Chinese mountaineer dies after rockfall on K2
Guan Jing becomes the second fatality on K2 this season amid dangerous weather and rockfall conditions.
PC: Guan Jing's Instagram post
A Chinese mountaineer, Guan Jing, tragically died on Tuesday night after being struck by falling rocks while descending from the summit of Mount K2, the Alpine Club of Pakistan reported.
"The incident occurred on the Abruzzi Spur route between Camp I and Advanced Base Camp," said Karrar Haidri, Vice President of the Alpine Club. The section is known for frequent and dangerous rockfalls.
Guan had successfully reached the summit on Monday as part of a 15-member expedition team led by Imagine Nepal, the company that made this season’s K2 summit possible.
The success of the expedition is credited to the leadership of renowned climber Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, also known as Mingma G. Despite repeated delays and persistent harsh weather, he led a team of experienced mountaineers that opened the route to the summit.
Many other teams abandoned their attempts as relentless rockfalls and unpredictable weather persisted throughout July, the peak climbing season. Mingma G, however, remained at Base Camp, holding out hope for a narrow weather window. That opportunity finally arrived on August 11—a day he had long believed would mark a successful summit.
Guan is the second fatality on K2 this season. Last month, Iftikhar Hussain Sadpara, a mountaineer from Skardu, lost his life in an avalanche near the same section of the mountain during an acclimatization rotation. His body was recovered and brought back to Base Camp shortly after the incident.
The avalanche had struck four climbers in total; two returned safely, while one foreign mountaineer sustained minor injuries.
Recovery efforts for Guan Jing’s body are currently underway, according to Haidri. Meanwhile, the rest of the climbers who summited on the same day have safely returned to Base Camp. In total, more than two dozen climbers reached K2’s summit on Monday.
This year’s climbing season in the Karakoram has been especially perilous. Rising temperatures have led to receding snowlines, significantly increasing the risk of rockfalls and avalanches. Even Gasherbrum II, another major peak in the region, saw no summits this season. All teams were forced to retreat due to consistently unfavorable weather conditions.
