Ger McDonnell

Who was Ger McDonnell?

Gerard McDonnell, mountaineer and engineer, was the first Irish person to reach the summit of K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth, in August 2008. He lost his life along with ten other mountaineers following an avalanche on the descent, in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.

McDonnell was born in Kilcornan, County Limerick. A decade before his K2 success, he had moved to Anchorage, Alaska. He hoped not only to work there but also to develop his skills as a mountaineer. McDonnell was well known in Anchorage's Irish community. Among his interests was playing the bodhrán in a band. He was described as a "philosopher" and a "great storyteller". McDonnell summited Mount Everest with Mick Murphy in 2003. He was unsuccessful during an earlier attempt on K2 in 2006 when he was hit by a rock and airlifted to hospital. Irish President, Mary McAleese was among the dignitaries to pay tribute to him following his successful Everest climb in 2003 and in 2008 following his death.

McDonnell's group had been on a mammoth expedition for eight weeks, surviving in sub-zero temperatures. In an online despatch, he said that after the team set 31 July as their date for the summit bid, spirits were high. "Let luck and good fortune prevail, fingers crossed," he wrote. However, following the avalanche, a serac fell, cutting all the fixed lines on his and his fellow members of the Dutch-led Norit K2 Expedition's path.