The 1995 K2 disaster was a mountaineering disaster on K2 in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, the world's second highest mountain. Six people are reported to have died on August 13, 1995, on K2, largely related to bad weather, especially reported high winds.

Scott Fischer Scott Eugene Fischer (December 24, 1955 – May 11, 1996) was an American mountaineer and mountain guide. He was renowned for his ascents of the world's highest mountains made without the use of supplemental oxygen. Fischer and Wally Berg were t ...

was climbing Broad Peak at the time, and suggested that a contributing factor was combination of brutal cold and winds. An American team had gained a permit to climb K2 in the summer of 1995. K2 is regarded as a significantly more difficult and dangerous climb than Mount Everest. By August 13, 1995, the remnants of the U.S. team and

Alison Hargreaves Alison Jane Hargreaves (17 February 1962 – 13 August 1995) was a British mountain climber. Her accomplishments included scaling Mount Everest alone, without supplementary oxygen or support from a Sherpa team, in 1995. She soloed all the great ...

had joined forces with a New Zealand and Canadian team at Camp 4, around above sea level, and at least 12 hours from the summit. Later that day, having joined with a Spanish team of mountaineers above Camp 4, New Zealander

Peter Hillary Peter Edmund Hillary (born 26 December 1954) is a New Zealand mountaineer, philanthropist and writer. He is the son of adventurer Sir Edmund Hillary, who, along with mountaineer Tenzing Norgay, completed the first successful ascent of Mount Ev ...

, son of Everest pioneer Sir Edmund Hillary, decided to turn back, noting that the weather that had been fine for the previous four days appeared to be changing. At 6:45 p.m., in fine conditions, Hargreaves and Spaniard Javier Olivar reached the summit, followed by American

Rob Slater Robert John Slater (6 December 1960 – August 13, 1995) was an American mountaineer known for his first ascent of the big wall route ''Wyoming Sheep Ranch'' on El Capitan. A tireless outdoor recreationalist, Slater built up an impressive climb ...

, Spaniards Javier Escartín and Lorenzo Ortíz, and New Zealander Bruce Grant. All six died in a violent storm while returning from the summit. Canadian

Jeff Lakes Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form ( hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes ...

, who had turned back below the summit earlier, managed to reach one of the lower camps but died from the effects of exposure. The next day, two Spanish climbers, Pepe Garces and Lorenzo Ortas (not Lorenzo Ortíz, who was killed in the storm), who had survived the storm at Camp 4, were descending the mountain suffering from frostbite and exhaustion. Before reaching Camp 3 they found a bloodstained anorak, a climbing boot, and a harness. They recognized the equipment as belonging to Hargreaves. From Camp 3 they could also see a body in the distance. They did not approach the body, so it was not positively identified, but they had little doubt it was Hargreaves and concluded she had been blown off the mountain during the storm. Lorenzo Ortas and Pepe Garces survived but had to be airlifted out, enduring six days without a tent.

List of fatalities

Earlier in the season, Jordi Anglès died from a fall at K2.8000ers – Fatalities – K2
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References

{{k2nav 1995 in Pakistan K2 Mountaineering disasters