Hiking the trails on Northern Pakistan’s second tallest mountain

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Reuters Photographer Wolfgang Rattay traveled to northern Pakistan to trek the K2 base camp trail. K2 is known as the Savage Mountain due to the difficulty of the ascent. Geographically, Pakistan is a climbers paradise. It rivals Nepal for the number of peaks over 7,000 meters and is home to the world’s second tallest mountain, K2, as well as four of the world’s 14 summits higher than 8,000 meters. In more peaceful times, northern Pakistan’s unspoilt beauty was a major tourist draw but the potentially lucrative industry has been blighted by years of violence. The number of expeditions has dwindled, wrecking communities dependent on climbing for income and starving Pakistan’s suffering economy of much-needed dollars.