A Japanese climber has set a new record for the most summits of K2 by a woman, reaching the world’s second-highest peak for the third time. Naoko Watanabe achieved this milestone at 9 am local time on Sunday, per Seven Summit Treks, one of the expedition teams involved.

Standing at 8,611 metres along the Pakistan-China border in the Karakoram Range, the peak is renowned for its extreme steepness, technical challenges, avalanche hazards, and rapidly changing weather conditions. Naoko, who has already scaled 13 eight-thousanders, previously summited K2 in 2018 and 2023.

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila has summited the mountain twice, in 2022 and 2023, as part of her 14-peak project, which she completed in 91 days. Nepali mountaineer Mingma Gyabu Sherpa holds the overall record for the most K2 ascents, with six.

This K2 mission was a concerted effort involving five expedition teams: Seven Summit, Imagine Nepal, Madison, 8K, and Glacier Himalayan. On Sunday, renowned Nepali climber Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, also known as Mingma G, scaled K2 for the fifth time, leading a group of climbers to the summit. Mingma G has already scaled 13 peaks above 8,000 metres without the use of supplemental oxygen. He led a team of climbers to the ‘true summit’ of Manaslu, which had been abandoned by mountaineers for the past 45 years.

Similarly, Mingtemba Sherpa scaled the peak for the fourth time, leading the rope-fixing job from the bottleneck to the summit early Sunday morning. He was a member of the expedition that opened a new route on Cho Oyu from the Nepal side this spring.

According to Imagine Nepal, Kitti Boonnitrod has become the first and only climber from Thailand to climb K2. Other climbers who made it to the top of Savage Mountain include Darren Rogers from the United States, and Chinese climbers Xiao Jing, Hu Jie, Ru Zhigang, Gao Li, Guan Kailun and Ren Fei.

The Nepali guides on this expedition included Nima Nuru Sherpa, Ngima Dorje Tamang, Nima Nuru Sherpa (B), Pasang Ngima Sherpa, Dipan Gurung, Lakpa Sona Sherpa, Phura Gelje Sherpa, Phinjo Dorje Sherpa and Pemba Chhiri Sherpa.