What that legend suggests is that K2 may well be greater than Everest. Not because it's technically harder or imparts more lyrical visions to those who climb it, but because, through the actions of Houston and his men, K2's signature narrative achieved an expression weightier than mere triumph. "I have great respect for the Italians who summited K2 for the first time in 1954," says Reinhold Messner, "but even greater respect for the Americans and the way they failed in 1953. They were decent. They were strong. And they failed in the most beautiful way you can imagine. This is inspiration for a lifetime.