It’s 8,611 meters. But that number is a joke. Because height doesn’t measure fear, difficulty, or coolness. K2 has more of all three per meter than Everest.
Imagine you’re a skyscraper. Everest is the Burj Khalifa—tall, famous, full of tourists. K2 is a dark, brooding tower in a haunted forest. You know it’s there. You respect it. You don’t want to visit unless you’re ready.
The real answer? K2 is just tall enough to kill you if you’re careless. And exactly the right height to make you feel very, very small.
