K2 is the world’s second-highest mountain above sea level, after Mount Everest.
K2 rises to 8,611 metres in the Karakoram range, on the border between Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and China’s Xinjiang region. Its name originated with the 19th-century Great Trigonometric Survey of British India, which labelled it the second peak measured in the Karakoram series.
The mountain is also called Mount Godwin-Austen, after the British surveyor Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen. “Chhogori” is another name associated with it, although K2 remains the internationally dominant name.
K2 is famous for its steep routes, severe weather and technical climbing difficulty. An Italian expedition led by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli made the first confirmed ascent in 1954. Its reputation is distinct from its ranking: height alone does not determine climbing difficulty.