Article: Charles Houston, 96; climber led, learned from K-2 trip

NEW YORK - Dr. Charles S. Houston, who, motivated by what he called "the lure of unknown regions beyond the rim of experience," led a legendary but unsuccessful Himalayan expedition and did trailblazing research on high-altitude medicine, died Sunday in Burlington, Vt. He was 96.

In 1953, Dr. Houston led a team of eight to within 3,000 feet of the 28,251-foot summit of K-2, the second-highest mountain in the world. They expected to reach the top in two or three days.

Instead, the climbers experienced what became a famous series of harrowing events. Their heroic response came to exemplify how utterly self-sacrificing a team of mountaineers can be. Dr. Houston called it "the brotherhood of ...

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