K2 Expedition Mail

Expedition Mail of the Himalaya

A Philatelic Story of the 1921 - 1953 Mail
Appendix B

Although these expeditions would not be part of my book since they took place after 1953, from an information capture perspective I will include them in this website. I will also only provide examples of the covers, not the detailed information about each documented cover as I did for the pre-WWII Mt. Everest covers.

Cheers,
Eddie

Appendix B - Table 2 (DRAFT)

A Combined Listing of the K2 Expeditions prior to 1970
(1954 & 1960)

Table B-2a - The 1954 Italian K2 Expedition

On July 31, 1954, the Italians, Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni became the first to stand on the summit of K2. At 8,610 m (28,250 ft), K2 stands just 238 m (784 ft) lower than Mt. Everest but is consider much more difficult to climb. For many years, K2 was considered "unclimbable". The Italian team proved that wrong. The team consisted of:

Ardito Desio (Leader)

Enrico Abram

Ugo Angelino

Walter Bonatti

Achille Compagnoni

Cirillo Floreanini

Pino Gallotti

Lino Lacedelli

Mario Puchoz

Ubaldo Rey

Gino Soldà

Sergio Viotto

The expedition employed an expedition marking and to further celebrate the achievement, the Pakistani government employed and special cancellation to celebrate the achievement.

Mail from this expedition remains highly desired and seldom seen for sale making it a very scarce collectable.

K254-M1 The expedition marking. This marking is found in blue to violet colors.	Courtesy of the Hackstaff collection
K254-M2 A govevernment cancellation.	Courtesy of the Bard collection
K254-M1 An experimental cancellation on souvinier cards. I have identified 2 cards from the expedition with the "Experimental" government cancellation.	Courtesy of the Bard collection

Table B-2b - The 1960 International K2 Expedition

In 1960 an international group of climbers from U.S., Germany and Pakistan set out to attempt the peak.The team consisted of:

Major William D. Hackett, leader

Dave Bohn, American

Lynn M. Pease, American

Wolfgang Deubzer, expedition doctor, German

Ludwig Greissl, German

Günter Jahr, German

Herbert Wünsche, German

Hayat Shah, Pakistani

Liaison officer: Captain Sharif Ghafur

High porters: Taqi, sirdar; Asad, Makhmal, Longino

In the end, the team was defeated by time and illness. The expedition employed a bright red expedition marking.

K260-M1 The expedition marking. This marking is found in red.	Courtesy of the Hackstaff collection
All of the cards mailed to the U.S. arrived "Postage Due". Evidently the local post office or expedition members were not aware of the correct postage required.	Courtesy of the Hackstaff collection