Once again from the John King publication "Various unidentified people started to voice unease at the situation, but discussion about the direction to climb away was interrupted by the GPWS and its very disembodied but very loud and authoritive, "Woop-woop! Pull Up, Pull Up.
Everybody reacted promptly. Gordon Brookes read out the rapidly decreasing heights on the radio altimeter and Jim Collins pulled back on the control column as he called for Go Round Power Please. The engines were responding and the DC10's nose was raised towards the climbing attitude, but the inertia of 200 tonnes of aircraft was not overcome in time and FL TE901 hit the ice, still in level flight, with unimaginable violence and completely disintegrated, six and a half seconds after the first warning."
So the question of which way they were going to climb out was not finalised, apparently,and they hit in level flight.