K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level, is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest at 8,849 metres (29,032 ft). It lies in the Karakoram range, partially in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and partially in the China-administered Trans-Karakoram Tract in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang.
The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise definition of the criteria used to assess independence, and at times, the UIAA has considered whether the list should be expanded to 20 mountain peaks by including the major satellite peaks of eight-thousanders. All of the eight-thousanders are located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia, and their summits lie in the altitude range known as the death zone.
Nanga Parbat, known locally as Diamer, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth and its summit is at 8,126 m (26,660 ft) above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Nanga Parbat is the westernmost major peak of the Himalayas, and thus in the traditional view of the Himalayas as bounded by the Indus and Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra rivers, it is the western anchor of the entire mountain range.
Anatoli Nikolaevich Boukreev was a Soviet and Kazakh mountaineer who made ascents of 10 of the 14 eight-thousander peaks—those above 8,000 m (26,247 ft)—without supplemental oxygen. From 1989 through 1997, he made 18 successful ascents of peaks above 8,000 m.
The Bottleneck is a location along the South-East Spur, the most-used route to the summit of K2, the second-highest mountain in the world, in the Karakoram, on the border of Pakistan and China.
Hassan Sadpara PP was a Pakistani mountaineer and adventurer from Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. He is the first Pakistani to have climbed six eight-thousanders including Mount Everest (8848m), K2 (8611m), Gasherbrum I (8080m), Gasherbrum II (8034m), Nanga Parbat and Kangchenjunga (8586m). Although, he is credited for summiting five of the eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen but, contrary to initial reports, Hassan Sadpara clarified that he used supplemental oxygen during his Everest ascent due to bad weather.
Samina Khayal Baig is a Pakistani mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest in 2013, all Seven Summits by 2014, and K2 in 2022. She is the first Pakistani woman to climb Everest, K2 and the Seven Summits. She climbed Mt. Everest at the age of 21.
Adam Radosław Bielecki is a Polish alpine and high-altitude climber, known for the first winter ascents of the eight-thousanders: Gasherbrum I and Broad Peak. In his book Spod zamarzniętych powiek, written with co-author Dominik Szczepański, Bielecki tells the story of his climbings, memories from Himalayan expeditions, and the effort the highest mountains demand.
Muhammad Ali Sadpara was a Pakistani high-altitude mountaineer. He was part of the team that completed the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat in 2016. Throughout his career, Sadpara successfully climbed a total of eight eight-thousanders, four of which he ascended in a single calendar year.
Tom Ballard was a British rock climber and alpinist, who was the first mountaineer to climb the six major alpine north faces solo in a single winter season. In February 2019, Ballard disappeared during bad weather on an expedition to Nanga Parbat, in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. His body was discovered on the mountain's Mummery Spur on 9 March 2019.
Élisabeth Revol is a French mountaineer. In January 2018, Revol became the first woman to climb Nanga Parbat in winter; on the descent, she was rescued, while her teammate Tomasz Mackiewicz died, an event which was widely covered by the mainstream press. Having narrowly avoided amputation of her left foot, she traversed Mount Everest and Lhotse consecutively in May 2019.
Meherban Karim was a Pakistani mountaineer. He lost his life, along with 10 other mountaineers, in the 2008 K2 disaster, following an avalanche in what was to be one of the deadliest accidents in the history of K2 mountaineering. He summited several eight-thousanders: K2, Nanga Parbat, and Gasherbrum II. In the mountaineering community, he was known as "Karim The Dream" and "Karim Meherban".
Sergi Mingote i Moreno was a Spanish mountaineer. He was also a lecturer and executive coach for The International School of Coaching. He held a diploma in managerial function from ESADE and Master in International Cooperation and Management of NGOs.
John Snorri Sigurjónsson was an Icelandic mountaineer. In May 2017, he became the first Icelander to summit Lhotse in the Himalayas, which is 8,516 meters high and the fourth highest mountain in the world. On July 28 of the same year, he became the first Icelander to summit K2. On 4 August 2017, he successfully summited Broad Peak.
Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto was a Chilean architect, rock climber and mountaineer. He held a Guinness World Record for making the first enchainment of Lhotse and Mount Everest without oxygen in 2019.
Shehroze Kashif is a Pakistani mountaineer who became the youngest climber in the world to summit K2 on 27 July 2021. He became the youngest Pakistani to summit Mount Everest on 11 May 2021. After the successful summit of Mount Everest, Sports Board Punjab made him the youth ambassador of Punjab, Pakistan. He summited Broad Peak at the age of 17, after which he was called 'The Broad Boy'.
Abdul Joshi from Shimsal is a Pakistani mountaineer who became the first climber in the world to summit the main 6,076-metre (19,934 ft) Passu Cones peak in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan on 14 August 2021. Abdul is known as the "Path Finder" amongst the local mountaineering fraternity for his talent for finding new, unclimbed routes. He is also the first person in the world to cross the F.N./Joshi Pass and Verjerav Pass. On 16 April 2021, Abdul became the first Pakistani to summit Annapurna, the tenth-highest peak in the world at 8,091 m (26,545 ft), along with his climbing partner, Sirbaz Khan. On 16 May 2022, he became the 8th Pakistani to summit Mount Everest.
Sajid Ali Sadpara ; is a Pakistani high-altitude mountaineer.
Sirbaz Khan is a Pakistani mountaineer. He is the first Pakistani to summit all 14 eighth-thousander peaks in the world.
