifetime in the mountains, with a father like Sir Edmund Hillary, prepared him for that moment: a childhood where a family holiday meant Kathmandu at age seven, a teenage ascent of Mount Aspiring twice in three days followed by a humbling introduction to Aoraki/Mount Cook, and the 1979 avalanche on the west face of Ama Dablam that killed a member of his team and left him hanging on a near-severed rope with a compound fracture.

We also talk why he rejects the framing that he grew up in his father's shadow — and how he thinks about it instead — and why whether he could live up to his father’s accomplishments was never the right question.

Peter Hillary has dedicated his life to mountaineering, adventure, and the outdoors. He also continues his father’s contribution to the Nepalese people who have meant so much to the family. Peter is chair of the Himalayan Trust, founded by Sir Ed, which does extraordinary work providing health and education for remote communities in Nepal. Find out more and support his work at http://himalayantrust.org