K2: The world’s toughest mountain to climb

K2 is the world’s second-tallest mountain, standing at an incredible 8,611 metres (28,251 feet). The only mountain in the world to overshadow K2 is the far more well-known Mount Everest. Since humans began climbing the two mountains, K2’s height, weather, and the difficult terrain it offers have made Mount Everest the most famous mountain to trek or climb on an adventure holiday. However, more and more adventure holidaymakers are looking toward the behemoth that is K2 and the challenge it offers for trekking and climbing expeditions.

The history of K2

Col. T.G. Montgomerie, working for the Survey of India, discovered K2 in 1856. It was given the name “K2” due to being the second Karakoram Mountain range peak measured. While the mountain is famously known as K2, it is also known as Mount Godwin Austen. K2 was discovered while the British were working out the border between Kashmir and China. The British were afraid that the Russian Empire would extend southwards into the region. 

The name K2 was given to the mountain due to its being in the Karakoram Range, which is northeast of the Himalayas. During Montgomerie’s original survey, the team gave each of the mountains a K number. The surveyor recorded the altitude of each mountain and wrote the peaks down as K1, K2, K3, and so on. Sometime later, the surveyors asked the indigenous people what the local name of the mountains was. After noting the original name, the surveyors typically renamed the peaks. 

K2 is a special mountain, however. Its remote location, 120-plus kilometres from the nearest village, Askole, meant it did not have a local name for the surveyors to agree on. While many of the world’s tallest mountains have poetic names or are named after people, K2 is very different. Its bare name is a reflection of its triangular, conical shape and difficult-to-climb terrain.

In 1953, the mountain earned the nickname “the Savage Mountain” after American climber George Bell’s climbing expedition ran into difficulty while scaling it. Bell claimed K2 “tries to kill you” when climbing it. Bell’s quote came after being removed from K2 with frost-bitten feet. K2’s reputation has led to a few yearly attempts to trek or climb it. However, with Everest becoming an overcrowded tourist location, K2’s appeal has risen exponentially in recent years for adventure holiday seekers. 

Where is K2 located?

K2 is located partly in a region of Gilgit Baltistan in Pakistan and the Xinjiang province of China. It is right on the China-Pakistan border. K2 is the highest point above sea level in the Karakoram region. The Karakoram Mountain range is home to five of the world’s 17 highest mountain peaks.

The mountain is covered in glaciers and snow for much – if not all – of the year. K2 rises from the Godwin Austen Glacier, which is a tributary to the Baltoro Glacier. In 1954, K2 was ascended for the first time. Italian climbers Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli were the first people to scale K2. Their successful trekking expedition came one year after Sir Edmund Hillary summited Mount Everest.

Why is K2 more difficult to climb than Mount Everest?

There are several reasons K2 is more difficult to climb than Mount Everest, despite its being slightly smaller in height. Firstly, the tracks and trails to K2 are varied. To arrive at the base camp of K2, trekking groups and climbing expeditions must trek over the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers. Walking on the uneven surface of the glaciers makes the trip much more difficult. Glaciers are harder to climb and walk on than mere snow or rock. Glaciers are a mixture of rock, ice, and anything else picked up as the ice moves. Footing can be unsteady, and a twisted or broken ankle can occur. In comparison, Mount Everest has a dirt trail into a well-worn base camp.

Secondly, what makes K2 so much more tricky to climb and the trek is the amount of equipment adventure holidaymakers must bring with them. A trekker will have their entire expedition in their pack. Sleeping and a mess tent must be set up every night and broken down every morning along the way. Once a climber gets onto K2, they realise the mountain is shaped like a triangle. There are no twists, turns, and the rock faces are steep, slippery, and need 110% of your focus. The terrain is insanely technical.

Next, the weather is the main factor in the difficulty level of K2. The weather in the region is incredibly unpredictable. Mount Everest’s paths are well-worn and laid out due to the high traffic that has adventured up it. The same cannot be said for the mighty K2. K2 is the ultimate favourite destination for Trekkers, hikers, explorers and mountain climbers for the challenge it offers. In addition, K2 has very few climbing expeditions and trekkers per year, making it an even more desirable mountain to climb or trek. 

Statistically speaking, there is a 40% chance that the climbers will not summit K2 in any one attempt. There are fewer than 400 K2 summits overall so far. In comparison, Everest has had over 7,500 summiteers so far.

K2’s climbing route

The most popular climbing route on K2 is the Abruzzi Spur. This route is on the southeast ridge of the mountain. It extends an incredible 3,311 metres (about 10,860 feet) upwards toward the summit. 

Along the route, climbers navigate nearly sheer rock faces which can rise around 80 degrees. Climbers must also avoid frequent avalanches. The falling rock and avalanches along the Abruzzi Spur are unpredictable and can occur at any point in the journey, making the climb to K2’s summit even more difficult. Glacier ridges may suddenly come apart into cascading torrents of large chunks of ice.

The Abruzzi Spur also offers natural landscape hurdles to increase the difficulty of the trail. These hurdles include the House Chimney, the Black Pyramid, and the Shoulder. After overcoming those treacherous landscapes, climbers then reach the Bottleneck, which is a steep gully ridged. Its columns of glacial ice are prone to collapsing onto trekkers.  

What is the weather like on K2?

While the terrain is dangerous in itself, the mountain’s unpredictable weather plays havoc with climbing expeditions. K2 is nearly impossible to ascend without being stuck in life-threatening weather conditions. The best months to trek or climb K2 are June, July, and August, when temperatures in the region rise for summertime.

The weather’s unpredictability and sudden storms are partly due to K2’s peak being higher than the mountains nearby. The mountain peak rises into the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. Trekkers and climbers can experience good weather on one side of K2 while the other offers life-threatening conditions. Winters on K2 are so dangerous that climbs are rare during the season. Winds in wintertime can reach up to 200 kilometres per hour (124 miles per hour). Meanwhile, temperatures can drop to a bone-chilling -60 degrees Celsius (-76 degrees Fahrenheit).

The terrain and weather make K2 an uneasy mountain to climb. The combination of the two offers slippery slopes that are difficult to get a foot on. In addition, freezing temperatures can be unbearable. If those two aspects were not enough to cause danger to mountain climbers, then altitude is a third element that can cause problems for climbers. K2’s high altitudes provide less oxygen to climbers than those closer to sea level. Although the number of deaths that have occurred on K2 is low. Oxygen deprivation is also a factor that must be considered by trekkers and climbers, just like terrain and climate. 

Can a winter ascent be accomplished?

While ascending K2 in the winter is rarely done, mountain climbers have accomplished the feat. In fact, in January 2021, 10 members Nepalese expedition team ascended K2 and summitted the mountain in winter. Before this expedition, K2 was the last of the eight-thousanders to be summited in wintertime. 

The climbing expedition consisted entirely of 10 indigenous Nepalese climbers, led by Chhang Dawa Sherpa. The 38-year-old climber and his brother, Mingma Sherpa, hold the world record as “first brothers to summit the 14 highest peaks” in the world. A joint climbing team was formed with ten climbers when three separate trekking expedition teams lost their equipment in bad weather conditions while heading for the summit on K2.

Group member Mingma Gyalje Sherpa summitted K2 without the use of supplemental oxygen. At the summit of K2, there is a mere one-third of the oxygen available to breathe as there is at sea level. In addition, temperatures at the summit of K2 during the climbing were as low as –40 degrees Celsius.

A K2 base camp trek, K2 base camp and Gondogoro la trek and a K2 climbing expedition in Pakistan are great adventure holidays. Trekkers hike the rocky trail of K2, which winds up the mighty Baltoro Glacier and Godwin-Austen Glaciers. They pass through an amphitheatre of cloud-scraping summits. Seven out of the 17 world’s highest peaks are in the Karakorum Mountains range, and trekkers can view each en route to the K2 base camp. From the top of Gondogoro Pass, you have a spectacular view of Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II and a close-up view of K2.

Trekkers are on the roof of the world when exploring K2 on an adventure holiday. It is a feeling like no other and one that can not be forgotten easily.