SKARDU (Web Desk) – A Chinese mountaineer, Guan Jing, tragically lost her life Tuesday night after being struck by falling rocks while descending from the summit of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.
According to Karrar Haidri, Vice President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, the incident occurred on the Abruzzi Spur route, a notoriously dangerous section between Camp I and Advanced Base Camp. Guan had successfully summited K2 on Monday with a group of climbers before the fatal accident occurred during her descent.
Recovery efforts for her body are ongoing, while the rest of the team is now safely making their way back to base camp. Despite the tragedy, Monday marked a major milestone in the 2025 climbing season with 32 climbers reaching the summit.
Multiple elite expedition groups — Elite Exped, Imagine Nepal, Seven Summit Treks, and Alpinist Climber Expedition — participated in the summit push. Climbers from China, Nepal, the United States, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Romania stood atop the 8,611-meter peak, battling rare August weather windows and challenging jet stream conditions.
Among the successful summiters were Maria Alexandra Danila, the first Romanian to summit K2, and Dilixiati Ailikuti from China, who became the youngest climber to reach the peak.
Meanwhile, Sohail Sakhi from Pakistan and Jangbu Sherpa completed their climbs without supplemental oxygen — a rare and demanding feat.
The Imagine Nepal team, led by Mingma G, achieved a 100% success rate, departing base camp on August 5 and reaching the summit on August 11. For Mingma G, this was his sixth successful summit of K2.
Elite Exped called the season “a test of patience, resilience, and teamwork,” citing severe weather, heavy snow, and delays as major obstacles. Collaborative rope-fixing efforts above Camp 4 ultimately enabled the summit push, with climbers reaching the top at 3:32pm PKT.
While the expedition was marked by historic achievements, it was also a sobering reminder of the perils of high-altitude mountaineering — where the descent can be more dangerous than the climb.