K2

K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level, is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest (at 8,849 metres (29,032 ft)).[3] It lies in the Karakoram range, partially in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and partially in a China-administered territory of the Kashmir region included in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang.[4][5][6][a]

K2 also became popularly known as the Savage Mountain after George Bell—a climber on the 1953 American expedition—told reporters, “It’s a savage mountain that tries to kill you.”[7] Of the five highest mountains in the world, K2 is the deadliest; approximately one person dies on the mountain for every four who reach the summit.[7][8] Also occasionally known as Mount Godwin-Austen,[9] other nicknames for K2 are The King of Mountains and The Mountaineers’ Mountain,[10] as well as The Mountain of Mountains after prominent Italian climber Reinhold Messner titled his book about K2 the same.