Pete Schoening facts for kids

Peter Kittilsby Schoening (born July 30, 1927 – died September 22, 2004) was a famous American mountain climber. He was one of the first two Americans to successfully climb Gasherbrum I in Pakistan in 1958, along with Andrew Kauffman. He was also one of the first to reach the top of Mount Vinson in Antarctica in 1966.

Schoening is best known for his amazing actions during "The Belay" in 1953. This happened when he was part of the American K2 expedition. He single-handedly stopped his entire team from falling down the mountain.

Biography

Early Life

Peter Schoening was born in Seattle, Washington, on July 30, 1927. He grew up in Seattle. He left school for a short time to join the US Navy during the last year of World War II. Later, he earned a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Washington. It was there that he became very interested in mountain climbing.

The Amazing Belay on K2

In August 1953, an American team of seven climbers tried to climb K2. This was the same year that Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed Everest. The K2 team was led by Charles Houston.

On the seventh day, a big storm hit while they were climbing. They were stuck at over 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) on the Abruzzi Ridge. One team member, Art Gilkey, became very sick. He had blood clots that made it hard for him to breathe. The team knew Gilkey would die if they did not get him down the mountain right away. They began to lower him in a sleeping bag over dangerous rock and ice.

While crossing an ice sheet, climber George Irving Bell slipped. This pulled Tony Streather loose. Streather then fell into the rope that connected Charles Houston and Bob Bates. Bates and Houston then fell into the rope that connected Dee Molenaar to Gilkey.

Peter Schoening was already holding Gilkey on a belay line. A belay is a climbing technique to control a rope and prevent falls. Even with this, Schoening was able to stop the fall of all six men. He used his strength, quickness, and skill. He wedged his ice axe against a large rock frozen in the mountainside. Schoening later said he was just lucky. But his teammates felt he was a true hero.

As the team tried to recover, they found that Gilkey had disappeared. He had been in his sleeping bag, hanging from a line. Many people believe Gilkey cut himself loose. He may have done this to save his five teammates, who were hurt and in danger.

The story of this expedition is told in the book K2 — The Savage Mountain. It was written by Houston and Bates. Today, "The Belay" is one of the most famous events in climbing history. Schoening's ice axe is now on display at the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum in Colorado.

Schoening's actions clearly saved the lives of five of his climbing friends. He received the David A. Sowles Memorial Award in 1981. This award honors climbers who show great courage and help others in danger.

Later Adventures and Legacy

In 1996, when he was 68, Peter Schoening went to Mount Everest. He went with his nephew, Klev Schoening. Peter stopped his climb at Camp Three. He had to stop because he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. The sad events of that week on Everest are told in books like Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.

Peter Schoening died from bone cancer in 2004. He was 77 years old and passed away at his home in Washington.

Fifty-three years later, in 2006, the families of the men from "The Belay" met. They called themselves “The Children of ‘The Belay’”. Twenty-eight children and grandchildren attended. They knew they would not have been born if it were not for Pete Schoening and his ice axe on K2.

Schoening Peak in Antarctica is named after Pete Schoening. Another peak, Putrid Pete's Peak (P3), in Washington, was also named after him.