K2(8,611m/28,251ft) also known as Mt Godwin-Austen or Chhogori is Pakistan’s highest Mountain and the world’s second-highest mountain after Mt Everest (8,848 m/29,029ft). Other nicknames of k2 are The King of Mountains, mountaineers mountain, and as well as the savage mountains because of their deadly nature.
As of 2014, around 334 people have reached the summit of K2 and 77 k2 deaths have been recorded.k2 is the only eight-thousander that has never been climbed from its eastern face. So, once think about how savage this mountain is.
Located on the Pakistan-China border, the Peak of K2 is the highest point of the Karakoram range. Every time, one of four people dies while submitting this Peak. It is the second most dangerous mountain next to Annapurna. High technical climbing, severe weather conditions, lack of oxygen, and high changes of avalanches make ascending K2 more strenuous.
K2 DEADLY HISTORY
K2 demands the utmost respect from every mountaineer!
The first K2 mountain death was recorded on 30th July 1939 AD, when a US citizen Dudley Wolfe(1896-1929) suffered from Altitude sickness and acute dehydration. The very next day on 31st July 1939 AD, three Nepalese Sherpas Pasang Kikuli, Pasang Kitkar, and Pintso suddenly disappeared while attempting to rescue a stranded climber. After that, a series of deaths have been recorded.
LAST DEATH ON K2
The last person to die in the K2 expedition was Matthew Eakin, from Australia who died on 22nd July 2022 AD. He fell from a high altitude while ascending the Peak.
In addition, K2 is said to be prone to devastating avalanches and storms, so there are frequent avalanches and storms in the area. The deadliest disaster occured in the K2 was the avalanche in the bottleneck area on 1st and 2nd August 2008 AD. It took the lives of eleven mountaineers.
2008 K2 DISASTER
The 2008 k2 disaster occurred on 1 August 2008, had killed 11 mountaineers from different countries. The reason for k2 disaster is due to extreme weather conditions and a deadly avalanche in the bottleneck. The bottleneck is most dangerous section of the k2 expedition. Here are the mountaineers who lost their lives in this dreadful k2 disaster.
| Name | Country | Cause of death |
| Hwang Dong-jin |  south korea | Fourth serac fall |
| Park Kyeong-hyo |  South Korea | Fourth serac fall |
| Kim Hyo-gyung | South Korea | Fourth serac fall |
| Meherban Karim |  Pakistan | Second or third serac fall |
| Hugues d’Aubarede |  France | Fall during descent |
| Gerard McDonnell |  Ireland | Second or third serac fall |
| Pasang Bhote |  Nepal | Fourth serac fall |
| Jumic Bhote | Nepal | Fourth serac fall |
| Rolf Bae |  Norway | First serac fall |
| Jahan Baig |  Pakistan | Fall |
| Dren Mandić |  Serbia | Fall |
K2 MOUNTAIN MAJOR DISASTERS
K2 is innocent! Maybe we just overestimate our power and kill ourselves!
The other noticeable disasters are the 1986 K2 Disaster which left five mountaineers dead from 6 August to 10 August 1986 AD, and the 1995 K2 disaster in which six deaths were reported in a storm. The other prominent causes of death in the K2 mountain expedition are Altitude sickness, falls, and Compartment syndrome. The severe weather conditions and notoriously fickled routes are also equally responsible for deaths.
To date, 91 fatalities have been recorded from 28 different nations including the United Nations, United Kingdom, Germany, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, France, Poland, etc.
Summiting K2 is a nightmare for noob mountaineers and a dream for adept mountaineers.
Moreover, the challenging trails which require high technical climbing are found everywhere in K2. Due to this fact, ascending K2 is more difficult than ascending mountains like Mt.Everest(8,848m/29,029ft), Mt.Makalu(8,485m/27,838ft), Kangchenjunga(8,586 m/28,169ft), Lhotse(8,516m/27,940ft), and many other eight-thousanders.
Only those intrepid people who are well-experienced undertake the K2 expedition. Every year few people dare to ascend K2 compared to other mountains. The attempts made to ascend the K2 summit are comparatively less than other summits.
Serene K2!
K2 Vs EVEREST
If we talk about Everest, every year around thousand people attempt to climb it and about 6,338 different climbers reach the summit, whereas the numbers in K2 are very less, only 700 people can ascend the Peak. The K2 death rate is very high, around 91 fatalities have been recorded despite the few attempts but whereas in Everest 310 fatalities have been recorded despite the higher attempts.
So, it is obvious that K2 isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. We say K2 is not for newbie climbers. Mountaineers who undertake the K2 expedition meet a series of rugged and steep climbs and Bottleneck is a prominent example.
The k2 bottleneck is an ill-famed narrow gorge located 400 m below the summit. The climbers have to traverse 100 m exposing themselves to serac over the bottleneck, where steepness reaches to 60 degrees. It is the hardest climb in K2. Despite all the dangers, Bottleneck is still the easiest and fastest route to the summit. All the prominent routes(Abruzzi Spur, North Ridge, Northeast Ridge, South-southeast spur, etc.) accomplish the Peak by way of Bottleneck.
A far view of K2!
Recently, a devastating K2 disaster also occurred at Bottleneck in 2008. As per the report, 13 among recent 14 k2 deaths have occurred at or near Bottleneck. This shows how deadly the bottleneck is.
IN CONCLUSION,
To sum up, K2 Mountain is among the deadliest mountains in the world. In most other mountains, climbers die due to their incompetence or inability to cope with the mountainous environment. But, K2 is different from others. Only the elite-level mountaineers attempt to conquer K2 and still one-fourth of them never make it back to safety.
You can also go through preparation for high altitude hiking.
