‘To have this happen a second time is almost more than I can handle’
Jim Ballard on his missing climber son
confusion,” he says. “They had called off the search three days ago but then it was suddenly back on.
“The Pakistani authorities and the Italian Foreign Office insisted they would carry on looking but this morning the helicopter couldn’t take off. Either mechanical issues or weather. So that’s another day to wait. Twelve days since we lost contact.”
The look in his eyes betrays the emotions deep within. The fact that he is keeping them at bay is at once infuriating and heroic. He doesn’t allow his voice to crack, but I realise he is staying strong for Tom.
I have seen this stoicism in him before. I remember standing next to him when watching Tom climbing in Scotland back in 2004. Tom was 16, already an accomplished climber, but I shuddered to watch him shinning up a vertical rock face without a helmet or ropes. Jim then confided in me: “Part of me really wants to look away, but I can’t. That would be to betray Tom.”
Jim has spent 30 years not looking away as his son grew into one of the world’s most accomplished climbers – and he is not about to look away now.
“Are you still hopeful? Could Tom be OK?”
“I have remained as optimistic as possible from the beginning. With Alison, as soon as I knew there had been a problem above 7,000 metres, I knew she was not coming back.
“This was different at first. All we knew was Tom and Daniele’s satellite phone had failed and that we had lost contact. I just assumed there had been a technical problem and they would be OK. I talked to Kate and assured her that they would be all right for seven to 10 days, maybe longer.
“I said he would be cold, have a bit of frost nip and certainly be very badtempered, as he often could be when coming back from a climb that had not gone according to plan. I have held on to that pretty well until now. But…” Jim pauses to change emotional gear.
“The other likelihood is that Tom and Daniele were simply blasted off the face of the mountain by a huge force of nature, thousands and thousands of tons of ice and snow. If that’s the case, they probably knew nothing about it. I just pray that Tom had just finished negotiating an incredibly hard route and was pleased with himself. If he had to go, that would have been the way. It was like his mum. She had just summited K2 and must have been feeling wonderful when K2 claimed her.”
I ask Jim about the silhouettes that have been spotted a day or so before. Did he think they could be Tom and Daniele? “Could be. If they were not deluged by the ice and snow, they could be on the surface. We need more information. If they send up the helicopter tomorrow we may find out more, but I am not jumping to any conclusions yet.”
Jim is maintaining his composure but gradually his tone softens. We pause while he takes a phone call. It is Kate. She is calling from South Africa where she is working as an adventure guide.
She is clearly distressed and Jim takes time to listen. He knows how close she is to Tom and how difficult it is for her right now. Gently, he reassures her as best he can.
I ask him how he is dealing with
‘To have this happen the second time is almost more than I can handle’