K2

For other uses, see K2 (disambiguation).

K2 is the second highest mountain on Earth, located in the Karakoram segment of the Himalayan range. Standing at 8,611 metres, K2 takes second place only to Mount Everest.

The summit of K2 forms part of the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang, China, and borders the Northern Areas of Pakistan (considered by India as a part of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir).

The Chinese authorities officially refer to K2 as Qogir; Chinese: 乔戈里峰, Pinyin: Qiáogēlǐ Fēng; other names include Mount Godwin-Austen, Lambha Pahar, Chogori, Kechu and Dapsang.

Location

The general area of K2 lies in the region of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan (part of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir according to India).

History

The mountain was first surveyed by a European survey team in 1856 headed by Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen. T.G. Montgomery was the member of the team who designated it "K2" for the second peak of the Karakoram range. The other peaks were originally named K1, K3, K4 and K5, but were eventually renamed Masherbrum, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum II and Gasherbrum I respectively.

Although the summit of Everest is at a higher altitude, the summit of K2 is considered a more difficult climb, due in part to its comparatively greater height above surrounding terrain. As of June 2000, only 189 people have completed the ascent, compared with almost 1,900 individuals who have ascended the more popular target of Everest. 49 people have died attempting the climb; 13 died in 1986 in the K2 Tragedy when eight climbers from several expeditions died in a severe storm.

The first professional attempt to climb it was organized and undertaken in 1902 by Oscar Eckerstein and Aleister Crowley, but after five serious and costly attempts, no member of the team actually reached the summit.

An Italian expedition finally succeeded in ascending to the summit of K2 on July 31, 1954. The expedition was led by Ardito Desio, although the two climbers who actually reached the top were Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni. The team included a Pakistani member, Colonel Muhammad Ata-ullah. He had been a part of an earlier 1953 American expedition which failed to make the summit because of a storm which killed a key climber, Art Gilkey.

Legend says that K2 "carries a curse" on women. The first woman to reach the summit was Wanda Rutkiewicz in 1986. The next five women to reach the summit are all deceased—three of them died on the way down. Rutkiewicz herself died on a subsequent ascent in 1992.

Movies about K2

• Vertical Limit at IMDb
• K2 at IMDb

Books about K2

• Ascent of K2 Second Highest Peak in the World by Ardito Desio
• K2: Triumph and Tragedy by Jim Curran, ISBN 0395485908
• K2: The Story of the Savage Mountain by Jim Curran, ISBN 0898866839
• K2: The Savage Mountain by Charles Houston, ISBN 1885283016
• K2: Quest of the Gods by Ralph Ellis, ISBN 0932813992
• The Last Step: The American Ascent of K2 by Rick Ridgeway, ISBN 0898866324
• K2: One Woman's Quest for the Summit by Heidi Hawkins, ISBN 0792279964
• The Endless Knot: K2, Mountain of Dreams and Destiny by Kurt Diemberger, ISBN 0898863007
• K2 Kahani by Mustansar Hussain Tarrad, In Urdu

External links

• How high is K2 really? -- Measurements in 1996 gave 8614.27±0.6 m a.m.s.l
• K2climb.net
• The Mountain Areas Conservancy Project
• The climbing history of K2 from the first attempt in 1902 until the Italian success in 1954.
• China Peak Exploration Team to challenge Mt. Qogir
• Outside Online: The K2 Tragedy