Rolf Bae (9 January 1975 – 1 August 2008) was a Norwegian Arctic adventurer and
mountaineer
Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...
. Bae operated an adventure company called Fram, specializing in Arctic and Antarctic travel and survival courses. He died during an ascent of
K2 in 2008.
Biography
In 2000/2001, Bae crossed Antarctica with fellow explorer Eirik Sønneland, completing what was then the world's longest ski journey, 3800 km long, taking 105 days to complete; the record was beaten by
Rune Gjeldnes in 2006.
On 27 December 2005, he arrived at the South Pole, after skiing from the ice shelf, and on 24 April 2006, he reached the North Pole unsupported, both expeditions together with
Cecilie Skog, the first woman to complete the
Explorers Grand Slam
The Explorer's Grand Slam is an adventurer goal to reach the North Pole and South Pole, as well as climb the Seven Summits ( Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Vinson, and Puncak Jaya or Kosciuszko).
History
The original ...
.
In 2008, Bae together with Stein-Ivar Gravdal, Bjarte Bø and Sigurd Felde reached the top of
Great Trango Tower (6286 m) in
Karakoram
The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...
, Pakistan, via the "Norwegian Buttress" (VII 5.10+ A4). The team spent 27 days ascending and 30 hours descending the peak. This was the second complete ascent via this route.
Death
Rolf Bae died on 1 August 2008, in a
climbing accident while taking part in an international expedition on
K2 mountain in which eleven climbers lost their lives. His wife, experienced climber
Cecilie Skog, reported seeing her husband swept off the mountain during an ice fall accident.
Bae was a friend and teammate of
Ger McDonnell, the first Irishman to summit K2. Both men died within hours of each other in separate avalanches on K2.
Personal life
He was married to
Cecilie Skog. She has climbed the highest mountains of every
continent
A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...
(the
Seven summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven.
In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...
) in addition to reaching the
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...
in the first unassisted trek across
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
, and the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
.
See also
*
Meherban Karim
Meherban Karim (21 January 1979 – 2 August 2008) was a Pakistani mountaineer. He died, along with 10 other mountaineers, in the 2008 K2 disaster, following an avalanche in what was to be one of the deadliest accidents in the history of K2 mou ...
*
Ger McDonnell
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bae, Rolf
1975 births
2008 deaths
Deaths in avalanches
Deaths on K2
Natural disaster deaths in Pakistan
Norwegian mountain climbers
People from Sandnes
Sportspeople from Rogaland
Norwegian ski-orienteers