Vanessa O'Brien, a 52-year-old ex-Morgan Stanley banker from New York, on Friday afternoon, July 28, became the first American woman to summit K2, the world's second highest mountain at 28,251 feet. This was O'Brien's third attempt at the "killer" mountain, having been unsuccessful in 2015 and 2016 because of horrific weather. Among the clients were John Snorri Sigurjonsson, the first Icelander to climb K2, and three Chinese climbers - Zhang Liang, Jing Xue and Mr. Azong. The seven Sherpas who topped out were Mingma Gyalje, Dawa Gyalje Sherpa, Tsering Pemba Sherpa, Nima Nuru Sherpa, Lakpa Nuru Sherpa, Nima Tshering Sherpa and Ang Tsering Sherpa. "It is said when you climb Everest, you are a mountaineer in the eyes of the world, but when you climb K2 you are a mountaineer in the eyes of other climbers," said O'Brien before her climb.

Source: Forbes July 29, 2017 11:26 UTC