elevation:	8,611 metres (28,251 feet)
location:	Gilgit-Baltistan (Azad Kashmir)
range:	Karakoram
coordinates:	35°53' N 76°31' E
first ascent:	July 31, 1954 by Lacedelli & Compagnoni

K2 stands in the Karakoram segment of the Himalayan range. The summit forms part of the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang, China. It borders the Northern Areas of Pakistan.

The Chinese authorities officially refer to K2 as Qogir. Other names include Mount Godwin-Austen, Lambha Pahar, Chogori, Kechu and Dapsang.

The mountain was first surveyed by a European survey team in 1856 headed by Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen. T.G. Montgomery was a member of the team who designated it "K2" for the second peak of the Karakoram. The other peaks were originally named K1, K3, K4 and K5, but they were eventually renamed Masherbrum, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum II and Gasherbrum I respectively.

The first professional attempt to climb it was organized and undertaken in 1902 by Oscar Eckerstein and Aleister Crowley, but after five serious and costly attempts, no one reached the summit.

An Italian expedition finally succeeded on July 31, 1954. The expedition was led by Ardito Desio; the two climbers who actually reached the top were Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni. The team included a Pakistani member, Col. Muhammad Ata-ullah. He had been a part of an earlier 1953 American expedition which failed to make the summit because of a storm; which killed a key climber, Art Gilkey.