K2 (Mount Godwin-Austen)

Every major Himalayan peak eventually earned a local name. K2 never did — it remains the only 8,000-metre giant still known by its 1856 survey code.

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WorldGeo0018 · World Geography

K2 (Mount Godwin-Austen)

The world’s second-highest peak, and its deadliest 8,000-metre climb

Height

8,611 mWorld’s 2nd highest

Range

KarakoramPakistan-China border

First Ascent

1954Compagnoni & Lacedelli

Location and Name

• Sits in the Karakoram Range, on the Pakistan-China border.
• Lies within Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan.
• Named “K2” by surveyor Thomas Montgomerie in 1856.
• Also called Mount Godwin-Austen after a later surveyor.

The Savage Mountain

• Nicknamed “The Savage Mountain” for its extreme danger.
• Roughly one climber dies for every four who reach the summit.
• It is the deadliest of the world’s five highest peaks.
• First climbed on 31 July 1954, decades after Everest’s 1953 ascent.

A Name That Never Changed

Montgomerie’s survey named nearby Masherbrum after its local title, K1. K2, remote and unnamed locally, kept its temporary survey code permanently.

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Must Know

• K2, at 8,611 metres, is the world’s second-highest mountain, after Everest.
• It sits in the Karakoram Range, on the Pakistan-China border.
• K2 lies within Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan.
• It is also known as Mount Godwin-Austen.
• It was first climbed on 31 July 1954, by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli.

Good to Know

• K2 is nicknamed “The Savage Mountain” for its extreme technical difficulty.
• Roughly one climber dies for every four who reach its summit.
• It is the deadliest of the world’s five highest mountains.

Test Yourself

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1. At 8,611 metres, where does K2 rank among the world’s mountains by height?

Highest

Second-highest

Third-highest

Fifth-highest

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Great to Know

• British surveyor Thomas Montgomerie named the peak “K2” in 1856, for Karakoram peak 2.
• The nearby peak K1 later took its local name, Masherbrum.
• K2 never acquired a local name, likely due to its extreme remoteness.