Alison(cont'd)

** __Aftermath__ ** **Hargreaves's death reverberated around the world. ** **By 2006 Hargreaves's children were both teenagers. Her son had begun following in his mother's formidable footsteps by demonstrating both an interest in, and ****aptitude**** for, climbing. Speculation and fascination about their mother's life continued, and was renewed with the publication of such books as 2000's //Regions of the Heart: The Triumph and Tragedy of Alison Hargreaves// and 2005's //Savage Summit: The True Stories of the First Five Women Who Climbed K2, the World's Most Feared Mountain//. But perhaps the best way of understanding what drove a woman of Hargreaves's talent and determination is through her own words. Shortly after his wife's death, Ballard told Ellis, "I can hear her repeating her favorite saying, 'One day as a tiger is better than a thousand as a sheep.' That sums up Alison perfectly." And, undoubtedly, the ****summation**** of the daughter Hargreaves had left behind was equally telling. "My mother did whatever she wanted to do," Kate told McFadden. "And I'm ****glad**** she did." A fitting ****eulogy**** for an extraordinary woman. ** 
 *  __Finest of Mountaineers__ **
 * Flushed with her singular success, Hargreaves quickly began making plans for the next venture. By conquering the world's remaining two highest mountains - K2 and Kangchenjunga - her ****thirst**** for adventure might be temporarily slaked and her family's security would be all but certain. She decided to attempt K2 first, and leave Kangchenjunga until the following spring in order to spend more time with her children. Toward that end, and just two weeks after returning home from what most would call the victory of a lifetime, Hargreaves set out for K2. **
 * With a summit of approximately 28,250 feet, Pakistan's K2 **
 * is the second-highest mountain in the world. It has also acquired the dubious reputation of being the most wickedly daunting to climb. Known as the "Savage Mountain," its ****wildly**** unpredictable weather and fierce winds have routinely vanquished those who deigned to try and master its heights. As opposed to the hundreds of successful ascents of Mount Everest, there had only been 113 confirmed successes for K2, and of those, a startling 37 climbers did not survive. **
 * Hargreaves arrived at K2's base camp in June of 1995 and promptly sent off a drawing of the mountain to her children, along with loving wishes for an ****enjoyable** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> summer. Then the frustrations began. She missed good weather for the climb, after deciding to split with her intended climbing partner and join an American team. The stormy weather kept the new **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">What happened on that date, three months to the day after Hargreaves's historical capture of Everest, remains unclear in its entirety. What is certain is that the indefatigable British woman did indeed reach the summit of the storied K2 and enter the record books as the first woman to climb the world's two highest peaks without supplemental oxygen. What is equally beyond doubt is that a ****horrific****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> storm prevented her, along with her five fellow-mountaineers, from safely descending. All were lost in K2's fury. **