Last Step: The American Ascent of K2

The Last Step tells the story, written by Rick Ridgeway, a member of the expedition team, of the 1978 first American ascent of K2. It was the third ascent overall of K2 and the first on which any members reached the summit without using supplemental oxygen on the final push. They experienced the usual nasty weather on K2 and the team, stressed by the weather, food shortages, and too many days and nights at altitude in close quarters, fractured into factions. The expedition, led by Jim Whittaker and including John Roskelley and Jim Wickwire among other significant climbers, succeeded in putting a team on the summit but it was also marked by considerable dissent.