French climber Benjamin Vedrines reached the summit of Pakistan's K2, the world's second-highest mountain, in a record of just under 11 hours at the weekend. However, two Japanese climbers are feared dead after a fall on the Western face of the mountain.
The 32-year-old specialist in high-speed ascents – made without the aid of oxygen – left K2 base camp just after midnight on Saturday and reached the summit 10 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds later.
His ascent slashes by more than half the previous record for climbing K2 without the aid of bottled oxygen, completed in 23 hours by fellow Frenchman Benoit Chamoux in 1986.
Vedrines attempted the summit in 2022 but was forced to turn back after suffering from hypoxia – a lack of oxygen in the blood caused by thin air at high altitudes.
"I took my revenge on this mountain," Vedrines said in a voice message. "But above all I wanted to reconcile with it by doing things with maturity".
"It was very symbolic for me because I was returning in my footsteps to where I experienced those very unique moments," he said.
"I really enjoyed seeing the same sections again, but with lucidity this time".
'Savage Mountain'
Standing at 8,611 metres on the Pakistan-China border, K2 is 238 metres shorter than Everest but is considered more technically challenging – earning it the nickname "Savage Mountain".
Elite climbers regard the mountain, which was first scaled in 1954, as a quintessential achievement, and often attempt to set records on its jagged slopes.
Norwegian climber Kristin Harila and her Nepali guide Tenjin Sherpa conquered K2 a year ago, capping a record for the fastest summit of all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre mountains.
The pair completed the feat in three months and one day.
Tenjin was killed in an avalanche less than three months later as he guided another climber on Mount Shishapangma in Tibet.
In January 2021, a 10-man team from Nepal became the first to summit K2 in winter as temperatures plunged to minus 65 degrees Celsius.
Japanese climbers fall
Meanwhile, rescue prospects seemed remote on Monday for two feted Japanese climbers who fell from K2's western face at the weekend.
Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima had been using the same "alpine style" of climbing as Vedrines, which relies on a minimum of fixed ropes, when they plunged from above 7,000 metres.
A helicopter spotted the motionless pair but was forced to abort a rescue attempt and their sponsor – clothing brand Ishii Sports – said on Monday they were on "steep terrain that is difficult to reach".
Rescue attempts are still being discussed and no organisation has yet declared the men dead.
(with newswires)
