Setting off again
After successfully summiting 11 peaks above 8,000 meters, ABC employee Zhang Liang set out again in June, pressing onward toward humanity’s ultimate exploration dream — the “14+2” (the 14 highest peaks in the world and both the North and South Poles). This time, he is tackling the world’s second-highest peak, K2, which stands at 8,611 meters.
A Savage Giant
At 8,611 meters, K2 is the world’s second-highest peak, just behind Mount Everest, but its climbing difficulty far exceeds that of Everest. Known as the “Savage Giant,” K2 has a climbing fatality rate exceeding 27%, making it internationally recognized as the most challenging peak to climb above 8,000 meters.As the main peak of the Karakoram Range, K2 experiences wildly unpredictable weather, often shifting multiple times within a single day. Wind and snowstorms occur frequently, and even advanced technology struggles to accurately forecast local conditions.
Gunshots? Prepare to flee
Zhang Liang said that since the 2013 attack by Pakistani Taliban on a mountaineering camp — where 10 climbers were shot dead — security measures in Pakistan have been continuously strengthened. During this K2 climb, armed military and police escorted the team along the way.
On the first night at base camp, he was awakened by a loud noise in his sleep. Thinking it was gunfire, he immediately got up, dressed, put on his hiking boots, and went to the back of his tent, pulling it slightly open and preparing to escape at any moment. But after listening for half an hour with no further issues, he finally calmed down.
“Later I found out it was the sound of an ice crevasse. It was also because of the trauma from the shooting incident before — I had to be extra cautious,” Zhang Liang said with a laugh.
Avalanches and falling rocks
After beginning the climb, due to higher-than-usual temperatures, avalanches and rolling rocks were constant and extremely dangerous. From the videos provided by Zhang Liang, one large-scale avalanche occurred just a few meters away from him, yet he continued filming while instructing other team members to take safety precautions.
“I’ve encountered such avalanches more than ten times, with two or three being particularly large,” Zhang Liang said. One time was especially terrifying — a human head suddenly emerged from the rolling snow, with no body attached, just a lone head. Its features were unrecognizable. Later, they learned that a father-and-son climbing team had died in an avalanche in 2013, and it was likely the head of one of them. They informed Pakistani personnel to help identify and bury the remains.
The constantly falling rocks from the mountain were nearly as dangerous as the avalanches. “They came whistling down, no less deadly than bullets. Two members of another team were hit by falling rocks and suffered serious injuries, including broken legs.”
Missing the optimal window due to buried gear
After a grueling climb, on July 24, Zhang Liang and eight other team members prepared for their summit push. But just then, an avalanche buried all their technical gear — helmets, ice axes, safety ropes, and more. It took Sherpa team members three full days to recover most of the equipment, but items like the helmets were crushed and unusable.
Because of the time spent digging out the gear, they missed the best weather window. Soon after, the weather turned worse, and starting on the 29th, heavy snowfall began. Given the deteriorating conditions, Zhang Liang and his teammates decided to retreat.
“Maybe we should be thankful the gear was buried. Had we reached the summit just in time for the bad weather, we might not have made it back down,” Zhang Liang said with relief.
Choosing a rational retreat once again
A total of six teams were on this climb, and all ultimately chose to descend. Zhang Liang said this was the wisest decision — only by staying alive can one have any hope of fulfilling their ultimate dream. K2 is extremely difficult to climb, and no one has successfully summited this year. In fact, between 2009 and 2011, no one summited for three straight years. He had already mentally prepared for failure, just as he had needed two attempts to summit Everest.
He still adheres to the principle of “safety first”: “The most important thing is to come back safely. At least I’ll have another chance to try again.”
Zhang Liang said K2 is truly the ultimate goal in the hearts of mountaineers, and climbing such a peak requires immense perseverance and courage. He will not give up — although he has missed the best season to climb K2 this year, he will seek opportunities to return in the future.
Skipping all invitations for his son’s graduation
Someone at the scene asked, “Do you hope your son becomes a famous mountaineer like you?”
“My son doesn’t like mountaineering. He has his own life — he likes playing soccer and reading. But he’s very strong, and he’s great at writing fiction!” The usually reserved Zhang Liang spoke with tenderness when talking about his son.
Zhang Liang said he had never tried to persuade his son to take up climbing; he only brought him to two “Run for Love” running events. “My son loves literature and reads voraciously. His dream is to go to Japan for graduate studies in world literature,” Zhang Liang said proudly. He also joked, “His fiction is really good, but he didn’t let me read it before. He even blocked me on WeChat so I couldn’t see his posts.”
Because he’s often away climbing, Zhang Liang has missed many important moments in his son’s life. In June of this year, when his son graduated from university, Zhang Liang declined all social engagements and attended his graduation ceremony.
A humble man
Every time Zhang Liang returned from the mountains to the base camp, he would call home to report that he was safe. But his tenderness wasn’t just shown toward his family — he also cared deeply for his friends. According to one of his friends, on a trip with several companions, seeing that they had a lot of luggage, Zhang Liang voluntarily helped the ladies carry their bags, until they ended up hanging like a “Christmas tree,” which deeply touched his friends.
This friend also mentioned that after Zhang Liang became well-known, people often asked to take photos with him while he was out. Each time, he remained very humble and never showed any signs of annoyance.
Perhaps a mountaineer unafraid of death has long grasped the meaning of life and death, which allows him to have a broad mind and be so humble.
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