'Orgy of death': Hawke's Bay woman who lost son and ex-husband in Himalayas says climbing season chaos has been coming for 25 years

The last photo of Denali on K2 after attempted rescue of Iranians in July 2013. Photo/ Jo Patti

A woman whose son and ex-husband died on a Himalayan climbing expedition says social media influencers seeking trophy shots are contributing to an "orgy of death".

Jo Patti's son, Denali Schmidt, and her ex-husband and mountain guide Marty Schmidt, died in an avalanche trying to climb K2, the world's second highest mountain, from the Pakistan side of the Himalayas in July 2013.

The pair had already seen tragedy on the way up, trying unsuccessfully to rescue a group of Iranians who had succumbed to the elements, before tragedy struck them.

It is only six years on that Patti feels strong enough to break her silence about the incident.

Patti, who has more than 30 years experience with the mountain guiding community, has seen the photos this week of queues to the summit of Everest.

There have been 11 deaths on the mountain this year. The death toll is partly attributed to the growing commercialisation of Everest, along with a lack of experience and bad weather.

Patti says these days climbing the likes of Everest and K2 is a way to boost your social media profile and get sponsors.

Jo Patti (centre) in Hastings with Takitimu colleagues back in 1992. Photo / Jo Patti

"There is a terrible competition and ambition, a mythology that somehow if you climb this mountain you'll be an extraordinary person.

"They think it's going to change their whole lives - it's a greed, it's an ego greed.

"People climbing compete for sponsors and social media has exacerbated the problem.

"People are just trying to get a different angle for their pictures, a different perspective for sponsors."

Patti said some people trying to climb the main Himalayan mountains in 2019 did not have the ethics of traditional mountain climbers.

She said the media who promoted attempts on the summits needed to share some of the blame.

"There's a diminishment of the moral compass.

"It's an orgy of death [in the Himalayas], but part of the reason people keep going up is because there is a massive demand for media attention.

"The media is pushing mountain guides and sherpas to the edge."

She says the "orgy of death" on the world's highest peaks has been waiting to happen for 25 years.

"Mountains didn't used to be owned by companies, or businesses," Patti said.

"But it's been like that for a while. Now there are all these people wanting to reach the Everest summit, like a traffic jam, all vying for really short windows to climb.

"It's life and death on the mountain."

She says these days climbing the likes of Everest and K2 is a way to boost your social media profile and get sponsors.

Patti, born in the States, has never worked as a guide herself but started her then-husband's mountain guiding business MSIG with him in 1988, when the pair were living in Australia.

"Marty guided the seven summits in various parts of the world and co-ordinated all the gear and logistics.

"He climbed K2 twice when we were married.

"The administrative work for MSIG was my responsibility while working part time teaching, taking care of our children and our households, some of which were in rural areas off the grid."

After travelling to and living in Australia, she moved to New Zealand to live and work in Hawke's Bay - in Hastings and Napier - periodically between 1989 and 2006.

Jo Patti with ex-husband Marty Schmidt in their backyard in Hastings. Photo / Jo Patti

"In 1989, I met the Maori elder, Anglican minister and former chaplain for the 28th Maori Battalion - Te Mate, Wiremu Te Tau Huata, and his wife Ybel-Te Mate-Ringahora Heni Ngakai Ybel Tomoana.

"They invited me to meet and then work for their son, Te Mate-Tama Huata, at the Kahurangi National Maori Dance Theatre based in Hastings, New Zealand."

The last photo of Denali on K2 after attempted rescue of Iranians in July 2013. Photo/ Jo Patti

Their son, Denali, was born in Macksville, NSW in 1988; their daughter, Sequoia, was born in Napier in 1991.

Her work in Hastings resulted in the family being granted New Zealand citizenship in 1994.

"Back in 1996 questions were already being asked about the motivation of people who climb to the Everest summit," Patti says.

In 1996, eight people got caught in a blizzard and died on Everest during attempts to descend from the summit.

Over the entire season, 12 people died trying to reach the summit.

"There used to be a camaraderie between fellow climbers and sherpas, but it hasn't been like that for a while."

In 2013 Marty Schmidt was on Everest when professional climbers, along with their photographer, got into a heated exchange with sherpas fixing the rope on the Lhotse Face.

Patti has written about her experiences and is touring New Zealand to promote her books Kismet and Getting Off The X.

She will be in Taradale, Napier at the Taradale Library, July 8 at 6.00pm.