GILGIT: A record number of 87 climbers from Asia, the Middle East and Western countries have summited K2, the world's second-highest mountain, during this summer season, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said on Saturday.
The world's second tallest mountain K-2 is seen in the Himalayan Karakoram ranges of Pakistan, in this undated handout photo provided by Pakistan Tourism office in Islamabad on July 28, 2004. (Pakistan Tourism office via Reuters)
The 8,611-meter-high peak is located in the Karakoram Range and lies in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region.
“The summer season 2022 records 87 climbers, including 73 men and 14 females summit K2,” the Alpine Club of Pakistan said in a statement. “It’s a record-breaking number of summiteers in a year.”
The Alpine Club’s data showed that several other records were also broken during the season.
Nepal’s Mingma G became the first mountaineer in the world to summit K2 four times, while Pakistan’s Ali Durrani and Fazil Ali scaled it for a third time.
Nelly Attar, a Lebanese mountaineer born and raised in Saudi Arabia, waves as she reaches K2's basecamp on July 6, 2022. (Nelly Attar/Facebook)
Lebanese climber Nelly Attar became the first Arab woman to reach the peak, and Taiwan’s Grace Tseng, 29, the world’s youngest female mountaineer to do so.
(L-R) The image shows a Pakistani female climber, Naila Kiani; Lebanese mountaineer, Nelly Attar; and Pakistani climber, Samina Baig. (Pictures from their social media accounts)
Pakistan’s Samina Baig and Iran’s Afsaneh Hesamifard became the first women from their respective countries, and UAE’s Saeed Al-Memari the first Emirati climber to scale the mountain.
Sajid Hussain, director of the Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism Department told Arab News that Pakistani authorities this year received 10 times more applications for summit permits than in 2021.
“This year we have received over 1,700 applications and processed/issued permits to 1,600 and over 1,300 have so far reached Pakistan,” he said. “Last year we issued 135 permits for climbers and trekkers.”
K2 is known as the Savage Mountain because of its challenging terrain and treacherous weather, making it one of the most difficult peaks to climb.
For every five climbers who have tried to scale the peak, one has lost life in the attempt.
This year, Afghan mountaineer Ali Akbar died of cardiac arrest. Canadian mountaineer Richard Cartier remains missing since Friday evening.
