K2, the world’s second highest mountain, is a more lethal than Everest. 84 people are known to have died on the mountain since record keeping began. Among mountaineers, K2 is considered to be more difficult to ascent. 306 people have reached the summit, compared to more than 4,000 that have reached the top of Mount Everest.
Sarah Gibbens, writing for National Geographic:
Fourteen mountains in the world reach over 8,000 meters. All have been climbed in winter except for K2, despite attempts that began in 1987, 2002 and 2012. But an elite team of Polish climbers will set off today in an attempt to make history by summiting K2 in winter.
The team, which consists of 13 climbers, will fly from Poland to Islamabad, Pakistan, where they will travel to the country’s mountainous border with China. Once there, it will take at least 100 porters to carry over a ton of equipment needed to establish a basecamp.
Only Mount Everest, which stands at 29,029 feet, is taller than K2, whose peak rises 28,251 feet above sea level. Climbers have reached its peak in the spring and summer, when conditions are less perilous, and have partially climbed the mountain in winter, but no one has reached the mountain’s peak in winter.