ISLAMABAD:Taiwan’s female mountaineer Grace Tseng has departed on the mission to attempt climbing K2, the world’s second highest mountain at 8,611 meters height, in winter.
Tseng has embarked on the mission with the support of sherpas Nima Gyalzen, Chhiring, Dawa, Furi, Ngima Tendi, Ningma Dorje Tamang and Tashi, Alpine Club
of Pakistan (ACP) said on Tuesday.
“Currently, they are travelling to Askole village, a small town located in Shigar Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan,” Karrar Haidri, secretary ACP told reporter.
Askole is located in a remote region of the Karakoram Mountains at around 3040 meters above the sea level. “It is notable for being the final settlement before one enters the wilderness of the high Karakorams,” Haidri said.
According to Haidri, Tseng is not only the first Taiwanese to attempt to scale K2 in winter but also the first woman in the world to do so.
The 28-year-old successfully ascended the summit of Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain in October last year, becoming not only the first Taiwanese to conquer the world’s third highest mountain, but also the first woman in the world to achieve the feat in autumn.
Besides Kanchenjunga, Tseng has scaled Mount Everest (8,848 meters), Lhotse (8,516 meters), Dhaulagiri (8,167 meters), and Manaslu (8,163 meters). She has set the goal to become the youngest person in the world to climb the world’s 14 above 8,000-meter peaks.