'Gasherbrum II' (also known as 'K4') is the
13th highest mountain on
Earth, located on the border of China-Pakistan, and the
5th highest in
Pakistan. Gasherbrum II is the third highest peak of the
Gasherbrum massif, located in the
Karakoram range of the
Himalaya.
The standard route is via the SW ridge as it is relatively free of objective hazards such as ice falls and avalanches. A typical expedition lasts 7 to 8 weeks with climbing permits costing about $7,500 USD for five climbers.
''Gasherbrum II'' was first climbed on
July 8,
1956 by Fritz Moravec, Josef Larch and Hans Willenpart of an
Austrian expedition.
Time Line
★
1956 First ascent
★
1975 Second ascent by a
French group, 19 years after the first ascent. This expedition also saw the first death on the Gasherbrum. Three other expeditions summit including a
Polish women's team headed by
Wanda Rutkiewicz.
★
1979 A
Chilean and a
German expedition succeed in the sixth and seventh ascents.
★
1982 Reinhold Messner reaches the top with two Pakistanis, Nazir Sabir and Sher Khan.
★
1984 Messner and
Hans Kammerlander traverse
Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II without returning to base camp in between.
★
2006 First ski descent by Luis Stitzinger (Germany)
See also
★
List of mountains in Pakistan
★
Highest Mountains of the World
External links
★
Gasherbrum II on Peakware
★
Gasherbrum II: A Journey to 26,360 Feet in the Karakoram
★
Gasherbrum II-express debrief: The first German ski descent of G2; a 17 hour roundtrip