Records & People

He Nearly Died on K2 in 2022. Two Years Later He Soloed It in Under 11 Hours, With No Oxygen

French alpinist Benjamin Védrines climbed from advance base camp to K2's 8,611-metre summit in 10 hours 59 minutes on July 28, 2024, without bottled…

By Laxman Rawal · Jul 28, 2026

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At 12:10am on July 28, 2024, French alpinist Benjamin Védrines left K2's advance base camp (5,303m) alone, carrying no bottled oxygen. Just under eleven hours later — 10 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds , to the second — he stood on the 8,611m summit of the…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Two visits to the same mountain, two years apart

The most striking detail is where the record was set: on the same route where, on July 28, 2022 — exactly two years to the day before his record — Védrines had turned back at 8,300m and was later discovered unconscious by other climbers. He has spoken about…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

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