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K2 ANNIVERSARY CLIMB DOCUMENTED IN FILM THAT INCLUDES HISTORIC FOOTAGE OF EARLY ASCENT

It kills one climber for every four who summit, is steeper and has less predictable weather than Everest and is nicknamed the “Savage Mountain.” In 2009, two world-class alpinists, two veteran climbers and a director documented their attempt to summit it — “it” being K2. The peak is the second highest mountain in the world and has the second-highest fatality rate among the “eight-thousanders.”

In the film K2: Siren of the Himalayas, director Dave Ohlson chronicles the climbs of Fabrizio Zangrilli, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, Jake Meyer and Chris Szymiec, as the group attempts to summit K2 without using supplemental oxygen or the help of high-altitude porters on the 100-year anniversary of the Duke Of Abruzzi’s K2 expedition.

“While their summit attempt hangs in the balance, the film also examines the history and geography of the Karakoram mountains while contemplating the risks, rewards and deeply personal nature of exploration in an age when there are few blank spots left on the map,” the film press release reads.

As they retraced the Abruzzi route taken in 1909, the five climbers sought to capture an expedition to conquer the mountain often lost in the shadow of Everest.

The documentary provides an intimate glimpse into the world of highaltitude mountaineering and includes rare footage of the Duke’s expedition from a century before.

Rock and Ice magazine describes the film as “a stunning collection of scenic vistas and a sobering gut-check on the reality of climbing K2.”

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