Fascinating Pakistan: K-2, the Mountain of the Mountains

I have been writing about the five Eight Thousanders of Pakistan in my previous posts and even wrote exclusively about Nanga Parbat (the Naked Mountain) and Gasherbrum 1 (the Hidden Peak), the two of the five eight thousanders. Today I talk about the mountain of the mountains: the K2, Chogori (in local Balti language) or the Mt Godwin Austen, the second highest eight thousand of the world after the Mt. Everest.

But when mountaineers talk of the deadly, difficult and hardest to climb mountains anywhere in the world, K2 tops the list. At 8,611 metres (28,251 feet), K2 is considered to be the most beautiful for its massive pyramid like shape, yet it is also known as the Savage Mountain as it has the most atrocious weather around it besides extremes of slopes and difficult to ascent that have taken a heavy toll of many climbers till date. There is a saying among the mountaineers that one out of the four who attempt K2 do not return alive. In fact it is a mountain that does not always favours mankind.

Located on the China - Pakistan border in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan, and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang, China, K2 gets its name from the notation used in the Great Trigonometric Survey of British India by Thomas Montgomerie who made the first survey of the Karakoram from Mount Haramukh, some 210 km (130 miles) to the south, and sketched the two most prominent peaks, labeling them K1 and K2. While the K1 later came to be known as the Masherbrum, there was no name available in local language then as no one had never gone close to K2 as it is not even visible from Askole, the last village to the south, or from the nearest habitation to the north, and is only fleetingly glimpsed from the end of the Baltoro Glacier, beyond which few local people would have ventured. K2 even today is about 100 miles from the nearest habitation.

It is also said to be called Chogori, derived from two Balti words, chhogo ("big") and ri ("mountain"). And is also sometimes known as Mount Godwin-Austen in honor of Henry Godwin-Austen, an early explorer of the area. But the name has never been accepted by the Royal Geographical Society.

There were many attempts made to scale K2 from 1856 to 1953, but the first successful ascent was made in 1954 via the the South East Spur or the Abruzzi Spur , named after Duke of Abruzzi who reached an elevation of 6,250 metres in 1909. The team included a Pakistani member, Colonel Muhammad Atta Ullah, who had been a part of the 1953 American expedition. The expedition also included Walter Bonatti and Pakistani Hunza porter Amir Mehdi, who both proved vital to the expedition's success in that they carried oxygen tanks to 8,100 metres (26,600 ft) for Lacedelli and Compagnoni. Before the expedition kicked off, the team had an aerial view of K2 which became the world's first flight ever around K2. It was Italian  Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni who finally stood atop the Black Pyramid of the K2 on 31 July 1954 to claim K2. The news was broadcast around the world and heard with jubilation, specially by the ,mountaineers community and those who had earlier tried to scale K2.

The first successful ascent 31 July 1954

On 25th December 1954, Pakistan Post issued an Ana 2 stamp to commemorate the maiden scaling of the K2. And to immortalize the golden jubilee of the K2 scaling, Pakistan Post issued a Rs. 5 stamp on 31 July 2004. Besides a multicoloured first day cover for Rs. 30 was also issued. 

In 2004, on the 50th anniversary of maiden climbing of K-2,  78-year old Lino Lacedelli came to Pakistan and went to Skardu “to say hello and goodbye to the king of mountains”. Lacedelli was accompanied by a 24-member team who held a ceremony at base camp on July 15. Compagnoni, 89, could not attend the ceremony as he has lost his memory and forgotten that once he stood at the top of the K2 - almost the top of the world.

Spectacular view from K2 Base Camp-1

The first woman to summit K2 was Pole Wanda Rutkiewicz on 23 June 1986. Liliane and Maurice Barraged also scaled successfully later that day. Unfortunately both fell during the descent; Liliane Barrard's body was found on 19 July 1986 at the foot of the south face. On 28 July 2017, Vanessa O'Brien became the first British and American woman to summit K2, and the eldest woman to summit K2 at the age of 52 years old.

K2 Base Camp-3

It is said that even reaching the foot of the mountain is an expedition in itself - one can judge what lays ahead. K2 has seen more than 70 climbers losing their lives while scaling this atrocious mountain. due to its difficulty to climb, K2 is the only mountain peak in the world which has never been scaled in winters. Now it has been reported by VOA that a group of Polish mountaineers under Polish climber Krzysztof Wielicki have set off for northern Pakistan on 31 December 2017 to attempt to be the first to scale K2 in wintertime. Krzysztof Wielicki, 67,  headed a winter expedition of K2 in 2003 that was unable to clear the 8,000 meter threshold. The team would begin their ascent on January 8 or 9 and, if successful, expect to return to base camp by mid-March.

Now watch a beautiful video of scaling of the K2 by Turkish expedition climbing the Abruzzi Spur route, which was first climbed in 1954 by the Italian expedition. The video explains the start of the expedition, preparations and moving forward from base to to forward camps and finally the summit - giving a complete rundown of activities an expedition undertakes to scale this mighty pyramid, the K2 !!

However, this post will be incomplete if you do not follow the attempts by many ambitious climber to scale this hardest and most dangerous to climb, even more than dangerous than Mt Everest. The documentary is of the times when there were modern gadgets like GPS or phones to communicate to each other - not even proper gear including snow shoes to have firm feet on the snowy s;opes. This wonderful documentary by BBC explains the efforts of the early mountaineers right from the first attempt to the first and successful attempt made by the Italian expedition in 1954. 

Watch the story of those ambitious, motivated and daring young men who tried, many who lost their lives in a quest to scale the mountain of the mountains - the Ghosts of K2

You may also like to read one of my earlier posts: A memorable Trek to Concordia - the Gateway to Four Eight Thousanders of the World including K2

Historical References: Wikipedia |Photos Base Camps: Northern Areas of Pakistan

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Fascinating Pakistan - The Eight Thousanders

Pakistan is one of those blessed countries which has enormous tourist attractions right from its 1200 long coast, mostly virgin, along the Arabian Sea, vast stretches of deserts, fertile lush green plains and snow clad mountain peaks dominating its north.

While the entire country is worth visiting and touring, it is a mountaineers haven as its has 108 peaks over 7,000 metres and as many over 6,000 metres, while there is no count for peaks over 5,000 and 4,000 meters. Most of the highest peaks in Pakistan lie in Karakoram Range (which lies almost entirely in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, and is considered to be a part of the greater Himalayan range) but some peaks above 7,000 m are included in the Himalayan and Hindu Kush ranges.

In fact Pakistan is the meeting point of three great mountain ranges, the Himalaya, the Karakorum and the Hindu Kush. And it is here in these mountain ranges lie five out of the fourteen eight thousanders (peaks over 8,000 meters) in the world. Of these five, four lie the Karakorum in the surroundings of Concordia; the confluence of Baltoro Glacier and Godwin Austen Glacier, while one is located in the Himalaya.

Herein under is the list of all the five eight thousanders located in Pakistan.

• K-2 also known as the Chogori, Mt. Godwin Austen that reaches up to a height of 8,611 m and is the second highest peak of the world after the Mt Everest.
• The Nanga Parbat (meaning the Naked Mountain) is 8,126 m high and is one of the deadliest of the eight-thousanders. This Himalayan peak ranks 5th in the 14 eight thousanders of the world. The summit is shaped like a reclining women, as remarked by some imaginative mountain and beauty lover. If flying to Skardu, one can see the Nanga from the right window of the aircraft. One can feel the grandeur of the height when flying almost to the level of its peak. Due to its difficulty in climbing, many mountaineers have lost their lives, that is why it is also known as the Killer Mountain.
• Gasherbrum I (also known as Hidden Peak or K5) is the 11th highest peak on Earth, located on the Pakistan-China border in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. Gasherbrum I is part of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakorum region of the Himalaya.
• Part of the Gasherbrum massif, the Broad Peak in the Karakorum Range is 8,051 m high and is the 12th of the eight-thousanders in the world. Broad Peak is known locally as Faichan Kangri and was originally referred to as K3. The summit is over 1.5 km long, from which it gets in name as the Broad Peak.
• Gasherbrum II (also known as K4) is the 13th highest mountain on Earth, located in the Gilgit Baltistan province, Pakistan near the border to China at a height of 8,035 m (26,362 ft). Gasherbrum II is the third highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakorum Range of the Himalaya.

I have already written about Nanga Parbat in one of my earlier posts on Fascinating Pakistan series. And would write about other four in my next posts.
Photo Credits: K2 Mobeen Mazhar  | Karakorum Peaks: Abbas Shah

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Glaciers in Asian mountain range are actually getting BIGGER: Say Scientists

There generally is a perception that the glaciers in the Himalayas and the Karakoram are shrinking owing to the global warming and are causing flash floods in countries downstream. But a recent study by a group of scientists think it otherwise. In fact the startling find has baffled scientists and comes at a time when glaciers in other parts of the region, and across the world, are shrinking.

Global cooling? Glaciers are growing in the Karakoram range, home to K2 [Photo: EPA / Mail Online]

Photos taken by a French satellite show glaciers in a mountain range west of the Himalayas have grown during the last decade.

The growing glaciers were found in the Karakoram range, which spans the borders between Pakistan, India and China and is home to the world's second highest peak, K2.

French scientists from the National Centre for Scientific Research and the University of Grenoble, were forced to rely on satellite images, to study the region - because much of the Karakoram range is inaccessible.

They compared observations made in 1999 and 2008 and found a marginal mass increase. They estimated the glaciers had gained between 0.11 and 0.22 metres of ice each year.

Read more: Mail Online  

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10 Unique Natural Treasures

The world is replete with natural wonders that attract the attention of the tourists from around the globe. Pakistan is one of those gifted countries which have features and wonders that the Nature has gifted it. These unique wonders are spread from the seashore of the Arabian Sea to the snow capped towering mountains up in the north.

Herein under are some of the most unique features that are one of their own kind in the world of nature that one would be fascinated to visit if one happens to be in Pakistan.

K-2

K-2 , the biggest pyramid like feature in the world: Located in the Karakorum mountain range up in the north of Pakistan, the 28,251 feet high K-2 or the Mt Godwin Austen or Chogori (in local Balti language) is not only the second highest peak of the world after Mt Everest, this pyramid shaped natural feature of the world. Visible from far distance, even when flying in the aircraft, K-2 is also considered as the Savage Mountain since it is more difficult to climb than Mt Everest. 

Panoramic view of the Trango Towers

Trango Towers – the sheerest verticals of the world: Located in the Karakorum mountain range and part of the Trango Massif, these bare and unique verticals reaching out to 6,286 meters (20,608 feet), are the world’s most sheer verticals and rock features. These verticals are located across the famous Baltoro Glacier attract mountaineers from across the globe to scale these awesome rock verticals. The Trango Massif is surrounded by the K-2, the Gasherbrums and the Broad Peak (all above 8,000 metres). 

Nanga Parbat

Eight thousanders: There are fourteen peaks in the world that are above 8,000 metres and are known as the Eight Thousanders. Of these fourteen peaks, five are located in Pakistan. These include the K-2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum-I, the Broad Peak and the Gasherbrum-II. 

Deosai Plains and the Brown Bears

Deosai Plains and its extinct Brown Bears: Spread over an area of some 3,000 kilometers, the Desoai Plateau is the second highest plateau after the Tibetan Plateau in the world. The endless and awesome Deosai Plains are located at the boundary of the Karakorum and West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe. Located in the Gilgit Baltistan region of Pakistan, the plains at an average height of 4,114 metres above mean sea level are rich in flora and fauna of its very own kind. 

Princess of Hope

Princess of Hope: This beautiful naturally carved feature resembles a woman standing gazing at distant horizon clad in a royal gown and hood is located in the Balochistan province of Pakistan along the coast of Arabian Sea. The name of Princess of Hope was given to this feature by Hollywood star actress Angelina Jolie, who is also the UN ambassador of goodwill when she visited Pakistan. 

Pakistani Sphinx

Pakistani Sphinx: This natural feature, located close to the Princess of Hope feature, resembles very closely with the Great Sphinx of Giza, Egypt. 

Mud Volcanoes

Mud Volcanoes: Balochistan coastline along the Arabian Sea is an area rich in natural trove and unbelievable features. Mud Volcanoes stretched along the coastline between Karachi and Ormara are class of their own. The biggest crater has a diameter of 450 feet. 

Juniper Tree

Juniper Forests: The Juniper forests located near the town of Ziarat in Balochistan are the the second largest Juniper forests in the world after the Junipers of California, some as old as 57000 years. 

Extinct snow leopard

Snow Leopards: Pakistan is among few lucky countries where snow leopards can be found high up in the snow bound areas of its northern region, specially in Khunjrab (bordering China). They are found at altitudes varying between 3,000 and 5,500 metres. 

Blind Indus Dolphin

Blind Dolphin of Indus: We often see Dolphins dancing and jumping near the ships in the movies, and in Titanic too. The look full of life, friendly, jovial and extremely sporty - may be because they can see. But there is species of the Dolphins that cannot see – they are virtually blind and unlike the seas, they are found in the Indus River in Pakistan. In local language it is called “Susu.” 

Read more about these unique treasures at Pakistapaedia

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