Former Gurkha Nirmal Purja among Nepalese climbers to complete first winter ascent of deadly K2

A team of Nepalese climbers including a former Gurkha soldier has claimed one of mountaineering’s last great prizes by completing the first winter ascent of K2.

The 10-strong team reached the peak of the world’s second highest mountain at 5pm  (noon GMT) on Saturday afternoon.

The 8,611m (28,251ft) peak is notorious for its perilous climbing conditions and until today had been the only one of 14 worldwide peaks above 8,000m to never be conquered in the winter.

The successful summit team included Nirmal Purja, a former Gurkha and one-time member of the UK’s special forces, who last year smashed the world record for climbing the 14 tallest peaks in the shortest time.

“What a journey. I’m humbled to say that as a team, we have summited the magnificent K2 in extreme winter conditions," he said.

Dozens of climbers arranged in several expeditions converged on K2 in late December to break the record. The final push included 10 Nepalese climbers who had originally started in different expeditions but who teamed up and set off soon after midnight, vowing to share the glory of reaching the top.

When the climbers set off from camps three and four, some members had already beaten previous records for the highest scaling of K2 during the winter as they laid out fixed lines for the final push.

Stages in the K2 ascent

"Nepalese Climbers finally reached the summit of Mt K2 this afternoon at 17:00 local time," said Chhang Dawa, one of the expedition leaders. "This is a greatest achievement in the history of mountaineering, this is the good example of team work.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan listed the successful 10 climbers as Nirmal Purja, Gelje Sherpa, Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma G, Sona Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Pem Chhiri Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Kili Pemba Sherpa and Dawa Tenjing Sherpa.

The brutal conditions, even in summer, have earned the peak on Pakistan-China border the title ‘savage mountain’. Some 86 climbers are reported to have died on the mountain, which roughly equates to one death in every four successful attempts.

Only a handful of winter attempts have been tried in the past, when the conditions are pitiless. Winds can reach up to 120mph and temperatures can fall to -50C (-58F).

Nirmal Purja in 2019 climbed the world's tallest 14 peaks in only 189 days

Several expeditions have found their camps and equipment swept away by high winds or avalanches in recent days and at least one Nepalese climber was badly hurt in a rock fall.