French climber Benjamin Vedrines summits K2 in record 11 hours

French climber Benjamin Vedrines summited the 8,611-metre-tall K2 peak in record time a day ago, his team told AFP on Monday, reaching the top of the world’s second-highest mountain in just under 11 hours.

The 32-year-old specialist in high-speed ascents — made without the aid of oxygen — left K2 base camp just after midnight on Saturday and reached the summit 10 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds later.

Vedrines attempted the summit in 2022 but was forced to turn back after suffering from hypoxia, a lack of oxygen in the blood caused by thin air at high altitudes.

“I took my revenge on this mountain,” Vedrines said in a voice message shared with AFP. “But above all I wanted to reconcile with it by doing things with maturity.”

“It was very symbolic for me because I was returning in my footsteps to where I experienced those very unique moments,” he said. “I really enjoyed seeing the same sections again, but with lucidity this time.”

On Saturday, two Japanese climbers had gone missing while attempting to scale K2. Army aviation helicopters had spotted the two during an aerial search operation but observed that the men had no movement.

Earlier this month, harsh weather had delayed progress on K2 for both alpine-style and commercial teams. Vedrines, after multiple attempts, had successfully paraglided from just below Camp 3 on the peak and was back at Base Camp again.

Standing at 8,611m on the Pakistan-China border, K2 is 238m shorter than Everest but is considered more technically challenging — earning it the nickname “Savage Mountain”.

Vedrines is considered one of France’s pre-eminent climbers and set a speed record climbing Pakistan’s Broad Peak in 2022 before descending by paraglider.

He had reached the top of the 8,051-metre mountain — a short distance from K2 — in seven hours and 28 minutes.