Vittorio Sella’s famous 1909 photograph of the 23,871′ Karakoram peak (left photo below) made jaws drop. But is it actually as steep as it looks? Wikipedia says (here), “Nearly fifty years after Sella’s photo was taken, in 1956, his photograph inspired two expeditions to race for the first ascent. Both teams found their routes less steep than Sella’s view had suggested.” (See bottom photo.) But a Russian team’s 2012 route (right photo below, and red line on bottom photo; details here) certainly looks steep. The mountain has been climbed only five times; maybe its intimidating looks discourages attempts. Or maybe because much bigger mountains are nearby.
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