Schoening was one of two Americans to first successfully climb the Pakistani peak Gasherbrum I in 1958, along with Andrew Kauffman, and was one of the first to summit Mount Vinson in Antarctica in 1966.
While attempting to traverse an ice sheet, climber George Irving Bell lost his footing, pulling Tony Streather loose.
Schoening, despite already holding Gilkey on belay during the attempted traverse to Camp VII, was able, through strength, quickness, and skill to arrest the fall of all six men, with his ice axe wedged against a boulder frozen in the mountainside.
[citation needed] During the team's scramble to recover from the fall and establish a forced bivouac, they discovered that Gilkey, who had been in voice contact with them and was still suspended in the protective sleeping bag from a line secured on either side of the ice axe, had vanished in a slide along with the supporting anchors.
[2] Houston, among others, has speculated that Gilkey cut himself loose following Bell's fall to save the lives of his five colleagues, who were variously injured and at risk for their own safety.
The disastrous events of that week are recounted in several books, including Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer[5] and The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev.