K2 conquered in winter

Ten Nepalese climbers, on 16 January, set a record by scaling Pakistan’s K2 (8,611m), the world’s second highest mountain and the only one among the 8,000m peaks that had never been climbed before in winter.

At about 16:56 hours, the 10 Nepalese climbers from three different expedition teams stood on the top of K2. The achievement was the result of a remarkable collaborative effort between the multiple teams and they celebrated it by singing their national anthem on the peak.

“The impossible is made possible, history made for humankind and Nepal… A very special moment. The whole team waited 10m below the summit to form a group then stepped onto the summit together,” said jubilant Nirmal who along with Mingma was leading the Nepalese climbers’ team.

Those who made it

So far only these 10 climbers in winter and 367 climbers in summer have completed the ascent of K2, while 86 climbers have lost lives during attempts to climb the peak between the first ascent of K2 on July 31, 1954, and the first winter summit on January 16, 2021.

Nicknamed the Savage Mountain, this first winter ascent is largely regarded as one of the last great undone challenges of the current generation of high altitude climbers.

K2 is one of the world’s most difficult and dangerous mountains to climb, with the second-highest fatality rate among the 14 tallest peaks, as winds there can blow at more than 200km an hour and temperatures can drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius in winter. For every four reaching the summit, around one climber never returns from the mountain.

What makes it special

K2 is the highest mountain in the Karakoram Range, which runs through northern Pakistan. It is located at 28251ft above sea level, making it the second highest mountain in the world, after Mount Everest at 29029ft. K2 is between Baltistan in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of north Pakistan and the Dafdar Township in Taxkorgan Tajik of Xinjiang, China. Its base camp is situated at a height of 16896ft.

A fortune in scorpions

Several years ago, a young Egyptian man abandoned his degree in archaeology to hunt scorpions in the country’s deserts and shores, extracting their venom for medicinal use.

At just 25 years old, Mohamed Hamdy Boshta is now the owner of the Cairo Venom Company — a project housing 80,000 scorpions in various farms across Egypt, as well as a range of snakes, also kept for their venom.

The scorpions are exposed to a tiny electric current to stimulate the release of the venom, one gram of which can produce between 20,000 and 50,000 doses of antivenom.

A gram of scorpion venom can fetch $10,000, which is then used to make antivenom and a range of other medicines, including for conditions such as hypertension.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 23rd, 2021