Severe cold fails to deter mountaineers from attempting to summit K2.

ISLAMABAD -- The severe cold and the holiday season has not stopped climbers from around the world from attempting to conquer K2 this winter, said the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) on Sunday.

'International expeditions of western and Nepali climbers are at the base camp acclimatising and more will reach in the next few days,' ACP Secretary Alpine told Dawn.

Teams have reached as high as camp II on K2 to fix ropes and Mingma G's Sherpa team is among such groups, the official said.

There are forecasts of a clear weather window opening soon which could be a chance that climbers will like to avail on the 8,611-metre-high peak.

He said K2 is the only mountain in the world above 8,000 metres that has never been scaled winters. Mountaineers from over a dozen countries are aiming to be the first to summit it in the winter and that too without bottled oxygen.

Mr Haidri said the options to scale the mountain, already scarce, dropped to nearly nothing in the winter if climbing without supplemental oxygen was not an...