Scott Darsney, the climbing partner who accompanied author Greg Mortenson on the 1993 attempt to summit K2, weighed in this week on the controversy surrounding the veracity of the events recounted in the bestselling book Three Cups of Tea. Mortenson has come under fire of late with charges of fabricating parts of the blockbuster memoir, and misappropriating funds from his charity, the Central Asia Institute, for his personal use. Yet, despite the barrage of criticism from the media, Darsney is still firmly in his friend’s camp. “If Jon Krakauer and some of Greg’s detractors had taken the time to have three or more cups of tea with Greg and others–instead of one cup of tea with a select few who would discredit him–they would have found some minor problems and transgressions. But to the extent to call it all ‘lies’ and ‘fraud’? No way,” wrote Darsney in an e-mail to Outside Magazine.

One of his “detractors”, author Jon Krakauer (Into the Wild), was once a staunch supporter of Mortensen and his charity, but parted ways with the philanthropist over growing concerns about how Central Asia Institute funds were being handled. Krakauer recently published Three Cups of Deceit, charging that certain dramatic events in Three Cups of Tea were “born of fantasy,” and even uses a few quotes from climbing partner Darsney as proof. Krakauer posits that contrary to the book’s narrative, Mortensen did not stumble upon the small village of Korphe during his descent from K2 and promise to build a school there after the villagers helped nurse him back to health. Instead, Krakauer believes that Mortensen did not even know of the existence of the village until 1994.

But, Darsney tried to defend his friend on this point as well, saying: “Yes, I did say to Jon Krakauer that Greg didn’t go to Korphe until 1994,” he explains. “However, on our way out, Greg got lost … somewhere between the Biafo glacier region and Askole. About half a day later, Greg finally showed up in Askole saying he’d made a major wrong turn. He’d ended up in a village on the wrong side of the Braldu River. It’s certainly plausible that this was Korphe.”

Though as an article on OregonLive.com points out, Darsney’s statements don’t necessarily dispute Krakauer’s charge that parts of Three Cups of Tea are blatantly false. The book describes Mortensen spending several days in Korphe, not just a few short hours. These apparent fallacies in the book also lead to questions about how honestly the Central Asia Institute is run and the character of Mortensen himself. Last week, 60 Minutes aired an investigative report on Mortensen’s book and the Central Asia Institute finances. The investigation revealed that, according to the organization’s 2009 tax filings, $3.9 million or 41% of their expenses were related to its charitable work. However, the institute also spent $1.5 million to market and advertise Mortensen’s books, even though the charity does not get any royalties from them. The Associated Press reports that Montana’s attorney general has launched an inquiry into the Central Asia Institute, which is based in Bozeman, Montana, to verify that their assets are not being misused.