"The Savage Mountain"

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN -- At least nine climbers were feared dead Sunday after ice sheared off the summit of K2 and crashed down the mountain, sweeping away fixed ropes and leaving some mountaineers trapped in the dark.

The catastrophe on the world's second-tallest peak cast a pall over the international climbing community and caused one mountaineer to report on a website from Base Camp: "There's a taste of death in this place."

Although K2, at 28,251 feet, is not as tall as Everest, at 29,035 feet, it is considered tougher to climb because of unrelenting bad weather and steep and difficult terrain from every approach. Climbers must be adept in rock and ice climbing, as well as general mountaineering.

"It's one of those mountains where, once you've climbed it, you don't ever go back," said Ed Viesturs, a climbing legend who lives in Washington state. "For every step you go up, it tries to bring you down."

It has been referred to as "the Savage Mountain," and in 1986, in what is referred to as the K2 Tragedy, 13 climbers from various expeditions succumbed during a severe storm.