FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2024-142

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (July 31, 2024) – In this edition of Fun with Maps we celebrate reaching the summit of a tall mountain.

SAVAGE MOUNTAIN

Seventy years ago, the Italian mountain-climbing team of Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni became the first men to reach the summit of the K2, the world’s second tallest mountain.

Although attempts to climb K2 began in 1902, the summit proved far more dangerous and its weather less reliable than the taller Mount Everest.

K2 stands for the second peak in the Karakoram mountain range.  It had no local name, probably due to its remoteness and inaccessibility. Its location straddles areas under control by both Pakistan and China, but the steepness of the mountain only allows for climbing routes starting from the Pakistani side.

On July 22, 2022, there were a record number of summits for one day – 145 – and a total record of 200 summits that year.  The fastest ascent just happened 2 days ago, just 11 hours which slashed the previous record in half.

This 1850 Tallis map of northern India captures K-2.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.