K2 - biography
For other uses, see K2 (disambiguation).K2 in summer: view of the South Face from Concordia.The upper portion of the Abruzzi Spur is the right skyline.However, those who climb K2 must acquire entry via Pakistan as the Chinese side is inaccessible.This name is derived from Chogori, a synthetic name made up by Western explorers early in the 20th century from two Balti words, chhogo ('big') and ri ('mountain').Thomas Montgomerie was the member of the team who designated it "K2" for being the second peak of the Karakoram range.The first serious attempt to climb K2 was undertaken in 1902 by Oscar Eckenstein and Aleister Crowley from the north side, but after five serious and costly attempts, the team could only reach up to 6525 meters.K2 (at the time, the record for longest time spent at such an altitude) only eight provided clear weather.Subsequent attempts to climb the mountain in 1909, 1934, 1938, 1939 and 1953 also ended in failure.The 1909 expedition, led by Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, reached an elevation of 6,666 m on what is now known as the Abruzzi Spur (or Abruzzi Ridge).An Italian expedition finally succeeded in ascending to the summit of K2 on July 31, 1954.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.On the expedition also was the famous Italian climber Walter Bonatti.He proved vital to the expeditions success in that he carried vital oxygen to 26,600ft for Lacedelli and Compagnoni.The Japanese expedition ascended through the Abruzzi Spur route traced by the Italians, and used more than 1,500 porters to achieve the goal.The year 1978 saw the third ascent of K2, via a new route, the long, corniced East Ridge.This ascent was emotional for the American team, as they saw themselves as completing a task that had been begun by the 1938 team forty years earlier.The first climber to summit K2 twice was a Czech climber Josef Rakoncaj.Although the summit of Everest is at a higher altitude, K2 is considered a more difficult climb, due in part to its terrible weather and comparatively greater height above surrounding terrain.At least 66 people have died attempting the climb; 13 climbers from several expeditions died in 1986 in the K2 Tragedy during a severe storm.Legend once had it that K2 carried a "curse on women."British mountaineer Alison Hargreaves in 1995.Rutkiewicz herself died on Kangchenjunga in 1992.However, the "curse" was broken in 2004 when Edurne Pasaban summitted and descended successfully, and again in 2006 when Nives Meroi of Italy and Yuka Komatsu of Japan became, respectively, the seventh and eighth women to summit K2, both descending successfully.For most of its climbing history, K2 was not usually climbed with bottled oxygen, and small, relatively lightweight teams were the norm.However the 2004 season saw a great increase in the use of oxygen: 28 of 47 summitters used oxygen in that year.There are a number of routes on K2, of somewhat different character, but they all share some key difficulties: First is the extreme high altitude and resulting lack of oxygen: in fact there is only one third as much oxygen available to a climber on the summit of K2 as there is at sea level.Despite many tries there has been no successful ascent during the winter.Carl Drew climbing ladders on Abruzzi Spur.The spur proper begins at an altitude of 5,400 m, where Advanced Base Camp is usually placed.Above the Black Pyramid, dangerously exposed and difficult to navigate slopes lead to the easily visible "Shoulder," and thence to the summit.It was partly due to the collapse of one of these seracs around 2001 that no climbers summited the peak in 2002 and 2003.Chinese side of the peak.It is rarely climbed, partly due to very difficult access, involving crossing the Shaksgam River, which is a hazardous undertaking.Other routes
Northeast Ridge (long and corniced; finishes on uppermost part of Abruzzi route), 1978.South Face or "Polish Line", (extremely exposed and most dangerous) in 1986 Jerzy Kukuczka and Tadeusz Piotrowski did first and only ascent on this route, it was called by Reinhold Messner a suicidal route and until now no one ever tried to repeat their achievement.Topographic characteristics
K2 is only ranked 22nd by topographic prominence, a measure of a mountain's independent stature, because it is part of the same extended area of uplift (including the Karakoram, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Himalaya) as Mount Everest, in that it is possible to follow a path from K2 to Everest that goes no lower than 4,594 m (at Mustang Lo).Many other peaks which are far lower than K2 are more independent in this sense.However, K2 is notable for its local relief as well as its total height.It stands over 3,000 m (9,840 ft) above much of the glacial valley bottoms at its base.More extraordinary is the fact that it is a consistently steep pyramid, dropping quickly in almost all directions.The north side is the steepest: there it rises over 3,200 m (10,500 ft) above the K2 (Qogir) Glacier in only 3 km (1.In most directions, it achieves over 2,800 m (9,200 ft) of vertical relief in less than 4 km (2.Books
Ascent of K2 Second Highest Peak in the World by Ardito Desio.K2, Mountain of Mountains by R.K2 Kahani by Mustansar Hussain Tarrad, in Urdu.Adams Carter, "A Note on the Chinese Name for K2, 'Qogir'", American Alpine Journal, 1983, p.Carter, the longtime editor of the AAJ, goes on to say that the name Chogori "has no local usage.The mountain was not prominently visible from places where local inhabitants ventured and so had no local name....The Baltis use no other name for the peak than K2, which they pronounce 'Ketu'.Carter notes a generalization of the word Ketu: "A new word, ketu, meaning 'big peak', seems to be entering the Balti language."Houston (1953) K2, the Savage Mountain.American Alpine Journal, 1979, pp.American Alpine Journal, 2005, p.American Alpine Journal, 1991, pp.K2 Mountain of Mountains.Translated from German by A.How high is K2 really?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.Google Earth
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