KATHMANDU, Nepal – A Nepalese mountaineering team said on Saturday that it had reached the summit of K2, the second highest mountain in the world, which had never been reached in winter.
“The impossible is made possible!” wrote team leader Nirmal Purja on Facebook. ‘History made for mankind. The history made for Nepal! ”
Seven Summit Treks, an expedition company that organized the effort, said the ten climbers reached the summit on Saturday afternoon and conquered what they call. “Savage Mountain” during the most dangerous climbing season.
Climbers say K2 is one of the most difficult mountains to climb even in more forgiving spring weather.
“Standing on Mount K2 in winter is a historic and remarkable work,” said Ang Tshering Sherpa, a former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. ‘Nepalese climbers have proven their skills in mountaineering. This is a proud moment. ”
K2 rises 28,251 feet, second to Mount Everest. Part of the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan, near China, K2 was considered the last of the 14 highest mountains in the world to be climbed in winter.
It was tested this time by a team led by Purja (37) who had set records before. In 2019, Purja reached the top of each of the 14 highest mountains in the world in just over six months, a milestone for climbers.
Seven Summit Treks cites Saturday’s rise as a distinctive achievement and a testament to teamwork, but it also points to the risks still awaiting climbers.
“It’s K2 and it’s winter, but we never know many uncertain things,” the company wrote. “Hope everyone descends safely to base camp.”
The climbers, who are part of a larger team, endured temperatures of minus 58 degrees during a trip that began in mid-December. They also made the effort amid the coronavirus pandemic: Only those who tested negative for Covid-19 may land and climb mountains in Pakistan.
Climbers at the K2 base camp were delighted with the rise while acknowledging the risk that was there. “This is a big thrill here,” Lakpa Dendi Sherpa said in an interview with base camp. “We pray for their safe descent.”
Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Seven Summit Treks, said in an interview that the other climbers were waiting to scale down the mountain after the first team fixed its rope at the summit. “But it’s not sure if the weather will allow them to climb.”