In honour of the group of 10 Nepali mountaineers who have just made the first ever winter ascent of the daunting K2, here’s a picture I took of the peak in 2014 from a flight between Doha & Beijing.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55684149

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At 8612 metres, the summit of K2 wasn’t that far below the @qatarairways flight, albeit around 150km away. Here’s another picture showing K2 at right & the Gasherbrum massif in the Karakoram, the greatest concentration of 8000 metre peaks in the world.

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From left to right in that colour shot:

Gasherbrum I (8068m);
Saltoro Kangri (7742m, background);
Gasherbrum II (8035m);
Skyang Kangri (7545m, foreground);
Gasherbrum III (7952m);
Gasherbrum IV (7925m);
Broad Peak (8047m);
K2 (8612m);
Chogolisa (7665m, background)

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Some more pictures showing (a) the view towards the distant Nanga Parbat massif, (b) the 7821m high Masherbrum, (c) the wider context of the Karakoram, & (d) the view along the Hispar valley in Gilgt-Baltistan, Pakistan, towards the Karakoram.

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There was much more to see on this Doha-Beijing flight, including (a) the Silkiang & Bualtar glaciers, (b) the peninsula & port of Gwadar, (c) amazing corrugated landscapes, all in Pakistan, & (d) a crisp belt of Venus at sunset later over China.

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All these pictures & a few more are available in higher resolution on my Flickr page, along with a lot of background information in the respective notes.

Carbon footprint issues notwithstanding, I miss flying & watching the world roll by below

6/6 https://www.flickr.com/gp/markmccaughrean/2AM34C