Mountains took my family - but I love them

山脉带走了我的家人 - 但我爱他们

The Outlook Podcast Archive

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2022-03-15

23 分钟
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Scot Kate Ballard is the daughter of world-famous mountaineer Alison Hargreaves. In 1995, when Kate was just four, Alison was caught in a storm on K2 in the Himalayas and died. Despite the tragedy, Kate and her brother Tom were raised by their dad to love the slopes and it soon became clear that Tom shared his mother's climbing talent. But sadly he would also share her fate. Kate speaks to Jo Fidgen about travel to the Himalayas and how, despite her personal losses, her love of the mountains is undiminished. A film about the family is called The Last Mountain. It's by director Chris Terrill and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and via online streaming services. Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Katy Takatsuki (Photo: Kate Ballard. Credit: Ballard Images)
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  • Hello, I'm Jo Fidgeon.

  • Welcome to Outlook, the podcast that connects us to people the world over through personal stories.

  • In normal circumstances, when someone you love dies, you get a chance to lay them to rest and have a graveside to visit to feel close to them.

  • Not so for Scott.

  • Kate Ballard.

  • Both her mother and her only brother remain on the mountainsides where they lost their lives 24 years apart.

  • Both were world class mountaineers.

  • Both died on expeditions to the Himalayas in locations too difficult to recover their bodies.

  • Kate's mother was Alison Hargreaves, famous in the mountaineering world for her record setting ascents.

  • She was caught in a storm on K2 in 1995 when Kate was 4 and her brother Tom, 6.

  • He went on to become a brilliant climber like his mum and tragically would share her fate, dying on nanga Parbat aged 29.

  • That was three years ago.

  • You might think that Kate would want to stay away from mountains after all she has lost there.

  • But no, she's been telling me why, despite everything, she still loves to be there.

  • That's the environment I've grown up in and it's where I feel most at peace and find the most enjoyment out of life.

  • Is it an uncomplicated feeling?

  • It's not a particularly complicated feeling.

  • It's just the place that I am most happy.

  • Doing what on mountains?

  • What's your happy place on a mountainside?