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. Read more…