Mountains in Asia

By Glenn Rigby
Asia is the largest continent on earth and contains an abundance of mountains and mountain ranges, in all shapes and sizes. Well, the mountain shape is pretty set in stone (haha) I suppose, but the sizes certainly do vary.
Everyone knows about Mount Everest, and its claim to fame of being the highest mountain in the world. But what about the often overlooked K2? This guy may not achieve the 29,000 plus feet that Everest does, but its 28,251 elevation is still impressive enough to put it in the number two spot.
K2 is in the Karakorum range, one of Asia's Greater Ranges. The Karakorum is popularly identified with the Himalaya, though it is a separate range in itself. It is home to many of the world's highest mountains including Gasherbrum; Broad Peek; Gasherbrum II; Gasherbrum IV; Distaghil Sar; Masherbrum; and many, many others. There is even one called "The Ogre," known to be one of the hardest peaks in the world to climb. (The Ogre was first sucesfully climbed in 1977 by Doug Scott and Chris Bonington. They were involved in one of mountain-climbing's most notorious descents, which lasted a week. Early on Scott broke both ankles, and later Bonington broke two ribs and came down with pneumonia. It was 10 failed attempts and 23 years before the next succesful climb!)
Also called Godwin-Austin, K2 is located on the border of China and Pakistan. Though its elevation is about 800 feet less than Mount Everest's, it is considered to be a more difficult climb, partly because of its greater height above the surrounding terrain.
You might find yourself asking in wild disbelief, "More difficult to climb than the mighty Mount Everest?" Well, I am no mountain-climbing expert, so let us take a look at the statistics, shall we?