Islamabad (TIP): A team of Nepalese climbers on Saturday made history by scaling the world’s second highest peak — Pakistan’s K2 — in the winter season, a local Alpine Club official said.

The secretary of Pakistan’s Alpine Club, Karrar Haideri, said 10 Nepali Sherpas reached the summit around 5 pm.

At 8,611 metres (28,251 feet), K2 is the most prominent peak on the Pakistani side of the Himalayan range, and the world’s second tallest after Mount Everest. Winter winds on K2 can blow at more than 200 km per hour (125 miles per hour) and temperatures drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 Fahrenheit).

“This was never done by anyone before in winter,” said Haideri.

He said that four international climbing teams had arrived about a month ago to try scaling K2 — the last peak above 8,000 metres in the world to not be climbed in the winter. AP