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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Laura Sharman

Two women become first ever to summit deadly mountain that kills 25% of climbers

Two women have made history by becoming the first in their country to reach the top of the deadly K2 mountain.

Samina Baig and Naila Piani, from Pakistan, summited the 28,251ft peak in Nepal earlier this week – a feat that kills a quarter of climbers.

The deadly mountain is the second tallest in the world behind Mount Everest and is known for being the deadliest with a jaw dropping fatality rate.

A staggering 91 people have died trying to climb the peak which is famous for its harsh weather conditions with high winds, snow and temperatures as low as -40C.

Explorer George Bell famously described it as the "mountain that tries to kill you" while others have given it the name Savage Mountain, reports the Daily Star.

The women completed the 28,251ft peak earlier this week (Twitter)

Reacting to the news, Samina's team said: "We are extremely proud to announce that Samina Baig, with her strong Pakistani team, successfully summited the world’s most fascinating and dangerous mountain.

"Known as Savage Mountain, the world’s second and Pakistan’s tallest mountain, K2, at 8611 metres this morning at 7.42 am."

Less than 400 people have ever climbed the mountain, with many more giving up half way through or in some cases not surviving.

K2 as seen from Broad Peak base camp on Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan (Getty Images)

The most famous tragedy on K2 took place in 2009 when 11 mountaineers died within two days on the mountain.

Three others were left seriously injured in the event which became the worst single disaster in the mountain's history.

The group were climbing a treacherous area known as the bottleneck when an ice avalanche struck and sent nine people tumbling to their deaths.

A further two people had died the previous day due to exhaustion.

K2 is the second highest mountain in the world (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Last year, a team of 10 Nepali climbers also made history when they reached the K2 summit.

The mountain was the last of the world's tallest 14 mountains to be climbed in winter before the group summited in January 2021.

Their impressive feat adds another chapter to mountaineering history.

Writing on Instagram at the time, climber Nirmal Purja wrote: "History made for mankind, history made for Nepal."

The snow-capped mountains and glaciers from the Concordia camping site in the Karakoram range of Pakistan (AFP via Getty Images)

K2 is situated in the Karakoram range of Pakistan and is the last of the world's tallest mountains, all higher than 26200ft, to be climbed in winter.

The group's achievement is the result of an impressive collaborative effort between Nepali climbers and multiple teams.

Purja led one of the teams while the other was led by Mingma G Sherpa.

In the days leading up to their final push to the summit, the two groups joined forced and decided to work together in fixing ropes on the upper mountain in a bid to summit together.

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