2008 K2 disaster

35°52′57″N 76°30′48″E / 35.8825°N 76.5133°E / 35.8825; 76.5133

2008 K2 disaster
K2 in Summer
Date1 August 2008 – 2 August 2008 (2008-08-02)
LocationK2
Elevation 8,610 m (28,250 ft)
Coordinates35°52′57″N 76°30′48″E / 35.8825°N 76.5133°E / 35.8825; 76.5133
Deaths11
Non-fatal injuries3

The 2008 K2 disaster occurred on 1 August 2008, when 11 mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth.[1][2] Three others were seriously injured. The series of deaths, over the course of the Friday ascent and Saturday descent, was the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.[3][4] Some of the specific details remain uncertain, with different plausible scenarios having been given about different climbers' timing and actions, when reported later via survivors' eyewitness accounts or via radio communications of climbers who died (sometimes minutes) later in the course of events on K2 that day.

The main problem was reported as an ice avalanche occurring at an area known as "the Bottleneck", which destroyed many of the climbers' rope lines.[5] However, two climbers died on the way up to the top prior to the avalanche.[5] Among the dead were people from France, Ireland, South Korea, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, and Serbia.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference everestnews was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Bowley, Graham (13 November 2010). "K2 tragedy: 'We had no body, no funeral, no farewell ...' | Family | The Guardian". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc_2008_0803 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ The most deadly climbing season on K2 was in 1986, when 13 climbers died in seven separate accidents. See Curran pp. 183–207
  5. ^ a b c "'Just Pure Stupidity': Eleven Climbers Die in K2 Disaster". Spiegel Online. 2008-08-04. Archived from the original on 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2018-01-24.