Mountain guide · Peak · 2026

K2

A complete guide to the peak, from an adjudicated evidence sheet. Sourced or not recorded — never estimated.

This is a guide to the peak, not a trail record. Passes, lakes, forts, and base-camp walks stay on trail pages.

Quick Facts

Formation / geology
K2 Gneiss (Karakoram Metamorphic Complex): orthogneiss and biotite-rich paragneiss. Precursor is metamorphosed pre-collisional Cretaceous granite (protolith ~115–120 Ma), buried and deformed during India–Asia collision, then rapidly uplifted. Shared with Broad Peak westward to Sarpo Laggo.
en.wikipedia.org · verified 2026-09-21
Name origin
Survey notation: Thomas Montgomerie labelled the second Karakoram peak K2 (K = Karakoram). Local name not established; Chogori / Qogir is used in Chinese. Mount Godwin-Austen was proposed and largely rejected.
en.wikipedia.org · verified 2026-09-21
Cultural history
Not recorded

First winter ascent
2021 (Nirmal Purja, Gelje Sherpa, Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma G, Sona Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Pem Chhiri Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Kili Pemba Sherpa, Dawa Tenjing Sherpa)
en.wikipedia.org · verified 2026-09-21

Generic editorial notes. No peak-specific crowding, cost, or hazard claim is invented here.

A named summit is a distinct objective from any related walking approach.
Elevation, range, location, and first-ascent facts appear here only when the evidence sheet cites them.

Altitude, weather, and terrain can turn a day. Hazards belong on the trail record where we hold them — not as invented peak-specific warnings here.
Permits, fees, and route grades stay Unverified on this page until an official source is cited. This is not a route plan.

Best season
Most ascents in July and August (typically the warmest months).
en.wikipedia.org · verified 2026-09-21
Routes and grades
Unverified
Permit
Gilgit-Baltistan mountaineering expedition permit required (DTSGB). Royalty figures vary across 2024–2025 notifications and are not copied here — confirm the live table.
dtsgb.gog.pk · verified 2026-09-21
Fitness
Unverified

These are expedition-grade mountaineering objectives, not trekking peaks; no trail record is implied.