- 1. K2, the second highest mountain in the world at 8,611 meters (28,251 feet) above sea level, is part of the formidable Karakoram range in Asia, straddling the border between Pakistan and China. Renowned for its breathtaking beauty and treacherous conditions, K2 is often considered a more daunting challenge than Everest due to its severe weather, challenging climbs, and steep technical routes. First summited on July 31, 1954, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio, K2 has earned nicknames such as 'Savage Mountain' because of its harsh environment, which includes icy winds, unpredictable storms, and avalanches. The ascent is particularly challenging due to the presence of the infamous 'bottle neck', a narrow, perilous couloir that presents climbers with significant dangers. As a result, K2 has seen a lower number of successful summits compared to Everest, contributing to its allure among elite mountaineers. The area surrounding K2 boasts spectacular glaciers, towering peaks, and rich biodiversity, making it not only a climber's destination but also a site of immense natural beauty. The mountain's allure is augmented by its remote location and the sense of adventure that permeates its exploration, inspiring climbers and adventurers worldwide to test their limits against this iconic giant of the Himalayas.
What is the second-highest mountain on Earth?
A) Kangchenjunga
B) Annapurna
C) Mount Everest
D) K2
- 2. In which mountain range is K2 located?
A) Himalayas
B) Andes
C) Alps
D) Karakoram
- 3. Which country is K2 located in?
A) Nepal
B) Pakistan
C) China
D) India
- 4. What is the nickname given to K2?
A) Chimborazo
B) Kangchenjunga
C) Savage Mountain
D) Matterhorn of the Himalayas
- 5. What is the standard route taken to climb K2?
A) Abruzzi Spur
B) North Ridge
C) South Col
D) West Buttress
- 6. What is the danger zone on K2 known as?
A) Avalanche Alley
B) Fear Corridor
C) Death Zone
D) The Bottleneck
- 7. Which season experiences the most unstable weather on K2?
A) Summer
B) Spring
C) Fall
D) Winter
- 8. Which year was the first successful winter ascent of K2 achieved?
A) 1996
B) 2021
C) 1986
D) 1978
- 9. What is the deadliest year in K2's climbing history with the highest death toll in a single season?
A) 2008
B) 2011
C) 1996
D) 1986
- 10. What is the most dangerous time of day to climb K2 due to avalanches and serac fall danger?
A) Night
B) Afternoon
C) Morning
D) Evening
- 11. What is the time frame for the climbing season on K2 each year?
A) All year round
B) June to August
C) January to March
D) September to November
- 12. When was K2 first summited?
A) 1954
B) 1975
C) 1948
D) 1962
- 13. Which expedition was the first to reach the summit of K2?
A) French
B) Japanese
C) American
D) Italian
- 14. What is the local name for K2?
A) Chogori
B) Kangchenjunga
C) Annapurna
D) Everest
- 15. Which season is the best for climbing K2?
A) Winter
B) Summer
C) Fall
D) Spring
- 16. Who is the first woman to summit K2?
A) Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner
B) Edurne Pasaban
C) Junko Tabei
D) Wanda Rutkiewicz
- 17. What animal is commonly found in the region around K2?
A) Kangaroo
B) Snow Leopard
C) Panda
D) Giraffe
- 18. What is the height of K2 above sea level?
A) 8,848 metres (29,029 ft)
B) 8,611 metres (28,251 ft)
C) 7,820 metres (25,659 ft)
D) 8,849 metres (29,032 ft)
- 19. Which two regions administer parts of K2?
A) Russia-administered Siberia and Mongolia-administered Altai Mountains
B) Afghanistan-administered Wakhan Corridor and Tajikistan-administered Pamir Mountains
C) India-administered Ladakh and Nepal-administered Sikkim
D) Pakistan-administered Kashmir and China-administered Trans-Karakoram Tract
- 20. How many people had summited K2 by August 2023?
A) Exactly 750 people
B) Less than 500 people
C) Approximately 800 people
D) Over 1000 people
- 21. How many deaths occurred during K2 climbs as of August 2023?
A) 150 deaths
B) 50 deaths
C) 96 deaths
D) 200 deaths
- 22. Who led the team that summited K2 in winter for the first time?
A) Nirmal Purja and Mingma Gyalje Sherpa
B) Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler
C) Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni
D) Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary
- 23. What is the name of K2 in the Balti language?
A) Masherbrum
B) Kechu or Ketu
C) Chogori
D) Lamba Pahar
- 24. Who was honored with the name Mount Godwin-Austen?
A) Henry Godwin-Austen, an early explorer of the area
B) Ardito Desio, leader of the 1954 Italian expedition
C) Reinhold Messner, Italian climber
D) George Bell, a climber on the 1953 American expedition
- 25. What is the name used by Chinese authorities for K2?
A) Mount Everest
B) Qogir (乔戈里峰)
C) Masherbrum
D) Lamba Pahar
- 26. What is the nickname given to K2 by Italian climber Fosco Maraini?
A) The Gentle Giant
B) The Easy Climb
C) The Friendly Peak
D) It has the nakedness of the world before the first man—or of the cindered planet after the last
- 27. In which region of Pakistan is K2 located?
A) Balochistan
B) Gilgit–Baltistan
C) Punjab
D) Sindh
- 28. What autonomous county in China shares its border with K2?
A) Qinghai Province
B) Tibetan Autonomous Region
C) Yunnan Province
D) Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County
- 29. Which basin borders the Karakoram Range to the north?
A) Indus Basin
B) Tarim sedimentary basin
C) Brahmaputra Basin
D) Ganges Basin
- 30. What is K2's rank by topographic prominence?
A) 10th
B) 22nd
C) 50th
D) 1st
- 31. In which year was the corrected measurement of K2's height made?
A) 1987
B) 1990
C) 1986
D) 1988
- 32. In which year was the Pakistani-Italian expedition to K2 organized?
A) 2014
B) 1994
C) 2004
D) 1984
- 33. What type of rocks make up the K2 Gneiss?
A) Metamorphic rocks
B) Sedimentary rocks
C) Volcanic rocks
D) Igneous rocks
- 34. What controversial action did Lacedelli and Compagnoni take during the 1954 Italian expedition?
A) Fell to his death while descending
B) Used supplementary oxygen tanks
C) Established their camp at a higher elevation than agreed
D) Abandoned Amir Mehdi on the mountain
- 35. Who was the first Irish person to reach the summit of K2 before the 2008 incident?
A) Ger McDonnell
B) Garrett Madison
C) Vitaly Gorelik
D) Boyan Petrov
- 36. How many climbers died during the 2020–21 winter season on K2?
A) Three
B) Five
C) Six
D) Four
- 37. Which climber was killed during the retreat of the 1953 American expedition?
A) Art Gilkey
B) Dudley Wolfe
C) Charles Houston
D) Pete Schoening
- 38. What is the name of the camp located at 7,900 metres (25,900 ft) on the North Ridge?
A) Base Camp IV
B) Camp III
C) Advanced Base Camp
D) Eagle's Nest
- 39. Which of the following films is an American survival thriller directed by Martin Campbell?
A) The Summit (2012)
B) K2: Siren of the Himalayas (2012)
C) K2 (1991)
D) Vertical Limit (2000)
- 40. Who led the 1909 expedition that reached around 6,250 metres on the Abruzzi Spur?
A) Oscar Eckenstein
B) Fritz Wiessner
C) Prince Luigi Amedeo
D) Charles Houston
- 41. In which year did Prince Luigi Amedeo first attempt to climb the Abruzzi Spur?
A) 1976
B) 1986
C) 1909
D) 1990
- 42. How many climbers were confirmed dead in the 2008 avalanche on K2?
A) 28
B) 4
C) 11
D) 15
- 43. Who became the first woman to complete all 14 eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen in 2011?
A) Vanessa O'Brien
B) Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner
C) Adriana Brownlee
D) Anja Blacha
- 44. Which climber was the first to reach the summit of K2 twice?
A) Ashraf Aman
B) Wanda Rutkiewicz
C) Josef Rakoncaj
D) James Whittaker
- 45. Who was part of the 1953 American expedition that ended in tragedy due to a storm?
A) Charles Houston
B) Fritz Wiessner
C) Francesco Santon
D) James Whittaker
- 46. What did Reinhold Messner call the South Face route?
A) Suicidal route
B) Easiest route
C) Most scenic route
D) Safest route
- 47. Who became the oldest American to summit K2 on July 27, 2014?
A) Garrett Madison
B) Boyan Petrov
C) Fredrik Ericsson
D) Alan Arnette
- 48. In which year did a significant increase in the use of supplemental oxygen occur during climbs on K2?
A) 1986
B) 2012
C) 2004
D) 1995
- 49. In 2023, who set a record for the fastest climb of all 14 eight-thousanders?
A) Anja Blacha
B) Adriana Brownlee
C) Kristin Harila
D) Vanessa O'Brien
- 50. Which team first climbed the Northwest Face in 1990?
A) French team
B) Japanese team
C) Polish team
D) Russian team
- 51. Which year had the highest number of summits in a season, with 200 climbs?
A) 2017
B) 2014
C) 2022
D) 2018
- 52. Who led the 2002/2003 Netia K2 Polish Winter Expedition?
A) Krzysztof Wielicki
B) Andrzej Zawada
C) Vitaly Gorelik
D) Denis Urubko
- 53. What was the summit temperature during the 2021 winter ascent?
A) -30 °C
B) -50 °C
C) -40 °C
D) -20 °C
- 54. Which year did the 1995 K2 disaster occur?
A) 2008
B) 1977
C) 1986
D) 1995
- 55. Which side of K2 does the North Ridge route ascend?
A) Nepalese side
B) Indian side
C) Pakistani side
D) Chinese side
- 56. What geological feature intruded the K2 Gneiss later in its history?
A) Glacial deposits
B) Leucogranite dikes
C) Basaltic lava flows
D) Sedimentary layers
- 57. Who first designated the mountain as 'K2'?
A) Martin Conway
B) Thomas Montgomerie
C) Charles Houston
D) Oscar Eckenstein
- 58. During which geological period was the K2 Gneiss highly metamorphosed and deformed?
A) Cretaceous Period
B) Jurassic Period
C) Eocene Period
D) Cambrian Period
- 59. Who was the Italian mountaineer that summited K2 alone and without supplementary oxygen on 28 July 2024?
A) Lino Lacedelli
B) Achille Compagnoni
C) Francesco Santon
D) Tommaso Lamantia
- 60. Who became the oldest person to summit K2 in 2004?
A) Carlos Soria Fontán
B) Garrett Madison
C) Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner
D) Fredrik Ericsson
- 61. How many Russian climbers attempted to climb K2 in the 2011/2012 expedition?
A) Thirteen
B) Fourteen
C) Ten
D) Nine
- 62. In 2018, who became the first person to ski from summit to base camp on K2?
A) Garrett Madison
B) Mingma Gyalje Sherpa
C) Boyan Petrov
D) Andrzej Bargiel
- 63. Which year did the 1986 K2 disaster occur?
A) 1995
B) 2008
C) 1977
D) 1986
- 64. Who died on the descent from Camp III during the 2021 winter season?
A) Sergi Mingote
B) Roger Mear
C) Krzysztof Wielicki
D) Vitaly Gorelik
- 65. Who led an international team to the summit of K2 in 2017 and became the first British and American woman to do so?
A) Adriana Brownlee
B) Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner
C) Anja Blacha
D) Vanessa O'Brien
- 66. What geological feature separates the K2 Gneiss from surrounding rocks?
A) Normal faults
B) Folds
C) Anticlines
D) Synclines
- 67. Who was the first woman to summit K2 three times?
A) Liliane Barrard
B) Naoe Sakashita
C) Naoko Watanabe
D) Wanda Rutkiewicz
- 68. Who was the first native Pakistani climber to summit K2?
A) Ashraf Aman
B) Pasang Kikuli
C) Amir Mehdi
D) Muhammad Ata-ullah
- 69. Which climber fell and died on the descent during the 1982 Japanese ascent of K2?
A) Naoe Sakashita
B) Isao Shinkai
C) Hiroshi Yoshino
D) Yukihiro Yanagisawa
- 70. Who became the youngest woman to climb K2 at age 21 in 2022?
A) Adriana Brownlee
B) Anja Blacha
C) Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner
D) Vanessa O'Brien
- 71. Who became the first American climber to reach the summit of K2 more than once in 2018?
A) Garrett Madison
B) Fredrik Ericsson
C) Alan Arnette
D) Boyan Petrov
- 72. What is the name of the mountain pass located east of K2, north of Broad Peak, and south of Skyang Kangri?
A) Windy Gap
B) Abruzzi Gap
C) Skyang Gap
D) Broad Pass
- 73. Who saved almost the entire team during a mass fall on the 1953 American expedition?
A) Dudley Wolfe
B) Pete Schoening
C) Art Gilkey
D) Charles Houston
- 74. Which team first summited via the South-southeast spur route?
A) American team
B) French team
C) Russian team
D) Basque team
- 75. Who was hospitalised for months and had toes amputated due to frostbite after the 1954 Italian expedition?
A) Walter Bonatti
B) Achille Compagnoni
C) Amir Mehdi
D) Lino Lacedelli
- 76. Which year did Charles Houston lead the First American Karakoram expedition to K2?
A) 1938
B) 1909
C) 1977
D) 1953
- 77. In which year did a Russian team first climb the West Face?
A) 2010
B) 1994
C) 2007
D) 1986
- 78. In which year did K2 see a record crowd of 28 climbers on its summit in a single day?
A) 2012
B) 2014
C) 2011
D) 2018
- 79. In which year did Fredrik Ericsson fall to his death on K2?
A) 2008
B) 2010
C) 2014
D) 2011
- 80. Which route is known as the 'Magic Line'?
A) Southwest Pillar
B) Northeast Ridge
C) West Ridge
D) North Face
- 81. Who died due to pneumonia and cardiac arrest after the 2011/2012 Russian expedition?
A) Valery Shamalo
B) Krzysztof Wielicki
C) Nicholas Totmyanin
D) Vitaly Gorelik
- 82. Who became the first German woman to summit K2 in 2019?
A) Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner
B) Adriana Brownlee
C) Vanessa O'Brien
D) Anja Blacha
- 83. Who was the only successful climber on the Southwest Pillar route after its first ascent?
A) Tomo Česen
B) Denis Urubko
C) Jordi Corominas
D) Jerzy Kukuczka
- 84. Which expedition reached Concordia on the Baltoro Glacier in 1892?
A) 1953 American expedition
B) 1939 American expedition
C) British expedition led by Martin Conway
D) First American Karakoram expedition
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