{"id":25300,"date":"2025-04-11T13:01:57","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T11:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altitude.news\/?p=25300"},"modified":"2025-04-07T13:05:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T11:05:39","slug":"expedition-1939-k2-tragedie-et-altitude-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altitude.news\/culture\/histoire-de-l-alpinisme\/2025\/04\/11\/expedition-1939-k2-tragedie-et-altitude-record\/","title":{"rendered":"K2\u00a0: 8.400m d\u2019altitude et 4 morts en juillet 1939"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Quinze ans avant le succ\u00e8s des Italiens, une exp\u00e9dition am\u00e9ricaine allait tenter de vaincre le K2. Malgr\u00e9 une altitude record atteinte par deux membres du groupe, on retient surtout la terrible trag\u00e9die qui conclut cette exp\u00e9dition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c0 la fin des ann\u00e9es 1930, les 8.000 sont toujours invaincus. Le K2, deuxi\u00e8me plus haut sommet du monde (8 611 m), ne fait pas exception. Son isolement extr\u00eame et ses pentes glac\u00e9es le rendant encore plus redoutable que l\u2019Everest. C\u2019est dans ce contexte que l\u2019American Alpine Club organisa une exp\u00e9dition ambitieuse en 1939<\/a>. Elle fut confi\u00e9e \u00e0 Fritz Wiessner, un grimpeur d\u2019origine allemande naturalis\u00e9 am\u00e9ricain. Wiessner \u00e9tait d\u00e9j\u00e0 une l\u00e9gende dans les cercles alpins pour ses ascensions techniques dans les Alpes et au Yosemite. L\u2019exp\u00e9dition de 1939 devait marquer une avanc\u00e9e majeure dans l\u2019histoire de l\u2019alpinisme himalayen. Bien avant les grandes conqu\u00eates des ann\u00e9es 1950.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1939 : 8.370m sur le K2, altitude record\u00a0!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

L\u2019\u00e9quipe am\u00e9ricaine parvint \u00e0 installer une s\u00e9rie de camps d\u2019altitude sur la voie des Abruzzes, une ar\u00eate sud-est particuli\u00e8rement longue et expos\u00e9e. Contre toute attente, Wiessner et le sherpa Pasang Lama atteignirent environ 8 370 m\u00e8tres, \u00e0 seulement 200 m\u00e8tres du sommet \u2014 un exploit sans pr\u00e9c\u00e9dent. Cependant, face \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9puisement, \u00e0 l\u2019instabilit\u00e9 m\u00e9t\u00e9o et au manque d\u2019\u00e9quipement pour un bivouac en si haute altitude, ils furent contraints de redescendre. Ce revers marqua le d\u00e9but d\u2019une trag\u00e9die. En l\u2019absence de radios et avec des consignes mal comprises, l\u2019\u00e9quipe en contrebas se d\u00e9sorganisa. Le porteur Dudley Wolfe, malade et affaibli, resta bloqu\u00e9 \u00e0 plus de 7 000 m\u00e8tres. Trois sherpas envoy\u00e9s pour tenter de le secourir disparurent avec lui dans la montagne. Aucun ne revint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

La controverse au retour de l\u2019exp\u00e9dition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

L\u2019exp\u00e9dition, bien qu\u2019extraordinaire dans sa tentative, se termina dans la douleur et la controverse. Wiessner fut critiqu\u00e9 pour sa gestion de la descente et de l\u2019\u00e9quipe, m\u00eame si son engagement physique et sa performance furent salu\u00e9s. D\u2019autres membres de l\u2019\u00e9quipe furent aussi largement montr\u00e9s du doigt par l\u2019opinion publique am\u00e9ricaine. En r\u00e9alit\u00e9, Wiessner avait fr\u00f4l\u00e9 un sommet que personne ne parviendrait \u00e0 gravir avant 1954, lors de l\u2019exp\u00e9dition italienne men\u00e9e par Ardito Desio<\/a>. Le drame de 1939 est rest\u00e9 dans l\u2019ombre de cette r\u00e9ussite ult\u00e9rieure, mais il marqua un tournant dans l\u2019approche de l\u2019alpinisme en Himalaya. La logistique, la coordination et l\u2019\u00e9thique de l\u2019effort collectif allaient devenir aussi cruciales que la performance individuelle. Quant \u00e0 Wiessner, il continua de grimper et d\u2019enseigner, restant une figure majeure du monde alpin. Il est mort en 1988.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illustration – Itin\u00e9raire de 1939 sur le K2 \u00a9 Svy123, CC BY 3.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons [Modif: B&W + itin\u00e9raire]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Quinze ans avant le succ\u00e8s des Italiens, une exp\u00e9dition am\u00e9ricaine allait tenter de vaincre le K2. Malgr\u00e9 une altitude record atteinte par deux membres du … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-histoire-de-l-alpinisme"],"yoast_head":"\nK2\u00a0: 8.400m d\u2019altitude et 4 morts en juillet 1939 - Altitude News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Quinze ans avant le succ\u00e8s des Italiens, une exp\u00e9dition am\u00e9ricaine allait tenter en 1939 de vaincre le K2. 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