A woman from Pakistan and another from Iran appear to be the first females from their countries to reach the top of K2, one of the world’s highest and most dangerous summits, a mountaineering official said Friday.
Samina Baig, a 32-year-old mountaineer from a remote northern village in Pakistan, hoisted her country’s green and white flag atop the peak of the 28,250 foot-high (8,610 meter) K2 mountain on Friday.
Iran’s Afsaneh Hesamifard, who according to Iranian media became only the third woman to reach the top of Mount Everest this past May, was hailed in Farsi-language posts on social media.
They were among several women to successfully reach K2′s peak on Friday, according to Karrar Haidri, chief officer of the Pakistan Alpine Club, which helps coordinate between climbers and the government in the event of an emergency, but also prior to and during the climbs. He said a second Pakistani female climber, Naila Kiyani, was among the team to reach the top of the mountain, but it appeared that Baig had arrived to its peak a few minutes earlier.
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