Wasfia Nazreen becomes first Bangladeshi to summit K2
Besides being far more technically difficult to climb than Everest, the K2 has notoriously fickle weather and has only been scaled by 425 people since 1954 -- including around 20 women
Another feather has been added to Bangladesh's celebrated mountaineer Wasfia Nazreen's cap as she became the first climber from Bangladesh to scale Pakistan's notorious K2 summit, the world's second highest mountain.
Elite Exped, the team of mountaineers which includes Wasfia, announced the achievement in a Facebook post on Friday (22 July).
"100 percent success rate! This season has been awesome. Our incredible team for our K2 expedition has all accomplished their goal," it said.
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"All team members are safely back at Camp 3." reads the Facebook post.
Besides Wasifa, the team consisted of some of the strongest and most renowned climbers in the world like MingmaTenzi Sherpa, Mingma David Sherpa, and Nirmal Purja.
Wasfia Nazreen's expedition was sponsored by Renata Limited.
The venter to climb to the summit began on Sunday (17 July). The 39-year-old reached the top of the mountain at an 8,611m (28,251ft) peak on early Friday (22 July).
Wasfia is mostly known for being the only Bangladeshi in the world till date to climb the Seven Summits -- the highest mountains of every continent.
She climbed Mount Everest on 26 May 2012, the second woman from Bangladesh to do so.
The K2, located at 8,611 metres above sea level, is the second-highest mountain on Earth.
Besides being far more technically difficult to climb than Everest, the K2 has notoriously fickle weather and has only been scaled by 425 people since 1954 -- including around 20 women, reports AFP.
The summit, for the first time, was reached by the Italian climbers Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni in 1954- the expedition was led by Ardito Desio, an Italian explorer, mountain climber, and geologist.
Meanwhile, a 47-year-old Nepali sherpa has set a climbing record by scaling all the world's 14 peaks that are higher than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) for a second time, his agency said on Thursday.
Sanu Sherpa, from Sankhuwasabha district in east Nepal, reached the top of Pakistan's Gasherbrum II, which at 8,035 metres is the 13th highest, on Thursday morning, his Pioneer Adventure hiking company said in Kathmandu.
"He is the only person in the world to scale each of the 14 highest mountains twice," Nibesh Karki, the company's executive director told Reuters. No further details were available.
Eight of the 14 highest peaks, including Mount Everest, are in Nepal. The other six are in Pakistan and the Tibet region of China.
