First Bangladeshi to summit K2: another feather in Wasfia Nazreen’s cap

Wasfia Nazreen has become the first Bangladeshi mountaineer to summit K2, the second highest mountain in the world.

Elite Exped, the team of mountaineers who include Wasfia, announced the achievement in an Instagram post on Friday.

“100 percent success rate! This season has been awesome. Our incredible team for our K2 expedition has all accomplished their goal,” it said.

Located on the Pakistan-China border, 8,611-metre K2 is notorious for its steep slopes and high winds.

In 2015, Wasfia scaled the 4,884-metre Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia’s Papua Province, locally known as Puncak Jaya.

This marked the end of her seven summits that had started in 2011 on the 40th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence.

She climbed Mount Everest on May 26, 2012, the second woman from Bangladesh to do so. Before that, she had conquered Africa’s Kilimanjaro and South America’s Aconcagua.

In other expeditions, Wasfia made it to the top of Antarctica’s Vinson Massif, Europe’s Mount Elbrus and North America’s Denali. She was selected as one of the adventurers of 2014 by National Geographic.