K2 Expeditions

Karakoram in Turkish means Black Rubble. In 1856 a British officer, Capt. Montgomery, surveyed a number of peaks in the Baltoro region of the Karakoram from a distance of about 200km. He noted a cluster of high peaks and named them K1, using the prefix K from Karakoram. Thus, Adventure in K2 Base Camp, the second-highest mountain in the world, towers majestically above Concordia, with the sweeping Godwin Austin Glacier offering an ice highway towards it. It was first climbed by Italians in 1954. The route to Adventure in K2 Base Camp goes through the Baltoro region of Baltistan. There are several high peaks that rise from the world’s largest temperate zone glacier. Only the highest or more prominent peaks have been named or climbed. An incredible nineteen of these peaks tower over 7600m, while four of them are 8000m. Adventure in K2 Base Camp is the only 8000+ meter peak that has never been climbed from its eastern face. Ascents have almost always been made in July and August, which are typically the warmest times of the year; K2's more northern location makes it more susceptible to inclement and colder weather. The peak has now been climbed by almost all of its ridges. Although the summit of Everest is at a higher altitude, K2 is a more difficult and dangerous climb, due in part to its more inclement weather. As of February 2021, only 377 people have completed the ascent to its summit. There have been 91 deaths during attempted climbs, according to the list maintained on the list of deaths on eight-thousanders. The name K2 is derived from notation used by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of British India. Thomas Montgomerie made the first survey of the Karakoram from Mount Haramukh, some 210 km (130 mi) to the south, and sketched the two most prominent peaks, labeling them K1 and K2, where the K stands for Karakoram.