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In recent weeks, dozens of climbers have competed to scale the second highest mountain in the world. K2, with a height of 8,611 meters, was the last peak above 8 km, which climbers had not yet been able to climb during the winter season.
“WE DID IT,” Seven Summit Treks wrote on Twitter.
“The Fierce Mountain of Karakorum was overtaken in the most dangerous time of the year: winter. Nepalese climbers finally reached the top of K2 this afternoon at 5 pm local time,” added the expedition organizers.
After the first attempt in 1987-1998 to climb the narrative mountain in the Karakorum Mountains along the border with China, only a few winter expeditions were organized.
Until Saturday, when favorable weather conditions allowed climbers to climb further, no one had climbed more than 7,650 meters.
Up to four teams met on the mountain this winter. In total, they were made up of about 60 climbers, more than during all previous expeditions combined.
Ten Nepalese climbers had previously been divided into different teams, but formed a new group to honor Nepal for their achievement.
Fierce mountain
K2 is called the “fierce mountain”: the wind speed can reach more than 200 km per hour and the temperatures can drop to 60 degrees Celsius.
Nepalese are famous for being excellent climbers, but none of them have been among the first to climb a peak of more than 8 km in winter.
Nimsda Purja, a Nepalese who triumphed on Saturday, said it was a “special moment”.
“The whole team waited 10 meters below the summit to form a group and then they walked together to the top singing our Nepalese anthem,” wrote the climber on a social network.
“We are proud to have entered human history and to show that collaboration, teamwork and a positive attitude can push the limits of what we believe is possible,” he added.
At least one of the climbers, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, planned to climb to the top without using oxygen.
The man tried to hit that record last winter, but was forced to give up. He had previously climbed 13 of the 14 peaks in the world, reaching a height of more than 8,000 meters.
In December before the expedition, the climber told AFP news agency that the winter record books contained Polish, Italian and Spanish surnames, but none of them were foreigners.
“This is a good opportunity for us to write the name of Nepal,” he said. – I would be happy to see the flag of my country on the winter list. Now it is one of my biggest dreams. “
Unlike Everest, which has already been climbed by thousands of climbers, young and old, K2 is a much lonelier place.
Many climbers died trying to reach its top, others died during a dangerous descent. Northern Pakistan has some of the highest mountains in the world, including K2 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Between the western outskirts of the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush Mountains, and the Karakorum Mountains, Gilgit-Baltistan sits on 18 of the 50 highest mountains in the world.
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