First British woman who conquered K-2, brings Pakistani flag to the High Commission

The Pakistani flag that was raised on K-2 summit, was brought to the Pakistan High Commission London on 29 August 2017. Vanessa O’Brian, the first British woman who conquered K-2 on 28 July 2017, proudly raised the flags of Pakistan and the UK on the K-2 peak, which is the second tallest in the world.

Vanessa presented the Pakistani flag to H.E. Syed Ibne Abbas, the High Commissioner, on 29 August 2017 at a reception organized in her honour at the High Commission.

By completing the round-trip journey from base camp to summit, Vanessa became the first British woman to conquer K-2, 24 years after Jonathan Pratt became the first British male to do the same in 1993. In her remarks at the High Commission Vanessa shared the story of her challenging journey to the top of K-2 and spoke about her determination to accomplish the feat. She fondly narrated her experiences in Pakistan as to how much she was impressed by the people of Pakistan, especially talented youth, their generous hospitality, the pristine beauty of the mountains and landscape of northern areas, and the economic potential of the country.

Welcoming the mountaineer, the High Commissioner felicitated Vanessa on her singular achievement of becoming the first British woman to summit the K-2. He commended her indefatigable determination and courage to accomplish this difficult adventure. The High Commissioner thanked Vanessa for telling the positive story about Pakistan and its people, and termed her a goodwill ambassador of Pakistan. He also hoped that Vanessa’s achievement and amazing story would attract many more mountaineers and adventure tourists to Pakistan in future.

The reception was attended by the cross-section of the British and the Pakistani society as well as representatives of media.