Bottleneck (K2)

The climbers approaching the Bottleneck start from a shoulder, on almost level ground just below 8,000 m, where the highest camp is typically located.

The bottom end of the couloir drops to the south face of the mountain, and it gradually steepens to 60 degrees just below the ice field.

[3] However, due to the technical difficulty of this approach, it has only been done once, by Fritz Wiessner and Pasang Dawa Lama Sherpa on the 1939 American Karakoram expedition.

[4] On February 5, 2021, Pakistani mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara, John Snorri of Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr of Chile went missing near the bottleneck.

[5] By February 18, 2021, the climbers had been declared dead after rescue and recovery missions conducted by the Pakistani Army failed to spot them.