Crowds on K2 : Selling Out the Savage Mountain

K2, the second highest mountain on Earth, is also known as Savage Mountain. 1 climber dies for every 4 who reach the summit of the notoriously treacherous peak, and previous to 2021, only 302 people have survived their arduous climb to the pinnacle.

That is until 21^st July 2021. Owning to bad weather in the preceding days, base camps began filling up with eager climbers ready to take to the ropes. Crowds were seen in single file, lining up at the mountains infamously dangerous bottle neck some 26,900 ft above sea level.

Over 100 summited that day. What lead to the substantial increase? A few factors created the crowding: forecasted good weather, more permits than usual were issued, international travel was reopened and a return to previous levels of the disposable income required to climb.

K2 was first surveyed in 1856 by a British officer working for the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India. K1 stands near and has a local name of Masherbrum but K2, due to its remoteness, was never named locally. The first documented attempt to conquer the peak was made in 1902.

Savage Mountain, with its elevation of 8610 m or 28,250 ft, is the second highest and second deadliest mountain in the world. The K is for Karakoram, the region in Pakistan administered Kashmir where it rises. Basecamp on the metamorphic rock is some 17,000 ft above sea level!

During the pandemic, avid climbers made plans for tackling one of the 10 ascension routes when lockdowns were over again. The punishing peak passage gained in popularity due to its difficulty level as a most challenging climb, even when compared to the taller peak Mount Everest.

Savage Mountain is one of 14 “8 thousanders”, a select group of independent mountains that reach over 8,000m above sea level. K2s summit-to-death ratio is 22 % compared to Mt Everest's 4%. Memorials and inscribed plaques dedicated to those who have died climbing line the route.

K2 is so remote it can’t be seen from the nearest village. It takes 24 hours or more to reach the peak. The summit is in an area known as the Death Zone, a region of high altitude without enough oxygen to sustain human life, and has hazardous, unpredictable weather conditions.

What does the future hold for K2, once off-limits to all but the most expert climbers? Now expedition operators oversell the summit dream to ardent customers bent on reaching the top of the perilous apex whatever the odds, which leads to the overcrowding witnessed in July 2022.

Most avid mountaineers (and armchair enthusiasts) agree overcrowding on the world’s tallest peaks is unsustainable. Rather than form long conga lines, climbers should have to wait in base camp for their chance to tackle the steep slopes of Savage Mountain.

Onwards and Upwards!