K2 The 2nd Tallest Mountain By Iman Hussain

1
K2 The Worlds Second Tallest Mountain

• By Iman Hussain

2
K2 Mountain in Asia (Pakistan) K2, also known
as Chhogori/Qogir, Ketu/Kechu, and Mount
Godwin-Austen, is the second highest mountain in
the world at 8,611 metres, after Mount Everest.
Height 8,611 m First ascent July 31,
1954 Prominence 4,017 m Mountain range
Himalayas, Karakoram First ascenders Lino
Lacedelli, Achille Compagnoni
3
Weather on K2 is almost always bad. Freezing
storms and high winds make it dangerous.
4

• Here are some interesting facts about the
  mountain known as K2

5

• 1. K2 is the worlds second tallest mountain
  reaching 28,253 ft. (8,612 m) above sea level,
  and is the worlds twenty-second most prominent
  mountain, rising 13,179 ft. (4,017 m) above the
  surrounding terrain.
• 2. K2 was the name given the mountain in 1852
  by the British surveyor T.G. Montgomerie as part
  of the Great Trigonometric Survey, which
  stretched throughout most of the 19th century and
  during which the British Empire demarcated its
  territories in India. The K denotes the
  mountain range Karakoram and the 2 denotes that
  it is the second peak recorded.

6

• 3. The mountain is known by a variety of other
  names, including the Chinese Qogir (Great
  Mountain), and the Balti a Tibetan language
  spoken in the area of Pakistan to the to the West
  of the peak Chogori (Large Mountain) and Kechu
  (no literal translation). The peak is also
  sometimes referred to as Mount Godwin-Austen
  after Henry Godwin-Austen, an early explorer of
  the area.
• 4. The peak is located on the border that
  separates the Gilgit-Baltistan region in northern
  Pakistan and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous
  County of Xinjiang, China.

7

• 5. K2 has also been nicknamed The Savage
  Mountain because of the extreme level of danger
  it poses to climbers.
• 6. Though Everest is taller by nearly 800 ft., K2
  is significantly more dangerous. While Everest
  has a fatality rate of approximately 5 for
  year-round climbs, K2 has a fatality rate of
  about 25, meaning that one out of every four
  climbers to attempt the summit have perished.
  Additionally, K2 has never been climbed during
  the winter. Because of the extremely harsh
  weather on the mountain, the likelihood of
  fatality on a winter climb would presumably be
  significantly greater than the current 1 in 4.
• 7. In addition to its hazardous conditions,
  another factor contributes to K2s difficulty
  Its more prominent than Everest, meaning that
  the journey from foot to peak is actually
  greater.

8

• 8. The first serious attempt to summit K2 was led
  by Aleister Crowley and Oscar Eckenstein of Great
  Britain in 1902. After a 14-day trek to reach the
  foot of K2, the party spent the next 68 days on
  the mountain, making 5 attempts to scale it via
  the Northeast Ridge. During those two months, the
  group had only 8 days of clear weather, and
  eventually discontinued their attempts before any
  casualties were sustained. The highest point the
  expedition reached was 21,407 ft. (6,525 m).
• 9. The second attempt to climb K2 was led by
  Luigi Amedeo, Duke of Abruzzi, Italy in 1909. His
  party was the first to attempt the Southeast Spur
  now know as the Abruzzi Spur but turned back
  after reaching an altitude of 20,505 ft. (6,250
  m) above sea-level. After failed attempts to
  realize an alternate route via the West Ridge or
  Northeast Ridge, Abruzzi declared that K2 would
  never be submitted. Ironically, the Abruzzi Spur
  is now the most common route to K2s peak.

9

• 10. The first successful climb of K2 was led by
  Italian Ardito Desio in July of 1954, though only
  two members of the team Lino Lacedelli and
  Achille Compagnoni actually reached the summit.
• Thank You