KATHMANDU, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A mountaineering team from Nepal made history on Saturday by scaling Mt K2, the second tallest mountain in the world, located on the Pakistan-China border, in the winter.
A team of 10 climbers managed by Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks Pvt Ltd stood atop of the 8,611-meter peak at 5 pm local time. Mt K2 also called Chhogori was the only peak above 8,000 meters that had not been climbed in the winter.
"Yes, our team has created a history by being atop the second tallest peak nobody had managed to do earlier," Thaneshwor Guragain, a manager at the Seven Summit Treks, told Xinhua. "Ten climbers managed by our company climbed the peak at 4:58 in the afternoon."
Those who scaled the peak of the deadliest mountain on Saturday were Nirmal Purja, Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma Tenzing Sherpa, Mingma Gyalze Sherpa, Sona Sherpa, Galjen Sherpa, Pem Chiri Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Dawa Tenjin Sherpa, and Kili Pemba Sherpa, said Guragain.
The team was managed by Chhang Dawa Sherpa, an expedition manager at the Seven Summit Treks. He took to social media (Facebook and Twitter) to make the announcement of the success. "We did it, believe me, we did it. Journey to summit never done before. The savage mountain has been summitted for the first time in winter," he wrote on facebook.
According to Guragain, who is constantly in touch with Chhang Dawa, said a total of 48 climbers will try their luck to be at the top of the second tallest peak only after Qomolangma. "Our team on Friday fixed the rope and cleared the path to the peak. 38 others will scale the peak within the next two weeks in different groups," said Guragain.
It's not that other expedition teams haven't tried to climb the peak in the past. In 1987-1988, the Polish-Canadian-British Expedition had ended their K2 winter mission at 7,300 meters. In 2002-2003, a Polish expedition team had reached 7,650 meters in winter, and in 2011-2012, a Russian expedition had reached 7,200 meters. Enditem