- second highest Mountain peak in the world, and the first in terms of mortality. Today this is no less famous peak than. The height of Chogori is 8,611 meters above sea level, which is only 237 meters lower than Everest.

Chogori - killer mountain

But there is something else about this mountain that makes thousands of climbers worry about it: its inaccessibility. In common people, Mount Chogori is called “mountain of death” or “killer mountain.” The fact is that K2 is one of the most technically difficult mountain ranges.

Mount Chogori also called "K-2". The second name spread spontaneously after one of the researchers numbered the peaks visible in front of him, one of them was Chogori.

A regular pyramid, with steep snow slopes, becomes inaccessible even to experienced climbers. The mountain has 66 deaths. The mountain's mortality rate is 25%. And there are not even 300 people who have conquered it. In addition, there are isolated cases where a climber was able to climb the mountain twice.

No one climbed Chogori in winter. A successful ascent to K2 and the subsequent descent from the summit today take several days (not counting preparation); climbers usually use 3-4 base camps and Balti porters instead of Sherpas, more traditional for other eight-thousanders.

The main dangers are avalanches, falling seracs and stones, cracks on the approaches and the instantaneous melting of huge masses of snow. The weather on the mountain is usually bad, and incidents at an altitude of more than 8,000 meters, near the very top, leave very little hope for help and rescue.

The first attempt to conquer the mountain took place in 1902, but success was achieved only on July 31, 1954, when the Italians hoisted the flags of their homeland and Pakistan on the top of K2 (A. Compagnoni from Valfurno and L. Lacedelli from Cortina d’Ampezzo).

Where is Mount Chogori (K2)

located on the border of Pakistan and China in the Karakoram system. Interesting fact: scientists argued for a long time and could not choose for her mountain system— the fact is that there is almost no division between the Himalayas and the Karakoram. There was even a special conference, at which it was decided to divide the Himalayas and Karakoram.

Some media, mainly Pakistani, have already come out with screaming headlines that K2 is now becoming the new Everest.
However, they do not take into account the fact that in the most favorable seasons, a maximum of 50 people climbed to the top of K2, while 500 climbed to the top of Everest.

In general, if everyone associates Everest with great height, K2 is associated specifically with technical difficulties.

K2 is only 240 meters lower than Everest, but climbing this peak is a completely different kind of mountaineering, here you will need a solid knowledge of mountaineering techniques and experience; Every climber on K2 must be able to move both on ice and on snow, rocks, and mixed rock. If you are confident in only one type of climbing, on others you will play “Russian roulette” on K2.

Rope railings on K2 work on the "placebo" principle - some of them only indicate the route of ascent and many sections are simply not able to stop the climber from falling.

In most of the route, the climber climbs using the strength of his legs, clinging to the rock and pulling himself up using a jumar. Crampons on boots are used primarily not to move comfortably in the snow, but to gain a foothold on an ice-rock slope; this is a rather exhausting task - constantly looking for tiny footholds in the rock.
If you placed your foot poorly and slipped without holding on to your hands, you will fall off the elephant and die; nothing will stop you from this fall.
Climbing K2 is quite challenging even without taking into account the enormous height of the mountain.

But not only the ascent, the descent is also quite difficult. You must be able to do and carry out a rappel over and over again, and each time must be perfect, there is no room for mistakes.
There are also places on K2 with huge "Gordian knots" of old ropes that, in good faith, should be removed from the mountain. If, when descending, you choose the wrong rope from this pile, it may burst under your weight. On the descent, climbers are already very tired, the psychological load is very high, and it is in such situations that mistakes happen.
Here no one will assess the situation for you, here you are on your own, there is no guide, no Sherpa, or even a teammate. You must be able to assess the degree of risk yourself.

Avalanches on K2 represent big threat.

Many climbers can point me to other eight-thousanders such as Nanga Parbat, Makalu or more low mountains, such as Meru or Fitzroy, which present similar or even greater challenges to climb.
But here I am comparing the climb to K2 with the standard route to Everest, so that more people would understand what I’m talking about.

On-site climber support on K2 doesn't compare to Everest

Pakistan, compared to Nepal and Tibet, provides a different level of mountain accessibility (logistics).
Nepal has Sherpas, Tibet has Sherpas, Pakistan has High Altitude Porters (HAPS).

Nepalese Sherpas are the world's most famous mountaineering assistants because they have been working for foreign expeditions since the early 1900s.
In Tibet, in Lhasa, there is a specialized school for mountain guides, which has trained and graduated many qualified Tibetan mountain guides during its existence.

In Pakistan there is a problem with experienced mountain guides, of course they exist, but there are very few of them. Today the country only intends to increase the training and production of qualified specialists
Therefore, many expeditions come to Pakistan with Nepalese Sherpas, who, like on Everest, fix the railings, carry loads to high-altitude camps and accompany clients to the top.
But the Pakistani government does not like this approach. Each Sherpa in the team is required to have a full permit (perimit) for climbing, just like any client of the expedition. From time to time, there are even proposals for a complete ban on the use of Sherpa assistance in the mountains of Pakistan, since they destroy the livelihood opportunities for Pakistani mountain guides.

All these problems only lead to an increase in prices for expeditions to Pakistan, although they are still much cheaper than Everest.
Thus, a permit to climb to the top of the second highest mountain in the world, K2, costs $1,700 per person.

Fortunately, to date, the ban on the use of Sherpa labor has not been adopted by the Pakistani government, and on expeditions to K2, Pakistani mountain guides have the opportunity to practice high-altitude work from Nepalese Sherpas.
Personally, I believe that the help of local, Pakistani mountain guides is important on K2; they should have all the skills that Nepalese Sherpas now possess, because every year the number of foreign climbers in the Karakoram mountains will increase.

The weather on K2 is worse than on Everest

From 1985 to 2015 there were 11 years on K2 in which not a single successful ascent was made. From 2009 to 2015 there were only three successful seasons - 2011 (only from the Chinese side), 2012 and , and in each of them no more than 40-50 people climbed to the top, and this was almost a climbing record due to the unprecedentedly long weather window within one week.

Since the eight-thousander K2 is the northernmost eight-thousander in the world and, moreover, it is located to the west of all the other large peaks of the Karakoram, it takes on the entire “blow” of weather fronts. Like everywhere else in the mountains, weather It's quite difficult to predict, but on K2 the weather was responsible for many deaths

The death rate on K2 is much higher than on Everest, thereby discouraging many who want to climb the mountain.

During the entire time of climbing Everest, about 287 people died, while the summit was climbed 7,581 times. Thus the mortality rate on Everest is ~4%.

86 people died on K2 during the entire ascent, while the summit of K2 was climbed 375 times. Thus the mortality rate on K2 is ~23%.

The leading cause of death on K2 is missing persons. On Everest - falling from the slope.

There are several objective reasons why the mortality rate on K2 is higher than on Everest: the lack of a helicopter rescue team, bad unpredictable weather, and given the extremely small number of climbers on the mountainside, the limited supply of equipment, provisions and assistance during rescue operations.

Why is K2 becoming an increasingly popular mountain?

Considering all the above reasons, this question is not easy to answer. K2 is still the preserve of professional climbers.
As the climbers themselves say: "Climbing Everest gives you bragging rights. Climbing K2 gives you respect from climbers.".
Although I do not agree with this expression, I believe that all climbers deserve respect, and those who climbed Everest are those who climbed K2. But this is a reason for another article.

Here I will note that only 200 people in the world have climbed both Everest and K2.

Since 2000, K2 has been staffed primarily by the same commercial teams, most notably the Austrian company Kari Kobler.
In recent years, Seven Summits Treks has brought at least 30 people per season to K2.
Himalayan Experience and Madison Mountaineering are also involved in the climbs.

Previously, the use of oxygen cylinders during ascent was rare events, but are now used by the vast majority of climbers on K2.
Also, climbers themselves participate in fixing the fixed ropes on the climbing route, even those climbers who participate in commercial teams. In addition, on K2, even experienced, professional climbers use a rope installed by Sherpas to climb.
Weather forecasting has improved, but is still very far from ideal.

The K2 base camp is now full of tents for canteens, cinema halls with projectors, and laptops. Food has improved and cooks hired in Nepal and Pakistan delight the climbers with good, tasty cuisine.
Unlimited internet has become the norm at base camp.
So, in general, in the K2 base camp everything is not so bad, compared, for example, to what was shown in the movie “The Vertical Limit”.

K2 / Chogori (K2, Chhogori), 8611 m

This year, since the beginning of the new climbing season in the Karakoram, the government of Pakistan has already issued about 112 permits to climb the second highest eight-thousander in the world - K2 (Chhogori) at 8611 m.

Some media, mainly Pakistani, have already come out with screaming headlines that K2 is now becoming the new Everest.
However, they do not take into account the fact that in the most favorable seasons, a maximum of 50 people climbed to the top of K2, while 500 climbed to the top of Everest.

I summited K2 in 2014, and with 36 different expeditions to Everest and Lhotse, I can give an authoritative assessment that K2 will not be the next Everest.

I have a lot of respect for Everest and the climbers who climb to the top of the world, after all, it is the highest peak in the world. But K2 is a completely different mountain. It begins with great difficulties, and ends with the same difficulties!

Below are a few of the most important reasons why K2 will never be the next Everest, although I have learned to never say no to mountaineering.

K2 is a technically challenging game for experienced climbers

With all due respect to Everest, very few real, classic ascents to the top have been made, I mean ascents without the use of stationary ladders, using only the strength of your own arms and legs. The overwhelming majority of ascents were made on moderate snow slopes with rope railings installed in advance; Of course, there are several sections with technical difficulties: “steps” in the North, the middle part of the route along the South-East ridge from the southern, Nepalese side. However, Everest should never be taken lightly, as evidenced by the six deaths in this very auspicious season

In general, if everyone associates Everest with high altitude, K2 is associated specifically with technical difficulties.

K2 is only 240 meters lower than Everest, but climbing this peak is a completely different kind of mountaineering, here you will need a solid knowledge of mountaineering techniques and experience; Every climber on K2 must be able to move both on ice and on snow, rocks, and mixed rock. If you are confident in only one type of climbing, on others you will play “Russian roulette” on K2.

Rope railings on K2 work on the "placebo" principle - some of them only indicate the route of ascent and many sections are simply not able to stop the climber from falling.

In most of the route, the climber climbs using the strength of his legs, clinging to the rock and pulling himself up using a jumar. Crampons on boots are used primarily not to move comfortably in the snow, but to gain a foothold on an ice-rock slope; this is a rather exhausting task - constantly looking for tiny footholds in the rock.
If you placed your foot poorly and slipped without holding on to your hands, you will fall off the elephant and die; nothing will stop you from this fall.
Climbing K2 is quite challenging even without taking into account the enormous height of the mountain.

But not only the ascent, the descent is also quite difficult. You must be able to do and carry out a rappel over and over again, and each time must be perfect, there is no room for mistakes.
There are also places on K2 with huge "Gordian knots" of old ropes that, in good faith, should be removed from the mountain. If, when descending, you choose the wrong rope from this pile, it may burst under your weight. On the descent, climbers are already very tired, the psychological load is very high, and it is in such situations that mistakes happen.
Here no one will assess the situation for you, here you are on your own, there is no guide, no Sherpa, or even a teammate. You must be able to assess the degree of risk yourself.

Avalanches on K2 pose a major threat.

Many climbers can point me to other 8000m peaks such as Nanga Parbat, Makalu or lower mountains such as Meru or Fitzroy that present similar or even greater challenges.
But here I am comparing the climb to K2 with the standard route to Everest, so that more people would understand what I’m talking about.

On-site climber support on K2 doesn't compare to Everest

Pakistan, compared to Nepal and Tibet, provides a different level of mountain accessibility (logistics).
Nepal has Sherpas, Tibet has Sherpas, Pakistan has High Altitude Porters (HAPS).

Nepalese Sherpas are the world's most famous mountaineering assistants because they have been working for foreign expeditions since the early 1900s.
In Tibet, in Lhasa, there is a specialized school for mountain guides, which has trained and graduated many qualified Tibetan mountain guides during its existence.

In Pakistan there is a problem with experienced mountain guides, of course they exist, but there are very few of them. Today the country only intends to increase the training and production of qualified specialists
Therefore, many expeditions come to Pakistan with Nepalese Sherpas, who, like on Everest, fix the railings, carry loads to high-altitude camps and accompany clients to the top.
But the Pakistani government does not like this approach. Each Sherpa in the team is required to have a full permit (perimit) for climbing, just like any client of the expedition. From time to time, there are even proposals for a complete ban on the use of Sherpa assistance in the mountains of Pakistan, since they destroy the livelihood opportunities for Pakistani mountain guides.

All these problems only lead to an increase in prices for expeditions to Pakistan, although they are still much cheaper than Everest.
Thus, a permit to climb to the top of the second highest mountain in the world - K2 - costs $1,700 per person, while for Everest - $11,000.

Fortunately, to date, the ban on the use of Sherpa labor has not been adopted by the Pakistani government, and on expeditions to K2, Pakistani mountain guides have the opportunity to practice high-altitude work from Nepalese Sherpas.
Personally, I believe that the help of local, Pakistani mountain guides is important on K2; they should have all the skills that Nepalese Sherpas now possess, because every year the number of foreign climbers in the Karakoram mountains will increase.

The weather on K2 is worse than on Everest

From 1985 to 2015 there were 11 years on K2 in which not a single successful ascent was made. From 2009 to 2015 there were only three successful seasons - 2011 (only from the Chinese side), 2012 and , and in each of them no more than 40-50 people climbed to the top, and this was almost a climbing record due to the unprecedentedly long weather window within one week.

Since the eight-thousander K2 is the northernmost eight-thousander in the world and, moreover, it is located to the west of all the other large peaks of the Karakoram, it takes on the entire “blow” of weather fronts. As with everything in the mountains, weather conditions are quite difficult to predict, but on K2 the weather has been responsible for many deaths

The death rate on K2 is much higher than on Everest, thereby discouraging many who want to climb the mountain.

During the entire time of climbing Everest, about 287 people died, while the summit was climbed 7,581 times. Thus the mortality rate on Everest is ~4%.

86 people died on K2 during the entire ascent, while the summit of K2 was climbed 375 times. Thus the mortality rate on K2 is ~23%.

The leading cause of death on K2 is missing persons. On Everest - falling from the slope.

There are several objective reasons why the mortality rate on K2 is higher than on Everest: the lack of a helicopter rescue team, bad unpredictable weather, and given the extremely small number of climbers on the mountainside, the limited supply of equipment, provisions and assistance during rescue operations.

2008 was the most tragic season on K2: 11 people died, several were rescued, including three climbers who were saved by Pemba Gyalje Sherpa - he not only survived this tragedy, but became one of the central characters of this expedition. He took an active part in search and rescue operations, making several attempts to take people out of the death zone - from an altitude of more than 8,000 meters.

Rescue operations involving a helicopter are very expensive, thereby increasing the risk of death of the injured climber

Calling and using a helicopter in Pakistan to search for and evacuate an injured climber can cost approximately $30,000. But even for that kind of money, the helicopter will not rise above the base camp, and even the flight to the base camp may not take place due to bad weather.
Compare that to more than 50 helicopter missions on Everest last spring at a cost of $3,000 per mission.

And I’ll say it again: forget about helicopter support in any of the high-altitude camps on K2, there are no helicopters suitable for such tasks in Pakistan.
Thus, any accident occurring above the base camp is likely to turn into a tragedy.

The hike to K2 base camp is long, difficult and uncomfortable

130 kilometers along the Baltoro Valley compared to 50 kilometers along the Khumbu Valley is the difference in approach to K2 Base Camp and Everest.
But that is not all. In Baltoro there is not a single teahouse and there is no forest area like in Nepal. Hiking in Pakistan is trekking on a glacier with air temperatures ranging from -15 to +40 degrees Celsius, so these are not at all the comfortable conditions that tourists endure in Nepal. The approach to K2 is a separate challenge for climbers.

On the other hand, I will say that trekking to the base camp of any of the eight-thousanders is very beautiful from the point of view of the mountain landscape.

Why is K2 becoming an increasingly popular mountain?

Considering all the above reasons, this question is not easy to answer. K2 is still the preserve of professional climbers.
As the climbers themselves say: "Climbing Everest gives you bragging rights. Climbing K2 gives you respect from climbers.".
Although I do not agree with this expression, I believe that all climbers deserve respect, and those who climbed Everest are those who climbed K2. But this is a reason for another article.

Here I will note that only 200 people in the world have climbed both Everest and K2.

Since 2000, K2 has been staffed primarily by the same commercial teams, most notably the Austrian company Kari Kobler.
In recent years, Seven Summits Treks has brought at least 30 people per season to K2.
Himalayan Experience and Madison Mountaineering are also involved in the climbs.

In the past, the use of oxygen tanks while climbing was rare, but they are now used by the vast majority of climbers on K2.
Also, climbers themselves participate in fixing the fixed ropes on the climbing route, even those climbers who participate in commercial teams. In addition, on K2, even experienced, professional climbers use a rope installed by Sherpas to climb.
Weather forecasting has improved, but is still very far from ideal.

The K2 base camp is now full of tents for canteens, cinema halls with projectors, and laptops. Food has improved and cooks hired in Nepal and Pakistan delight the climbers with good, tasty cuisine.
Unlimited internet has become the norm at base camp.
So, in general, in the K2 base camp everything is not so bad, compared, for example, to what was shown in the movie “The Vertical Limit”.

Material from the site

K2 - Karakoram peak No. 2, the name was given by Italian topographers; other name Chogori- "black stones", local or Dapsang.

Geography

The second highest peak in the world (8611 m), located in the central part of the Karakoram range, is its highest point. K2 is located on the Pakistan-China-India border. It is a single massif with steep rock-ice slopes and thick snow cover. The south-eastern spur descends to the southern Chogori glacier; one of its branches is called the Abruzzi rib. At the base of the steep Northern spur lies the North Chogori glacier. The nearest peaks are Pyramid Peak (7263 m) in the west and Skyang Kangri (7544 m) in the east. The remaining eight-thousanders of the Karakorum lie to the southeast.

Main glaciers: Southern Chogori with tributaries (Savoy, Kalkal, Broad) - a tributary of the largest Baltoro glacier; Chogori North; The Mustag glacier flows from the northwestern slopes. Avalanches and ice collapses are common on K2.

Geology

Story

The first attempts to climb Chogori were made already at the beginning of the 20th century.

IN 1902 year highest peak Karakorum was stormed by an international expedition organized by Oscar J. L. Eckenstein. The height of 6523 meters was reached along the north-eastern ridge.

IN 1905 In 2009, the attempt was repeated by a Swiss expedition led by J. Guilliamo; the climbers reached a height of 6000 m, but were forced to turn around; five people died in an avalanche on the descent. The mountain showed its tough temper for the first time.

IN 1909 A large Italian expedition headed by Luigi Amadeo Giuseppe (Duke of Abruzzo) headed to the area. An attempt to climb along the southwestern and then southeastern ridge. Subsequently, the southeastern ridge was called the Abruzzo rib. A complete reconnaissance of K2 from the south and northeast has been carried out, a map of the Baltoro area.

In subsequent years, ascent attempts were not repeated; expeditions set themselves the task of only exploring the area. The Italian expeditions of 1913 - 1914 and 1929, the Swiss expedition of 1934 made a significant contribution to the research of the Karakorum and the K2 region in particular, a map of the area was drawn up on a scale of 1:25,000, nearby glaciers, passes and peaks were studied.

In 1938, American climbers joined the fight for the summit. Between 1952 and 1952, they made three attempts to climb " big mountain", the most successful expedition was the 1939 expedition led by Wiessner, he and Sherpa Pazang Dawa Lama reached a height of 8384 meters (four expedition members remained on the mountain).

And only on July 31, 1954, the Italians hoisted the flags of their homeland and Pakistan on the top of K2 (A. Compagnoni from Valfurno and L. Lacedelli from Cortina d'Ampezzo).

To be continued...

Routes

Southwestern wall. No. 1. Along the Southern Ridge, Polish expedition 1986. Director. J. Mayer. On August 3, P. Piasecki, V. Vruzh and the Czech P. Bozhik reached the summit. The so-called "Magic Line". Reinhold Messner, reviewing this route in 1979, called it the suicide route and climbed K-2 according to the “classics”. No. 2. Along the Central edge of the South Wall. International expedition 1986. Director. K. Herligkofer. On July 8, the Polish pair I. Kukuczka - T. Piotrowski reached the summit. No. 3. Along the Left Buttress of the South-Eastern Rib. Yugoslav expedition 1986 Head: V.Groseli. The route was covered solo by T. Chesen. Was he at the top?

Route map

1. Along the South-Eastern ridge. Italian exp. 1954

2. Along the North-East ridge with a traverse along the shoulder of the East slope to the South-East ridge. American (USA) expedition 1978

3. Along the South-Western ridge with a traverse of the South-Western wall to the South ridge. Japanese expedition 1981

4. Along the North-Western (Northern) ridge. Japanese expedition 1982

5. Along the Central edge of the South Wall. International exp. 1986

6. Along the Southern Ridge. Polish expedition 1986

7. Along the Western edge, the North-Western wall with a transition to route No. 4. Japanese exp. 1990

8. Along the Western edge with ice. Savoy with transition to route No. 7. French exp. 1991

9. Along the North-Eastern ridge and the Eastern slope up to 7700 m. Polish exp. 1976

10. Along the left buttress of the South-Eastern ridge with access to route No. 1. Yugoslav exp. 1986