Gasherbrum II

Gasherbrum II is a massive mountain peak in the Karakoram range. It is the 13th highest mountain in the world above sea level. The mountain sits on the border of two regions. It marks the boundary between Gilgit–Baltistan in Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. This peak is a major part of the Gasherbrum massif. It is located at the top of the Baltoro Glacier. Within this group, it is the third-highest member. Gasherbrum I and Broad Peak are both taller than Gasherbrum II. Some people even view Gasherbrum III as a subpeak of Gasherbrum II. This is because Gasherbrum III has a topographic prominence of only 312 meters.

The name of the mountain tells a story of language and history. In 1856, Thomas George Montgomerie first saw the peak. He was a member of the British Royal Engineers. He was part of the Great Trigonometric Survey. He named the mountain K4. This name meant it was the fourth mountain of the Karakoram. Later, the name Gasherbrum was used. This name comes from Balti words. The word "rgasha" means beautiful. The word "brum" means mountain. Some people mistakenly believe it means "shining wall." However, that description was actually used for Gasherbrum IV in 1892.

Exploring the Gasherbrum group began in 1909. The Duke of the Abruzzi and Vittorio Sella explored the area then. The Abruzzi Glacier is named after the Duke. This glacier is a tributary of the Baltoro Glacier. In 1934, Günter Dyhrenfurth led an International Himalayan Expedition. This group included André Roch. They explored Gasherbrum I and II. They were able to make a climb of Gasherbrum II during this time.

The first successful ascent happened on July 7, 1956. An Austrian expedition achieved this goal. The team included Fritz Moravec, Josef Larch, and Hans Willenpart. They climbed using the Southwest Ridge. Their journey faced a major setback early on. After they set up Camp I, they had to descend. When they returned, they found an avalanche had occurred. The avalanche buried their camp and all their food. They chose to make a quick attempt at the summit anyway. They left Camp III on July 6. They reached the top at 11:30 am the next day after sleeping in a bivouac sack.

Climbing styles and records have changed over the decades. In 1981, Romolo Nottaris and Tiziano Zünd reached the top in alpine style. Alpine style means climbing without much extra support. In 1982, Reinhold Messner climbed the Southwest Ridge with Nazir Sabir and Sher Khan. During this climb, Messner found the body of a missing Austrian mountaineer. He buried the man two years later. In 1984, a French team led by Daniel Croisot achieved the first integral descent by ski. They skied the southwest ridge down to Base Camp. This was witnessed by the medical officer, Dominique Dock.

Speed has become a focus for many modern climbers. In 1986, a Slovene expedition set a very fast record. They climbed from the base to the peak in only 32 hours. This included 22 hours of climbing and 10 hours of rest at 5,900 meters. In 1997, Anatoli Boukreev performed a solo speed ascent. He climbed from camp ABC at 5,800 meters to the summit in 9 hours and 30 minutes. In 2006, Sebastian Haag and Benedikt Böhm climbed the mountain twice in one week. They even skied down the first time without removing their skis.

Recent years have seen even more difficult challenges met. In 2011, a team made the first winter ascent. This included Cory Richards, Denis Urubko, and Simone Moro. They climbed without using supplemental oxygen or porters. They even survived being buried by a class-four avalanche. In 2023, Andrzej Bargiel completed a major feat. He made the highest descent on skis from the mountain. He started his ski descent from 26,362 feet. This is over 8,000 meters high. These achievements show how much humans continue to explore this high place.