THE first August summits of the world’s second-highest mountain for 14 years were made today by three teams of climbers.
Mountaineers from Mingma G’s Imagine Nepal Team, Prakash Sherpa’s Climber Alpinist Expeditions (CAE) and Seven Summit Treks, led by Sona Sherpa, had held out at basecamp for a weather window and reaped the rewards for their patience today after most teams had abandoned their plans.
It is understood today’s successful climbers – led by Mingma G – set off from Camp 3 last night and made a 20-hour push for the summit.
One of the climbers – Slovakian Lenka Polackova, who last year summited Everest without oxygen – reported the teams took shelter around 7,740m at a makeshift ‘Camp 4’ to rest before a final effort to reach the 8,611m peak.
“During the ascent to C4, we were plagued by brutal gusty winds (60-80kph) and heavy snowfall,” she informed her team.
The total number of climbers to have reached the summit with today’s push is yet to be reported, but it is anticipated all will reach the top before beginning a tricky descent tomorrow.
Factfile: K2
Also known as ‘Mount Godwin-Austen’, K2 sits in the Karakoram Range on the China-Pakistan border.
At 8,611m (28,251ft) it is the world’s second-highest mountain.
It was named ‘K2’ by British surveyors in 1856 while mapping the area. They divided the Karakoram Range into sectors – K1, K2, K3 etc.
Italian climbers Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni were the first to reach its summit during a 1954 expedition led by Ardito Desio.
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