First Summit of K2 in Two Years!

Ask any high alpine mountaineer about Everest, and they'll tell you it's the highest peak on Earth, but not the most difficult mountain to summit. Ask them about K2, and they'll probably get a wistful look in their eye and tell you that it's the real Crown Jewel of climbing. MountEverst.net that paragon of high alpine climbing news, has a story up today about the first successful summit of K2 since 2004. The summit was completed by a husband and wife team, Nives Meroi and Romano Benet, who set off for the summit at 2 AM this morning, and have successfully arrived back in Base Camp at this writing. Congratulations goes out to both them on this monumental task.

K2 is the second highest mountain in the world, lagging behind Everest by just 780 feet. But it is orders of magnitude harder to climb. The summit is guarded by six steep, rugged, and treacherous ridges, each with their own obstacles to navigate. It's a long, hard, technical climb, and although fewer people have attempted the climb, it still claims lives at a higher rate than Everest.