“Sad death of Sergi Mingote in K2”, Sanchez tweeted. “He wanted to continue making history by taking part in the first expedition to crown this mountain in the middle of winter, and a tragic accident ended his life. A big hug to the loved ones of this great athlete ”.
K2, part of the Karakoram mountain range that stretches across the border between Pakistan and China, is the second highest mountain in the world at 8,611 meters (28,251 feet).
A post on Mingote’s official Instagram said: “Rest in peace Sergi. Today you start a new climb.”
Just a day earlier, the climber had shared a post announcing that he was on the 27th of his climb and had reached 7,000 meters.
Chhang Dawa Sherpa, a Nepalese mountaineer who leads the K2 winter expedition, said on Instagram that Mingote “suddenly fell”.
“We [were] informed by an unexpected movement on his GPS tracker and could see that he made a big fall, members at the scene quickly confirmed the accident, but couldn’t do much to help him, “said Sherpa.
A ‘Wild Mountain’
K2 is located within the Karakoram mountain range, home to the highest concentration of high mountains in the world.
The peak is known among mountaineers for its difficulty and has been nicknamed “Wild Mountain” as an ode to its relentless nature.
Compared to the more than 4,000 people who climbed Mount Everest – the highest mountain in the world at 8,848 meters (29,029 feet) – only 350 people have been at the peak of K2 in 2018 since it was first hit in 1954.
Although few reached K2, at least 77 people died trying to climb.
A team of 10 Nepalese climbers reached the summit of K2 on Saturday, Nirmal Purja, one of the climbers, announced in an Instagram post.