K2 Peak

K2 Peak

K2 (also known as Chhogori/Qogir, Ketu/Kechu, and Mount Godwin-Austen) is the second-higest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest. It is located on the border between Baltistan, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomus Country of Xinjiang, China. With a peak elevation of 8,611 m (28,251 feet), K2 is the highest point of the Karakorum Ranges and the highest point in Pakistan.

K2 is known as the Savage Mountain due to the extreme difficulty of ascent and the second-highest fatality rate among the eight thousanders. For every four people who have reached the summit, one has died trying. It is more hazardous to reach K2 from the Chinese side; thus, it is mostly climbed from the Pakistani side. Ulike Annapurna, the mountain with the highest fatality-to-summit rate, K2 has never been climbed in winter.