First Climbers Reach the Summit of K2
K2, known as the second-highest mountain in the world at 28,250 feet, has a rich history of exploration that culminated in its first successful summit on July 31, 1954. This achievement was marked by the ascent of Italian climbers Ardito Desio, Achille Compagnoni, and Lino Lacedelli, after numerous earlier expeditions since 1892 had failed to reach the peak. Located in the Karakoram range of the Himalayas, K2 has also been referred to by various names, including Mount Godwin-Austen and local names like Chogori and Dapsang, reflecting both its European exploration history and indigenous cultures. The mountain is situated in a politically sensitive area of modern-day Pakistan, near the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been the focus of longstanding territorial conflicts between India and Pakistan. The naming of the mountain and its climbing history highlights the intersection of adventure, science, and cultural heritage while acknowledging the complexities of geopolitical boundaries. K2 is often regarded as one of the most challenging peaks to climb due to its severe weather conditions and technical climbing routes, making its summit a significant achievement in mountaineering.
First Climbers Reach the Summit of K2
First Climbers Reach the Summit of K2
The first expeditions to the mountain known as K2 began in 1892, but none of them was able to reach the peak until July 31, 1954. On that day Ardito Desio, an Italian adventurer and professor of geology, accompanied by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, reached the summit.
Desio was born in Palmanova del Friuli, Italy, in 1897 and began teaching geology at the Politecnico di Milano in the early 1920s after service in World War I, for which he had volunteered. His feats as an explorer included sailing the Aegean alone, crossing the Sahara by camel, and searching for gold in Ethiopia. He had also explored the Karakorum range of the Himalayas, the massive mountain range in Central Asia where K2 is located. K2, at 28,250 feet high, is only 785 feet shorter than the much better known Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world at 29,035 feet, and also located in the Himalayas.
K2 was named in 1856 by a British surveyor of the Himalayas. It was nicknamed Mount Godwin-Austen in 1861 after the topographer and geologist Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen became the second European explorer to survey the remote and hard-toreach terrain. European names and designations were used because, at the time, India and much of the surrounding territory were under British rule, and those names have stuck out of tradition. However, there are also native names for the peak such as Chogori, Dapsang, Kechu, and Lambha Pahar. K2 is located within the current borders of modern-day Pakistan, near the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, a volatile portion of the world, since this region is claimed by both India and Pakistan in disputes which have often involved military conflict.