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98-1499: Legend： 1： K2 ,  2： Gasherbrum I, K5 ,  3： Broad Peak ,  4： Gasherbrum II, K4 ,  5： Gasherbrum III, K3a ,  6： Gasherbrum IV, K3 ,  7： Distaghil Sar ,  8： Kunyang Chhish ,  9： Masherbrum, K1 ,  10： Batura Sar, Batura I ,  11： Rakaposhi ,  12： Batura II ,  13： Kanjut Sar ,  14： Saltoro Kangri, K10 ,  15： Batura III ,  16： Saser Kangri I, K22 ,  17： Chogolisa ,  18： Shispare ,  19： Trivor Sar ,  20： Skyang Kangri ,  21： Mamostong Kangri, K35 ,  22： Saser Kangri II ,  23： Saser Kangri III ,  24： Pumari Chhish ,  25： Passu Sar ,  26： Yukshin Gardan Sar ,  27： Teram Kangri I ,  28： Malubiting ,  29： K12 ,  30： Sia Kangri ,  31： Momhil Sar ,  32： Skil Brum ,  33： Haramosh Peak ,  34： Ghent Kangri ,  35： Ultar Sar ,  36： Rimo massif ,  37： Sherpi Kangri ,  38： Yazghil Dome South ,  39： Baltoro Kangri ,  40： Crown Peak ,  41： Baintha Brakk ,  42： Yutmaru Sar ,  43： K6 ,  44： Muztagh Tower ,  45： Diran ,  46： Apsarasas Kangri I ,  47： Rimo III ,  48： Gasherbrum V K2 , at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level ,

196-739: A Member of the European Parliament for the Italian Green Party ( Federazione dei Verdi ). He was also among the founders of Mountain Wilderness , an international NGO dedicated to the protection of mountains worldwide. In 2004 he completed a 2,000-kilometre (1,200 mi) expedition through the Gobi Desert . In 2006, he founded the Messner Mountain Museum . Messner was the first person to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders in

294-516: A British expedition that reached " Concordia " on the Baltoro Glacier . The first serious attempt to climb K2 was undertaken in 1902 by Oscar Eckenstein , Aleister Crowley , Jules Jacot-Guillarmod , Heinrich Pfannl, Victor Wessely, and Guy Knowles via the Northeast Ridge. In the early 1900s, modern transportation did not exist in the region: it took "fourteen days just to reach the foot of

392-526: A combination of questionable physical training, personality conflicts, and poor weather conditions—of 68 days spent on K2 (at the time, the record for the longest time spent at such an altitude) only eight provided clear weather. The next expedition to K2, in 1909, led by Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi , reached an elevation of around 6,250 metres (20,510 ft) on the South East Spur, now known as

490-573: A direct helicopter flight from the Makalu base camp to the Lhotse base camp. Thus Messner became the first person to climb all eight-thousanders. Since this ascent, Messner has never climbed another eight-thousander. In 1989, Messner led a European expedition to the South Face of the mountain. The aim was to forge a path up the as-yet-unclimbed face. Messner himself did not want to climb any more. The expedition

588-573: A leftward climbing traverse, to reach a snow couloir which accesses the summit. Besides the original Japanese ascent , a notable ascent of the North Ridge was the one in 1990 by Greg Child, Greg Mortimer, and Steve Swenson , which was done alpine style above Camp 2, though using some fixed ropes already put in place by a Japanese team. Because 75% of people who climb K2 use the Abruzzi Spur, these listed routes are rarely climbed. No one has climbed

686-590: A local name, but evidence for its widespread use is scant. It may have been a compound name invented by Western explorers or simply a bemused reply to the question "What's that called?" It does, however, form the basis for the name Qogir ( simplified Chinese : 乔戈里峰 ; traditional Chinese : 喬戈里峰 ; pinyin : Qiáogēlǐ Fēng ) by which Chinese authorities officially refer to the peak. Other local names have been suggested including Lamba Pahar ("Tall Mountain" in Urdu) and Dapsang , but these are not widely used. With

784-449: A local name, possibly due to its remoteness. The mountain is not visible from Askole , one of the highest settlements on the way to the mountain, nor from the nearest habitation to the north. K2 is only fleetingly glimpsed from the end of the Baltoro Glacier , beyond which few local people would have ventured. The name Chogori , derived from two Balti words, chhogo ཆོ་གྷའོ་ ("big") and ri རི ("mountain") (چھوغوری) has been suggested as

882-728: A museum that unites within one museum the stories of the growth and decline of mountains, culture in the Himalayan region and the history of South Tyrol. The MMM consists of five or six locations: In 1999, Messner was elected Member of the European Parliament for the Federation of the Greens (FdV), the Italian green party , receiving more than 20,000 votes in the European election . He fully served his term until 2004, when he retired from politics. Messner

980-419: A previously missing Austrian mountaineer, whom he buried two years later at the G I – G II traverse. In 1982, Messner scaled Broad Peak , his third eight-thousander. At the time, he was the only person with a permit to climb this mountain; he came across Jerzy Kukuczka and Wojciech Kurtyka , who had permits to climb K2, but used its geographic proximity to climb Broad Peak illegally. In early descriptions of

1078-515: A result, the time, place and exact cause of death is unknown. Messner said his brother had been swept away by an avalanche. In June 2005, after an unusual heat wave on the mountain, the body of his brother was recovered on the Diamir Face, which seems to support Messner's account of how Günther died. The drama was turned into a film Nanga Parbat (2010) by Joseph Vilsmaier , based on the memories of Reinhold Messner and without participation from

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1176-453: A snow cave. Messner himself was no longer in a position to help the search. The following day, only Horst Fankhauser returned. Andi Schlick had left the snow cave during the night and disappeared. Thus, the expedition had to mourn the loss of two climbers. Messner was later criticised for having allowed Jäger go back down the mountain alone. Together with Peter Habeler , Messner made a second ascent of Gasherbrum I on 10 August 1975, becoming

1274-468: A tragic success. Both he and his brother Günther reached the summit but Günther died two days later on the descent of the Diamir face. Reinhold lost seven toes, which had become badly frostbitten during the climb and required amputation. Reinhold was severely criticized for persisting on this climb with the less experienced Günther. The 2010 movie Nanga Parbat by Joseph Vilsmaier is based on his account of

1372-511: Is an Italian climber , explorer, and author from the German-speaking province of South Tyrol . He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler , the first ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen. He was the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders , doing so without supplementary oxygen. Messner was the first to cross Antarctica and Greenland with neither snowmobiles nor dog sleds and also crossed

1470-606: Is atoms and stars. It has the nakedness of the world before the first man—or of the cindered planet after the last. André Weil named K3 surfaces in mathematics partly after the beauty of the mountain K2. K2 lies in the northwestern Karakoram Range . It is located in the Baltistan region of Gilgit–Baltistan , Pakistan, and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang , China. The Tarim sedimentary basin borders

1568-979: Is essential when climbing without oxygen to avoid some degree of altitude sickness . K2's summit is well above the altitude at which high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE) can occur. In mountaineering , when ascending above an altitude of 8,000 metres (26,000 ft), the climber enters what is known as the death zone . Windy Gap is a 6,111-meter-high (20,049 ft) mountain pass 35°52′23″N 76°34′37″E  /  35.87318°N 76.57692°E  / 35.87318; 76.57692 at east of K2, north of Broad Peak , and south of Skyang Kangri . Gasherbrum I Gasherbrum I ( Balti : རྒ་ཥཱ་བྲུམ་། - ༡ , romanized:  rgasha brum - 1 , lit.   'Beautiful Mountain - 1'; Urdu : گاشر برم - ۱ ; simplified Chinese : 加舒尔布鲁木I峰 ; traditional Chinese : 加舒爾布魯木I峰 ; pinyin : Jiāshūěrbùlǔmù I Fēng ), surveyed as K5 and also known as Hidden Peak ,

1666-674: Is the 11th highest mountain in the world at 8,080 metres (26,510 ft) above sea level. It is located between Shigar District in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan and Tashkurgan in the Xinjiang of China. Gasherbrum I is part of the Gasherbrum Massif , located in the Karakoram region of the Himalaya . Gasherbrum is often claimed to mean "Shining Wall", presumably a reference to

1764-574: Is the second-highest mountain on Earth , after Mount Everest at 8,849 metres (29,032 ft). 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 became known as the Savage Mountain after George Bell —a climber on

1862-587: Is the Abruzzi Spur, located on the Pakistani side, first attempted by Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi in 1909. This is the peak's southeast ridge, rising above the Godwin-Austen Glacier . The spur proper begins at an altitude of 5,400 metres (17,700 ft), where Advanced Base Camp is usually placed. The route follows an alternating series of rock ribs, snow/ice fields, and some technical rock climbing on two famous features, " House's Chimney " and

1960-465: Is the highest category of any Guinness World Record, meaning the ownership of the title never expires. As of 2021, Messner is the second highest record holder of "World's Firsts" (after Icelandic oceanic rower Fiann Paul , who has 13). Messner's world firsts are: In 2003 Messner started work on a project for a mountaineering museum. On 11 June 2006, the Messner Mountain Museum (MMM) opened,

2058-643: Is the more challenging one. Climbing Carstensz Pyramid has the character of an expedition, whereas the ascent of Kosciuszko is an easy hike. In May 1986 Pat Morrow became the first person to complete the Messner list, followed by Messner himself when he climbed Mount Vinson in December 1986 to become the second. Messner is listed nine times in the Guinness Book of Records . All of his achievements are classed as "World's Firsts" (or "Historical Firsts"). A "World's First"

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2156-638: The Abruzzi Spur (or Abruzzi Ridge). This would eventually become part of the standard route, but was abandoned at the time due to its steepness and difficulty. After trying and failing to find a feasible alternative route on the West Ridge or the North East Ridge, the Duke declared that K2 would never be climbed, and the team switched its attention to Chogolisa , where the Duke came within 150 metres (490 ft) of

2254-532: The 1939 American expedition led by Fritz Wiessner came within 200 metres (660 ft) of the summit but ended in disaster when Dudley Wolfe , Pasang Kikuli , Pasang Kitar, and Pintso disappeared high on the mountain. Charles Houston returned to K2 to lead the 1953 American expedition . The attempt failed after a storm pinned down the team for 10 days at 7,800 metres (25,590 ft), during which time climber Art Gilkey became critically ill. A desperate retreat followed, during which Pete Schoening saved almost

2352-671: The 1953 American expedition —said, "It's a savage mountain that tries to kill you." Of the five highest mountains in the world, K2 has long been the deadliest: prior to 2021, approximately one person had died on the mountain for every four who reached the summit . After an increase in successful attempts, as of August 2023, an estimated 800 people have summited K2, with 96 deaths during attempted climbs . Also occasionally known as Mount Godwin-Austen , other nicknames for K2 are The King of Mountains and The Mountaineers' Mountain , as well as The Mountain of Mountains after prominent Italian climber Reinhold Messner titled his book about K2

2450-456: The 2008 K2 disaster . K2 features several routes, each with distinct characteristics; however, they all share common challenges. The first is the extreme altitude, which results in a significant reduction in available oxygen. At the summit of K2, only one-third of the oxygen present at sea level is available to climbers. The second challenge is the mountain’s tendency to experience extreme storms lasting several days, which have resulted in many of

2548-497: The Alps and falling in love with the Dolomites . His father was strict and sometimes severe with him. He led Reinhold to his first summit at the age of five. When Messner was 13, he began climbing with his brother Günther , age 11. By the time Reinhold and Günther were in their early twenties, they were among Europe's best climbers. Since the 1960s, Messner, inspired by Hermann Buhl ,

2646-521: The Balti language , rendered as Kechu or Ketu ( Balti : کے چو , Urdu : کے ٹو ). The Italian climber Fosco Maraini argued in his account of the ascent of Gasherbrum IV that while the name of K2 owes its origin to chance, its clipped, impersonal nature is highly appropriate for such a remote and challenging mountain. He concluded that it was: ... just the bare bones of a name, all rock and ice and storm and abyss. It makes no attempt to sound human. It

2744-623: The Droites north face, the Philipp-Flamm intersection on the Civetta and the south face of Marmolada di Rocca. As a result, Messner won the reputation of being one of the best climbers in Europe. In 1970, Messner was invited to join a major Himalayan expedition that was going to attempt the unclimbed Rupal face of Nanga Parbat . The expedition, which was the major turning point in his life, turned out to be

2842-462: The Gobi Desert alone. He is widely considered to be the greatest mountaineer of all time. From 1999 to 2004, Messner served as a member of the European Parliament for north-east Italy , as a member of the Federation of the Greens . Messner has published more than 80 books about his experiences as a climber and explorer. In 2010, he received the 2nd Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2018, he received jointly with Krzysztof Wielicki

2940-560: The Heiligkreuzkofel middle pillar and the direct south face of the Marmolada . In 1969, Messner joined an Andes expedition, during which he succeeded, together with Peter Habeler , in making the first ascent of the Yerupaja east face up to the summit ridge and, a few days later, the first ascent of the 6,121-metre-high (20,082 ft) Yerupaja Chico. He also made the first solo ascent of

3038-539: The K2 Gneiss and part of the Karakoram Metamorphic Complex. The K2 Gneiss consists of a mixture of orthogneiss and biotite -rich paragneiss . On the south and southeast face of K2, the orthogneiss consists of a mixture of a strongly foliated plagioclase - hornblende gneiss and a biotite-hornblende- K-feldspar orthogneiss, which has been intruded by garnet - mica leucogranitic dikes . In places,

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3136-524: The Nanga Parbat South Face expedition led by Karl Herrligkoffer , the objective of which was to climb the as yet unclimbed Rupal Face, the highest rock and ice face in the world. Messner's brother, Günther, was also a member of the team. On the morning of 27 June, Messner was of the view that the weather would deteriorate rapidly, and set off alone from the last high-altitude camp. Surprisingly his brother climbed after him and caught up to him before

3234-586: The Princess of Asturias Award in the category of Sports. Messner was born to a German-speaking family in St. Peter, Villnöß , near Brixen in South Tyrol , which is part of Italy . According to his sister, his delivery was difficult as he was a large baby and the birth took place during an air raid. His mother Maria (1913–1995) was the daughter of a shop owner and 4 years older than her husband. His father Josef (1917–1985)

3332-499: The Shaksgam River , which is a hazardous undertaking. In contrast to the crowds of climbers and trekkers at the Abruzzi basecamp, usually at most two teams are encamped below the North Ridge. This route, more technically difficult than the Abruzzi, ascends a long, steep, primarily rock ridge to high on the mountain—Camp IV, the "Eagle's Nest" at 7,900 metres (25,900 ft)—and then crosses a dangerously slide-prone hanging glacier by

3430-457: The "Black Pyramid." Above the Black Pyramid, the route continues along dangerously exposed and difficult-to-navigate slopes leading to the easily visible "Shoulder" and then on to the summit. The last major obstacle is a narrow couloir known as the " Bottleneck ", which places climbers dangerously close to a wall of seracs that form an ice cliff to the east of the summit. It was partly due to

3528-789: The Alps. Between 1960 and 1964, he led over 500 ascents, most of them in the Dolomites . In 1965, he climbed a new direttissima route on the north face of the Ortler . A year later, he climbed the Walker Spur on the Grandes Jorasses and ascended the Rocchetta Alta di Bosconero. In 1967, he made the first ascent of the northeast face of the Agnér and the first winter ascents of the Agnér north face and Furchetta north face. In 1968, he achieved further firsts:

3626-567: The Austrian, Robert Schauer; and Germans Michael Dacher , journalist, Jochen Hölzgen, and doctor Ursula Grether, who was injured during the approach and had to be carried to Askole by Messner and Mutschlechner. Because of avalanche danger on the original route and time lost on the approach, they decided to climb via the Abruzzi Spur . The route was equipped with fixed ropes and high-altitude camps, but no hauling equipment ( Hochträger ) or bottled oxygen

3724-468: The Diamir Face, thereby achieving the first traverse of Nanga Parbat and second traverse of an eight-thousander after Mount Everest in 1963. Reinhold arrived in the valley six days later with severe frostbite, but survived. His brother, Günther, however died on the Diamir Face—according to Reinhold Messner on the same descent, during which they became further and further separated from each other. As

3822-511: The East Face of the mountain due to the instability of the snow and ice formations on that side. Besides the East Face, the North Face has not yet been climbed either. In 2007 Denis Urubko and Serguey Samoilov intended to climb the K2's North Face but they were stymied by increasingly deteriorating conditions. After finding their intended route menaced by growing avalanche danger, they traversed onto

3920-730: The Himalayas) as Mount Everest , and it is possible to follow a path from K2 to Everest that goes no lower than 4,594 metres (15,072 ft), at the Kora La on the Nepal/China border in the Mustang Lo . Many other peaks far lower than K2 are more independent in this sense. It is, however, the most prominent peak within the Karakoram range. K2 is notable for its local relief as well as its total height. It stands over 3,000 metres (9,840 ft) above much of

4018-458: The K2 Gneiss demonstrate that it is a metamorphosed, older, Cretaceous , pre-collisional granite . The granitic precursor ( protolith ) to the K2 Gneiss originated as the result of the production of large bodies of magma by a northward-dipping subduction zone along what was the continental margin of Asia at that time and their intrusion as batholiths into its lower continental crust . During

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4116-463: The alternate name, Hidden Peak, in reference to its extreme remoteness. Gasherbrum I was first climbed on July 5, 1958, by Pete Schoening and Andy Kauffman of an eight-man American expedition led by Nicholas B. Clinch , Richard K. Irvin, Tom Nevison, Tom McCormack, Bob Swift and Gil Roberts were also members of the team. Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner ( German: [ˈʁaɪnhɔlt ˈmɛsnɐ] ; born 17 September 1944)

4214-404: The ascent, Messner omitted this encounter, but he referred to it several years later. On 2 August, Messner was reunited with Nazir Sabir and Khan again on the summit. The three mountaineers had decamped and made for Broad Peak immediately after their ascent of Gasherbrum II. The climb was carried out with a variation from the normal route at the start. In the winter of 1982–83, Messner attempted

4312-460: The climb, if they could say; they could not. Messner became emotional on camera when he recalled having to tell his mother about his brother's death. It took a week for the two climbers to summit both peaks and return to camp, after which Herzog interviewed them again. His documentary, The Dark Glow of the Mountains , with some footage the two climbers shot during the expedition on portable cameras,

4410-532: The collapse of one of these seracs around 2001 that no climbers reached the summit in 2002 and 2003. Between 1 and 2 August 2008, 11 climbers from several expeditions died during a series of accidents , including several icefalls in the Bottleneck. Almost opposite the Abruzzi Spur is the North Ridge, which ascends the Chinese side of the peak. It is rarely climbed, partly due to very difficult access, involving crossing

4508-437: The deaths on the peak. The third is the steep, exposed, and demanding nature of all routes on the mountain, which makes retreat particularly difficult, especially during storms. Despite numerous attempts the first successful winter ascent occurred only in 2021. All major climbing routes are located on the Pakistani side. The base camp is also located on the Pakistani side. The standard route of ascent, used by 75% of all climbers,

4606-414: The descent. Although he was making slow progress, he appeared to be safe. The tea for his reception had already been boiled when Rüedi disappeared behind a snow ridge and did not reappear. He was found dead a short time later. Messner climbed his last normal route. Messner and Kammerlander had to contend with a strong wind in the summit area. To reach the summit that year and before winter broke, they took

4704-614: The difficulty of the climb forced the two mountaineers to use fixed ropes. Finally, on 6 May, Messner and Mutschlechner stood on the summit. There, Mutschlechner suffered frostbite to his hands, and later to his feet as well. While bivouacking during the descent, the tent tore away from Mutschlechner and Messner, and Messner also fell ill. He was suffering from amoebic liver abscess , making him very weak. He made it back to base camp only with Mutschlechner's help. After his ascent of Kangchenjunga, Mutschlechner flew back to Europe because his frostbite had to be treated and Messner needed rest. Thus

4802-416: The entire team during a mass fall (known simply as The Belay ), and Gilkey was killed, either in an avalanche or in a deliberate attempt to avoid burdening his companions. Despite the retreat and tragic end, the expedition has been given iconic status in mountaineering history. The Gilkey Memorial was built in his memory at the mountain's foot. The 1954 Italian expedition finally succeeded in ascending to

4900-509: The events. While Messner and Peter Habeler were noted for fast ascents in the Alps of the Eiger North Wall, standard route (10 hours) and Les Droites (8 hours), his 1975 Gasherbrum I first ascent of a new route took three days. This was unheard of at the time. In the 1970s, Messner championed the cause for ascending Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen, saying that he would do it "by fair means" or not at all. In 1978, he reached

4998-422: The expedition's success in that they carried oxygen tanks to 8,100 metres (26,600 ft) for Lacedelli and Compagnoni. The ascent is controversial because Lacedelli and Compagnoni established their camp at a higher elevation than originally agreed with Mehdi and Bonatti. It being too dark to ascend or descend, Mehdi and Bonatti were forced to overnight without shelter above 8,000 metres (26,000 ft), leaving

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5096-526: The first German to reach the summit, albeit with the aid of supplemental oxygen. Two years later, on 20 August 1980, Messner again stood atop the highest mountain in the world, without supplementary oxygen. For this solo climb, he chose the northeast ridge to the summit, where he crossed above the North Col in the North Face to the Norton Couloir and became the first man to climb through this steep gorge to

5194-444: The first man ever to climb more than two eight-thousanders. It was the first time a mountaineering expedition succeeded in scaling an eight-thousander using alpine style climbing. Until that point, all fourteen 8000-meter peaks had been summitted using the expedition style , though Hermann Buhl had earlier advocated "West Alpine Style" (similar to "capsule" style, with a smaller group relying on minimal fixed ropes). Messner reached

5292-486: The first survey of the Karakoram from Mount Haramukh , some 210 km (130 mi) to the south, and sketched the two most prominent peaks, labelling them K1 and K2 , where the K stands for Karakoram . The policy of the Great Trigonometrical Survey was to use local names for mountains wherever possible and K1 was found to be known locally as Masherbrum . K2, however, appeared not to have acquired

5390-419: The first to complete all fourteen eight-thousanders (peaks over 8,000 metres above sea level). Messner has crossed Antarctica on skis, together with fellow explorer Arved Fuchs . He has written over 80 books about his experiences, a quarter of which have been translated. He was featured in the 1984 film The Dark Glow of the Mountains by Werner Herzog . From 1999 to 2004, he held political office as

5488-426: The first winter ascent of Cho Oyu . He reached an altitude of about 7,500 m (24,600 feet), when great masses of snow forced him to turn back. This expedition was his first with Hans Kammerlander. A few months later, on 5 May, he reached the summit via a partially new route together with Kammerlander and Michael Dacher. In 1985, Messner topped out on Annapurna . Using a new route on the northwest face, he reached

5586-512: The first woman to summit K2 three times. In 1986, two Polish expeditions summited via two new routes, the Magic Line and the Polish Line ( Jerzy Kukuczka and Tadeusz Piotrowski ). Piotrowski fell to his death as the two were descending. Thirteen climbers from several expeditions died in the 1986 K2 disaster . Another six mountaineers died in the 1995 K2 disaster , while eleven climbers died in

5684-514: The glacial valley bottoms at its base. It is a consistently steep pyramid, dropping quickly in almost all directions. The north side is the steepest: there it rises over 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) above the K2 (Qogir) Glacier in only 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) of horizontal distance. In most directions, it achieves over 2,800 metres (9,200 ft) of vertical relief in less than 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). A 1986 expedition led by George Wallerstein made an inaccurate measurement showing that K2

5782-585: The highly visible face of the neighboring peak Gasherbrum IV ; but in fact, it comes from "rgasha" (beautiful) + "brum" (mountain) in Balti , hence it actually means "beautiful mountain." Gasherbrum I was designated K5 (meaning the 5th peak of the Karakoram ) by T.G. Montgomerie in 1856 when he first spotted the peaks of the Karakoram from more than 200 km away during the Great Trigonometric Survey of India. In 1892, William Martin Conway provided

5880-518: The initial collision of the Asia and Indian plates, this granitic batholith was buried to depths of about 20 kilometres (12 mi) or more, highly metamorphosed, highly deformed, and partially remelted during the Eocene Period to form gneiss. Later, the K2 Gneiss was then intruded by leucogranite dikes and finally exhumed and uplifted along major breakback thrust faults during post-Miocene time. The K2 Gneiss

5978-473: The mountain lacking a local name, the name Mount Godwin-Austen was suggested, in honour of Henry Godwin-Austen , an early explorer of the area. While the name was rejected by the Royal Geographical Society , it was used on several maps and continues to be used occasionally. The surveyor's mark, K2, therefore continues to be the name by which the mountain is commonly known. It is now also used in

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6076-433: The mountain". After five serious and costly attempts, the team reached 6,525 metres (21,407 ft)—although considering the difficulty of the challenge, and the lack of modern climbing equipment or weatherproof fabrics, Crowley's statement that "neither man nor beast was injured" highlights the relative skill of the ascent. The failures were also attributed to sickness (Crowley was suffering the residual effects of malaria ),

6174-399: The normal North Ridge route and summited on 2 October 2007, making the latest summer season ascent of the peak in history. For most of its climbing history, K2 was not usually climbed with supplemental 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 summiteers used oxygen in that year. Acclimatisation

6272-529: The normal route along the northeast ridge. After only three days of climbing they stood on the summit in a heavy storm on 15 May. Messner tried climbing Makalu four times. He failed in 1974 and 1981 on the South Face of the south-east ridge. In winter 1985–1986 he attempted the first winter ascent of Makalu via the normal route. Even this venture did not succeed. Not until February 2009 was Makalu successfully climbed in winter by Denis Urubko and Simone Moro . In 1986, Messner returned and succeeded in reaching

6370-454: The other former members of the expedition. Released in January 2010 in cinemas, the film was criticised by the other members of the team for telling only one side of the story. Because of severe frostbite, especially on his feet—seven toes were amputated—Messner was not able to climb quite as well on rock after the 1970 expedition. He therefore turned his attention to higher mountains, where there

6468-463: The oxygen tanks behind as requested when they descended. Bonatti and Mehdi survived, but Mehdi was hospitalised for months and had to have his toes amputated because of frostbite. Efforts in the 1950s to suppress these facts to protect Lacedelli and Compagnoni's reputations as Italian national heroes were later brought to light. It was also revealed that the moving of the camp was deliberate, a move apparently made because Compagnoni feared being outshone by

6566-464: The paragneisses include clinopyroxene -hornblende-bearing psammites , garnet (grossular)- diopside marbles , and biotite- graphite phyllites . Near the memorial to the climbers who have died on K2, above Base Camp on the south spur, thin impure marbles with quartzites and mica schists, called the Gilkey-Puchoz sequence , are interbanded within the orthogneisses. On the west face of Broad Peak and

6664-537: The range on the north and the Lesser Himalayas on the south. Melt waters from glaciers, such as those south and east of K2, feed agriculture in the valleys and contribute significantly to the regional fresh-water supply. K2 is ranked 22nd by topographic prominence , a measure of a mountain's independent stature. It is a part of the same extended area of uplift (including the Karakoram, the Tibetan Plateau, and

6762-432: The route traversed left across the East Face to avoid a vertical headwall and joined the uppermost part of the Abruzzi route. This ascent was made by an American team, led by James Whittaker ; the summit party was Louis Reichardt , Jim Wickwire , John Roskelley , and Rick Ridgeway . Wickwire endured an overnight bivouac about 150 metres (490 ft) below the summit, one of the highest bivouacs in history. This ascent

6860-415: The same. Although the summit of Everest is at a higher altitude, K2 is a more difficult and dangerous climb, due in part to its more northern location, where inclement weather is more common. The summit was reached for the first time by the Italian climbers Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni , on the 1954 Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio . Most ascents are made during July and August, typically

6958-541: The south spur of K2, lamprophyre dikes, which consist of clinopyroxene and biotite- porphyritic vogesites and minettes , have intruded the K2 gneiss. The K2 Gneiss is separated from the surrounding sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks of the surrounding Karakoram Metamorphic Complex by normal faults . For example, a fault separates the K2 gneiss of the east face of K2 from limestones and slates comprising nearby Skyang Kangri . Ar/Ar ages of 115 to 120 million years ago obtained from and geochemical analyses of

7056-484: The summit again in 1984, this time together with Hans Kammerlander . This was achieved as part of a double ascent where, for the first time, two eight-thousander peaks (Gasherbrum I and II) were climbed without returning to base camp. Again, this was done in alpine style, i.e. without the pre-location of stores. Filmmaker Werner Herzog accompanied the climbers along the 150-kilometre (93 mi) approach to base camp, interviewing them extensively about why they were making

7154-504: The summit before being driven back by a storm. The next attempt on K2 was not made until 1938, when the First American Karakoram expedition , led by Charles Houston , made a reconnaissance of the mountain. They concluded that the Abruzzi Spur was the most practical route and reached a height of around 8,000 meters (26,000 ft) before turning back due to diminishing supplies and the threat of bad weather. The following year,

7252-432: The summit in very bad weather; part of the climb involving ski mountaineering . In 1982, Messner wanted to become the first climber ever to scale three eight-thousanders in one year. He planned to climb Kangchenjunga , then Gasherbrum II and Broad Peak . Messner chose a new variation of the route up the north face. Because there was still a lot of snow, Messner and Mutschlechner made very slow progress. In addition,

7350-500: The summit of Everest with Habeler. This was the first time anyone had been that high without supplemental oxygen and Messner and Habeler achieved what certain doctors, specialists, and mountaineers thought impossible. He repeated the feat, without Habeler, from the Tibetan side in 1980, during the monsoon season. This was Everest's first solo summit. In 1978, he made a solo ascent of the Diamir face of Nanga Parbat . In 1986, Messner became

7448-418: The summit of K2 via the Abruzzi Spur on 31 July 1954. The expedition was led by Ardito Desio , and the two climbers who reached the summit were Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni . The team included a Pakistani member, Colonel Muhammad Ata-ullah, who had been a part of the 1953 American expedition. Also on the expedition were Walter Bonatti and Pakistani Hunza porter Amir Mehdi , who both proved vital to

7546-425: The summit on 14 August. However Yanagisawa fell and died on the descent. Four other members of the team achieved the summit the next day. The first climber to reach the summit of K2 twice was Czech climber Josef Rakoncaj . Rakoncaj was a member of the 1983 Italian expedition led by Francesco Santon, which made the second successful ascent of the North Ridge (31 July 1983). Three years later, on 5 July 1986, he reached

7644-402: The summit using the normal route with Kammerlander and Mutschlechner. Although they had turned back twice during this expedition, they made the summit on the third attempt on 26 September. During this expedition, Messner witnessed the death of Marcel Rüedi , for whom the Makalu was his 9th eight-thousander. Rüedi was on the way back from the summit and was seen by Messner and the other climbers on

7742-444: The summit via the Abruzzi Spur (double with Broad Peak West Face solo) as a member of Agostino da Polenza's international expedition. The first woman to summit K2 was Polish climber Wanda Rutkiewicz on 23 June 1986. Liliane and Maurice Barrard, who had summited later that day, fell during the descent; Liliane Barrard's body was found on 19 July 1986 at the foot of the south face. On July 28, 2024, Japanese climber Naoko Watanabe became

7840-475: The summit with Kammerlander on 24 April. Also on the expedition were Reinhard Patscheider, Reinhard Schiestl and Swami Prem Darshano, who did not reach the summit. During Messner and Kammerlander's ascent, the weather was bad and they had to be assisted by the other three expedition members during the descent due to heavy snowfall. Messner had already attempted Dhaulagiri in 1977 and 1984, unsuccessfully. In 1985 he finally summited. He climbed with Kammerlander up

7938-467: The summit, the weather changed and heavy fog and snow descended. Initially Messner became lost on the way down, but later, heading into the storm, found his way back to the camp, where Horst Fankhauser and Andi Schlick were waiting for him and Jäger. Jäger did not return, although his cries were heard from the camp. Orientation had become too difficult. Fankhauser and Schlick began to search for him that evening, but lost their way and sought shelter at first in

8036-424: The summit. By late afternoon, both had reached the summit of the mountain and had to pitch an emergency bivouac shelter without tent, sleeping bags and stoves because darkness was closing in. The events that followed have been the subject of years of legal actions and disputes between former expedition members, and have still not been finally resolved. What is known now is that Reinhold and Günther Messner descended

8134-448: The summit. Messner decided spontaneously during the ascent to use this route to bypass the exposed northeast ridge. Before this solo ascent, he had not set up a camp on the mountain. For 1979, Messner was planning to climb K2 on a new direct route through the South Face, which he called the "Magic Line". Headed by Messner, the small expedition consisted of six climbers: Italians Alessandro Gogna, Friedl Mutschlechner and Renato Casarotto;

8232-399: The three mountains could not be climbed as planned. Messner was cured of his amoebic liver abscess and then travelled to Gasherbrum II , but could not use the new routes as planned. In any case, his climbing partners, Sher Khan and Nazir Sabir , would not have been strong enough. Nevertheless, all three reached the summit on 24 July in a storm. During the ascent, Messner discovered the body of

8330-504: The warmest times of the year. In January 2021 K2 became the final eight-thousander to be summited in the winter, by a team of Nepalese climbers led by Nirmal Purja and Mingma Gyalje Sherpa. K2 has been climbed by almost all of its ridges, apart from its eastern face which remains unclimbed. The name K2 is derived from the notation used by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of British India . Thomas Montgomerie made

8428-420: The world and without supplemental oxygen. His climbs were also all amongst the first 20 ascents for each mountain individually. Specifically, these are: Reinhold Messner took a total of five expeditions to Nanga Parbat . In 1970 and 1978 he reached the summit (in 1978 solo); in 1971, 1973 and 1977, he did not. In 1971 he was primarily looking for his brother's remains. In May and June 1970, Messner took part in

8526-434: The younger Bonatti. Bonatti was given the blame for Mehdi's hospitalisation. On 9 August 1977, 23 years after the Italian expedition, Ichiro Yoshizawa led the second successful ascent, with Ashraf Aman as the first native Pakistani climber. The Japanese expedition took the Abruzzi Spur and used more than 1,500 porters. The third ascent of K2 was in 1978, via a new route, the long and corniced Northeast Ridge. The top of

8624-638: Was drafted to serve the German army and participated in World War II on the Russian front. After the war, he was an auxiliary teacher until 1957, when he became the director of the local school. Messner was the second of nine children – Helmut (born 1943), Günther (1946–1970), Erich (born 1948), Waltraud (born 1949), Siegfried (1950–1985), Hubert (born 1953), Hansjörg (born 1955) and Werner (born 1957), and grew up in modest means. Messner spent his early years climbing in

8722-598: 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. Another notable Japanese ascent was that of the difficult North Ridge on the Chinese side of the peak in 1982. A team from the Japan Mountaineering Association  [ ja ] led by Isao Shinkai and Masatsugo Konishi  [ ja ] put three members, Naoe Sakashita, Hiroshi Yoshino, and Yukihiro Yanagisawa, on

8820-507: Was exposed as the entire K2-Broad Peak-Gasherbrum range experienced rapid uplift with which erosion rates have been unable to keep pace. The mountain was first surveyed by a British team in 1856. Team member Thomas Montgomerie designated the mountain "K2" for being the second peak of the Karakoram range. The other peaks were originally named K1, K3, K4, and K5, but were eventually renamed Masherbrum , Gasherbrum IV , Gasherbrum II , and Gasherbrum I , respectively. In 1892, Martin Conway led

8918-436: Was much more ice. On 9 August 1978, after three unsuccessful expeditions, Messner reached the summit of Nanga Parbat again via the Diamir Face. In 1972, Messner succeeded in climbing Manaslu on what was then the unknown south face of the mountain, of which there were not even any pictures. From the last high-altitude camp he climbed with Frank Jäger, who turned back before reaching the summit. Shortly after Messner reached

9016-461: Was officially a member of South Tyrolean Greens , a regionalist and ecologist political party active only in South Tyrol , which de facto acts as a regional branch of the FdV. From 1972 until 1977, Messner was married to Uschi Demeter. With his partner, Canadian photographer Nena Holguin, he has a daughter, Làyla Messner, born in 1981. On 31 July 2009, he married his long time girlfriend Sabine Stehle,

9114-490: Was one of the first and most enthusiastic supporters of alpine style mountaineering in the Himalayas , which consisted of climbing with very light equipment and a minimum of external help. Messner considered the usual expedition style (which he dubbed "siege tactics") disrespectful toward nature and mountains. Before his first major Himalayan climb in 1970, Messner had made a name for himself mainly through his achievements in

9212-431: Was organized to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of K2. One of the goals of the expedition was to accurately measure the height of the mountain using satellite navigation. The height of K2 measured during this expedition was 8,609.02 metres (28,244.8 ft). The mountains of K2 and Broad Peak , and the area westward to the lower reaches of Sarpo Laggo glacier , consist of metamorphic rocks , known as

9310-408: Was released the following year. On 8 May 1978, Messner and Habeler reached the summit of Mount Everest , becoming the first men to climb it without using supplemental oxygen. Before this ascent, it was disputed whether this was possible at all. Messner and Habeler were members of an expedition led by Wolfgang Nairz along the southeast ridge to the summit. Also on this expedition was Reinhard Karl ,

9408-417: Was taller than Mount Everest, and therefore the tallest mountain on Earth. A corrected measurement was made in 1987, but by then the claim that K2 was the tallest mountain in the world had already made it into many news reports and reference works. K2's height given on maps and encyclopedias is 8,611 metres (28,251 ft). In the summer of 2014, a Pakistani-Italian expedition to K2, named "K2 60 Years Later",

9506-416: Was unsuccessful. In 1985 Richard Bass first postulated and achieved the mountaineering challenge Seven Summits , climbing the highest peaks of each of the seven continents. Messner suggested another list (the Messner or Carstensz list) replacing Mount Kosciuszko with Indonesia 's Puncak Jaya , or Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m or 16,024 feet). From a mountaineering point of view the Messner list

9604-450: Was used. On 12 July, Messner and Dacher reached the summit; then the weather deteriorated and attempts by other members of the party failed. During his stay in Tibet as part of his Everest solo attempt, Messner explored Shishapangma . A year later, Messner, with Friedel Mutschlechner, Oswald Oelz, and Gerd Baur, set up a base camp on the north side. On 28 May, Messner and Mutschlechner reached

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