The Throne Room of Mountain Gods.

[krash]

All these Alps and Rockies look kids playground in front of our peaks.

Early in the sixties, one of our ministers went to the states. For some reason that I cannot remember he was taken to see the Rockies. When the minister reached there he exclaimed, "Mountains? These are hills. Come over to Pakistan and I'll show you what mountains are."

Although the Andes are a lot less higher and a lot less extreme (and, at least to me, a lot less beautiful), I still wouldn't mind checking out Patagonia. It is very beautiful. Maybe sit in the shadow of Cerro Torre and have a smoke one day.

 

[AhmadBilal]

I think you can't remember Himalaya mountains. That's why you are to be amazed.

 

[krash]

K2's influence

K2 cigerettes:

K2 on the Rs50 note:

The Pakistani postage stamp issued at the event of the first ever successful summit of K2:

A painting of K2:

The iconic moment when Osama Bin Ladin visited Concordia under the sponsorship of 7/11:

@Areesh

 

[krash]

Too high for the sky


K2 and its sister peaks, taken from the Chinese side. Notice how the Chinese side of the Karakoram look like mere hills, especially when compared to the giants in the background. Background (right to left): Masherbrum, K2, Broad Peak, the Gasherbrum Massif (the Gasherbrum Peaks clustered), Chogholisa.

I'm guessing, from one of PIA's flights.

K2, Broad Peak and the Gasherbrum Peaks clustered in the center.

Taken from Broad Peak's summit:

Taken from a Pakistani military helicopter:

On K2's side:

On K2's Shoulder:

 

[krash]

K2 from the northern side:

Kaltenbrunner's ascent on K2's North Face:

Taken from K2's shoulder. You can see the whole shoulder leading up to the huge serac (ice wall) jutting out from the mountain side above the Bottleneck. Also notice the three specks which are climbers.

The serac up close:

Just after the Bottleneck:

An old picture of K2's North-East face:

 

[krash]

Typical cloud halos ove K2:

The glacial streams on the Baltoro that are formed during the summers:

Looking up at K2 from base camp:

 

[krash]

Brilliant panoramic shot from Concordia. Gasherbrum IV on the right, Broad Peak center and K2 on teh left, almost hidden behind clouds. This would've looked much better if high res pics could be enlarged here.

K2 poking out from behind the Cathedral:

Spring at K2. Notice the marked increase in snow everywhere:

Late spring/early summer, K2:

This is what makes an expedition happen. An army of porters who are paid next to nothing. Mitre Peak on the right and Chogholisa center, way in the background:

Chinese porters on the northern side:

K2 from the base:

 

[Areesh]

K2's influence

K2 cigerettes:

K2 on the Rs50 note:

The Pakistani postage stamp issued at the event of the first ever successful summit of K2:

A painting of K2:

The iconic moment when Osama Bin Ladin visited Concordia under the sponsorship of 7/11:

@Areesh

Lol. Yeah I remember that news. OBL hiding in Karakorums.

 

[Menace2Society]

 

[krash]

AHA! Found some great stuff.

Climb K2 in 3D! - YouTube

The following is a great make. There are some gross discrepancies. 1) The climbs before Fritz Wiessner were quite serious and Wiessner's was by no means the first serious one. This is grossly unfair and disrespectful to the brave souls who died up there trying to climb the monster with 1/3rd of the equipment Wiessner took. 2) There's a consensus that there was no way Wiessner could have made it to the summit when his Sherpa told him to turn back at 900 meters below the summit. In fact its believed that he would have died had he not. 3) 900 meters below the summit is a lot on any mountain, let alone K2! Its 27.272727272% percent of the total climb from the foot of the mountain to its summit. On top of that, these last 900 meters are the most difficult to climb and most of the attempts fail in this region. This estimate puts him roughly on or below the Black Pyramid. The comment that he believed, that after climbing the rock face in front of him, all he would have to do is go up the easier snowy slope further puts weight in the claim that he was standing below the Black Pyramid (which would be the rock face) and was referring to K2's shoulder above as the easier snowy slope to the summit (which is the only easier snowy slope on the mountain). Even if we assume that he had successfully climbed the Black Pyramid and had reached camp 3 then he was still, at the very least, roughly 1261 meters below the summit. Which is a very very VERY long way away from the summit and a task which he could never have accomplished. 4) The expedition Wiessner sent before to find a suitable route came no where near even close to the summit of K2. It roamed near the base and gauged a route from there. If they had then Wiessner would have known that there was no easy snowy slope what so ever going to the summit. Its getting long and so I'll stop now, plus that's just the way stories are told and documentaries made (and the mountaineers of that time are known to over exaggerate their claims). Regardless, I liked the documentary. Do watch it,

Mountain Men : The ghosts of K2 - YouTube

This one is about that fateful day in 2008 when 11 climbers died on the same day on K2. The woman at 1:35 lost her husband on that day. I remember watching her interview after the incident, it was depressing. The poor soul herself died a year later trying to climb Nangaparbat. If you find the full length documentary please let me know as well,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPqSWYNJVaQ

ps: Sorry for the youtube links. Couldn't find them anywhere else.

 

[krash]

From left to right, New Cristal Peak (6252m), Praqpa Ri (7150m) at the back and Marble Peak:

New Cristal Peak and Marble Peak:

K2:

On the Vigne Glacier:

 

[krash]

**Click on "Vimeo" or the name of the video and then watch in full screen HD**

 

[Umair Nawaz]

@krash Zindabad.

 

[Indischer]

@krash Amazing set of pics dude! Are you a mountaineer too? If so, will be nice to hear your from you about your experiences.

 

[krash]

@krash Amazing set of pics dude! Are you a mountaineer too? If so, will be nice to hear your from you about your experiences.

Just a lowly amateur. The experiences still have been spectacular