Why K2 Is the Most Dangerous Mountain on Earth (The Savage Mountain)

There are only 14 mountains in the world which rise above 8,000 meters crossing that height transports. You enter the death zone, a place where there is not enough oxygen in the air for humans to survive, you become weak and have little brain. Power summoning these mountains is an accomplishment only thousands can say they have done, but summoning the deadliest mountain in the world is a matter of hundreds of mountains so treacherous there are years go by where. No human dares to reach its peak its unforgiving faith has claimed the lives of many who have tried to conquer it every step is a battle against the elements yet still its peak is a place of raw beauty nicknamed the savage mountain this is why climbing k2 is a death sentence in the 1950s mountaineer george bell described k2 as savage mountain that tries to kill you and he wasn't wrong until recently there was a fatality rate of roughly 20 but every four successful summits there was an average one death 2022 saw k2 unfortunately claimed three more lives also until recently it was true to say that more humans have been into space then stood on k2's peak i'll explain what i mean by until recently later in this video but why is k2 so dangerous to truly grasp the sheer barbarity of this mountain it's best to split it into four sections location altitude weather and technical difficulties so let's begin with the location k2 is remote really remote the way it got its name is the best way to express how truly remote it is it was first surveyed by the british in 1856 as they were trying to work out the border between cashmere and china the surveyor would write down the altitude of a mountain and name it k1 then would name an xk2 k3 etc afterwards they would ask the local people what's this mountain called which is where they got names such as gashebrum and kanjitzer but k2 was so isolated that no local had a name for it so katastakits remoteness makes it hard to get to before you even begin to ascend it it takes roughly a week to even reach base camp in this week you have to travel over a highly technical glacier and a rocky trail which could easily lead to injuries before you've even begun to climb the mountain you're also staying in tents every night compare this to mount everest where there's a much easier walking trail to reach base camp with warm tea houses to stay and along the way k2's remoteness and altitude makes getting a search and rescue helicopter a lot harder combine this with the fact that only the pakistan army is allowed to fly in this airspace due to the close proximity to the war zone means that any injuries have a much greater chance of turning fatal or located in the karakoram mountain range k2 is the second highest peak in the world of 28,000 to 151 feet or 8,611 meters being above 8,000 meters means k2 the world's second highest mountain is located in the karakoram range straddling the border between the gilgit baltistan region of pakistan and the xinjiang region of china it's known as the savage mountain for its extreme climbing difficulty n is the highest point in both pakistan and the karakoram range it's part of an exclusive club with just 14 members what makes these mountains so deadly is the fact that you cross into the death zone the final ascent a place where your body uses oxygen faster than it can be replenished an extended stay in the death zone without supplementary oxygen will ultimately lead to death your body attempts to acclimatize by producing more red blood cells your heart beats faster and non-essential bodily functions are suppressed and one also breathes more deeply acclimatization isn't a short process though it can take weeks this is why people experience altitude sickness including high altitude pulmonary edema known as hate or cerebral edema known as ace the reduced brain power and lack of strength has led to many fatalities in the death zone despite weather forecasting technologies advancing astronomically since k2's first summit in 1954 there is an understanding amongst its climbers that it's still not predictable it's situated further north than everest making for increased likelihood of incredibly foul weather due to the jet stream the jet stream is a fast moving river of air and earth's atmosphere which can bring rapid changes in weather and the winter gusts at k2 can reach hurricane force levels which would throw climbers off the mountain as if they were just a feather in the wind on top of this there is a heightened risk of avalanche the severity of which is evident in the 2008 k2 disaster some specifics of the events that took place on the first and second of august in 2008 which led to 11 deaths and three serious injuries are still unknown but what we do know is that an ice avalanche happened during an area of the climb or the bottleneck the avalanche destroyed many of the climbers robes which unfortunately led to their death so you're already fighting a losing battle when you start to climb k2 due to its location altitude and weather but the actual climb itself makes that challenge almost insurmountable what i'm about to describe is the most traveled route on k2 known as a brucey spur over 75 of climbers take this route the western south faces present even harder challenges and the east faced has never actually been climbed knowing that this is the easy route and i say easy and very sarcastic speech marks really puts in perspective how dangerous this mountain is once you reach base camp you're at an altitude of about 5 000 meters and all the way up to camp 3 at 7 350 meters is a 60 to 70 degree slope so it's demanding on the body from the earth a section known as house chimney is the first difficulty it's 100 foot long crack in a rock wall shaped like a chimney which is difficult to climb in crampons after this you basically reach camp 2 at 6760 meters on the ascent to camp 3 you face one of the most difficult parts of the climb known as the black pyramid a huge mass of steep rock coming off the main spur to put in perspective how big this party is the great pyramid of giza is 146 meters tall the black pyramid section of k2 is nearly 400 meters in length when you get close to camp 3 there's a 25 foot vertical wall of ice that you've got to climb but finally you make it to camp 3 just 1350 meters to go if only it was that easy camp 3 is on a slope of about 30 degrees making it very difficult to get a good night's rest your first bit of relief comes when you make it to camp 4 as it's a bit of a flat plane however it is at 8 000 meters so you have entered the death zone oxygen management is now even more crucial camp 4 can be described as the eye of the storm as you are resting but you know that you have the toughest part of the climb to go it's known as the bottleneck whilst you're traversing the narrow gully with a steep gradient this is your view and overhang cyroc or block of glacial ice weighing millions of tons which has been known to give way such as in the 2008 disaster that we mentioned earlier this instagram picture attempts to put into scale just how enormous it is and this is a video of a sarat giving way on a different mountain showing the unpredictability and impact it could have when the sorak on k2 gives way it's not just a bit of eyes it's a boss hurtling towards you with increasing speed now just imagine that fear and anxiety as you are tired weak and at 8 000 meters up knowing that your life isn't really in your own hands but then you've done it you've reached the peak congratulations all your blood sweats and tears have paid off well the thing is it actually gets harder from here you now have to go down imagine the whole journey as an energy tank every exertion you make you lose a little bit of charge but you're so desperate to complete your mission and reach the peak you push your body to its absolute limits reserving 50 of your energy for the way down might not even cross your mind that's why it's estimated that over 80 percent of deaths happen on descent you're weaker more tired and have less brain power and probably have a it's an accident waiting to happen and as i mentioned earlier people would describe this as the easiest route for k2 which truly shows how dangerous this mountain is there's good news however for those wishing to climb k2 apart from the estimated 30 000 expedition cost per person the routes are becoming more accessible k2 is slowly getting the mount everest treatment meaning increased popularity leads to more sherpas and safer routing these are the stats for successful summits per year since 1993 with 2022 destroying the previous record of 62 with over 190 summits in fact on july the 22nd 2022 more than 145 climbers summited within a 24 period this is why earlier i said until recently all these successful summits have led to a fall in the fatality rate whilst reaching the peak of k2 becomes more obtainable the challenge remains ruthless one must always keep respect for the savage mountain that has claimed the lives of many who have stood before with the goal of conquering its formidable terrain when mother nature is on its side k2 will always rule supreme k2 is located in gilgit baltistan pakistan it stands in the karakoram mountain range and is the highest mountain in pakistan k2 lies on the border between pakistan and china but the base camps and all climbing routes are accessed from the pakistani side specifically from gilgit baltistan k2 is known as the savage mountain because it is one of the most difficult and dangerous mountains to climb in the world although mount everest is higher k2 is considered far more challenging which is why only the world's best climbers attempt i hope you found this video interesting if you enjoyed it please like and share it with your friends who love mountains take good care of yourself and we'll meet again in a new video until then goodbye