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K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level, is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest at 8,849 metres (29,032 ft). [5] It lies in the Karakoram range, partially in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and partially in the China-administered Trans-Karakoram Tract in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang.
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest at 8,849 metres (29,032 ft). [2] It lies in the Karakoram range, often considered to be the most deadly mountain on Earth due to its steepness as compared to other eight-thousanders. Prior to 2021, approximately one person had died on the mountain for every four who reached the summit.
Due to the height of 8,200 m (26,900 ft), and the steepness of 50 to 60 degrees, this stretch is the most dangerous part of the route. [1] According to AdventureStats, 13 out of the last 14 fatalities on K2 have occurred at or near the Bottleneck. [2] [better source needed]
While its summit is at a lower altitude than the summit of Mount Everest, it is considered a much harder mountain to climb due to its steep faces and extreme weather. The most deadly events on K2 were the 1986 K2 disaster, 1995 K2 disaster, and 2008 K2 disaster. As of August 2023, an estimated 800 people had completed a summit, and 96 had died ...
The 2008 K2 disaster occurred on 1 August 2008, when 11 mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Three others were seriously injured. The series of deaths, over the course of the Friday ascent and Saturday descent, was the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.
Since that time, K2 has developed the reputation of being a more difficult mountain to climb than Mount Everest – every route to the summit is tough. [9] [note 5] K2 is farther north than the Himalayan mountains so the climate is colder; the Karakoram range is wider than the Himalayan so more ice and snow is trapped there. [12]
Gerard McDonnell (20 January 1971 – 2 August 2008), mountaineer and engineer, was the first Irishman to reach the summit of K2, [1] the second-highest mountain on Earth, in August 2008. He died along with 10 other mountaineers following an avalanche on the descent, [2] in the deadliest accident in the history of K2 mountaineering. [3] [4]
The 1986 K2 disaster refers to a period from 6 August to 10 August 1986, when five mountaineers died on the eight-thousander K2, in the Karakoram during a severe storm. Eight other climbers were killed in the weeks preceding, bringing the total number of deaths that climbing season to 13.