K2, Mount
Mount K2 was so named in 1856 by its surveyor T. G. Montgomerie of the Survey of India, to designate it as one of the thirty-five peaks in the Karakorum range of the western Himalayas. One of its unofficial names is Mount Godwin Austen, after the British topographer who was only the second European to visit this remote and rugged area. Its other names include Qogir Feng in Chinese and Dap-song in Tibetan, and there are also several local names for the peak.
K2 is the second-highest mountain in the world, surpassed only by Mount Everest, which is also in the Himalayas. K2 rises to 8,611 meters, the highest peak in the Karakorum range. It lies athwart the borders between China and the state of Jammu and Kashmir, in an area heavily contested by India and Pakistan but now controlled by Pakistan. K2 is some 800 kilometers due north of Delhi. Although eight expeditions attempted to climb K2 between 1892 and 1954, the mountain was not ascended until 1954, when members of an Italian expedition managed to reach the peak.
Further Reading
Ardito, Stefano, et al. (2001) Peaks of Glory: Climbing the World's Highest Mountains. Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books.
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