Books about K2

The Savage Mountain; K2 stands at 8611 metres, the second highest and certainly the most inhospitable mountain anywhere in the world. Rising from the Karakoram mountain range, it is a vast pyramid of ice and rock which sees fewer successful ascents than most of the world's eight-thousanders.

Indeed there have only ever been just over 300 successful attempts at climbing the mountain, largely from the Pakistan side and around 80 deaths. Many tales of disaster have been borne from these attempts and thre pages of many a books is filled with stories of tragedy and triumph.

  • Researching the ultimate climb of K2 or looking for some thrilling tales of mountaineering glory? This is the page for you!
  • Wherever possible the book links below should lead to pages giving the option of Hardcover / Paperback / Kindle Edition

K2 is dangerous, but it is not beyond the hopes of the climber and there are even commercial expedition sorganised, which take lcients to the top... or try to at any rate. So, perhaps it is not beyond the realms of your imagination and your expectation to put K2 on the bucket list!

What is perhaps less well known is the plethora of trekking routes in the Karakoram and Concordia, specifically, an area of genuine mountain wilderness which remains remote and challenging for long distance walkers and hikers alike. It is in that respect somewhere where you can really go, off the beaten track.

Below is a list of bestsellers, climbing accounts and guidebooks to the area.

Bestsellers

K2 Life and Death
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Thrilling history of tragedy on this hardest of mountains by one of the best high altitude mountaineers.

K2 Book
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“Gripping, intense. . . . Buried in the Sky will satisfy anyone who loved [Into Thin Air].”―Kate Tuttle, Boston Globe

K2 Jim Curran
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In 1986 when 13 people died on K2 the late, great Jim Curran was there to record it...

No Way down K2
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"Described by The Daily Mail as the Best Mountain Disaster Story since Into Thin Air.

Guidebooks

Trekking in Karakoram
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A hard to find guidebook for this truly wild and remote region.

Historic Accounts

Ghosts of K2
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The author grippingly describes the early attempts to climb the world's hardest mountain.