Out of the fourteen mountains on earth that reach over 8000 meters (26,247 feet) in height, Mount Everest lays claim to the title of the most well-known, at least in the public eye. But while Everest is respected among mountaineering circles, it isn’t the most challenging peak to ascend. The world’s second-highest mountain, K2, takes that crown because of unforgiving weather conditions, knife-edge ridges and steep pitches that leave climbers dangerously exposed to the harsh elements that sweep through Karakoram mountain range on the Pakistan-China border.
In 2011, Austrian mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner summited K2 and became the first woman to climb all fourteen “eight-thousanders” without the use of supplementary oxygen. She had previously made six attempts on K2, all of which were unsuccessful, including a 2010 trip with extreme skier Frederik Ericsson who perished in a fall about 1300 feet from the summit.
Kaltenbrunner described her experiences on K2, including her desire to return to the summit on National Geographic Live.
Conquering K2 from National Geographic Live on FORA.tv
