The satellite view from space is fascinating for the mountaineer: 'the position of the observer in space makes the images very vivid,' says Dujmovits.

Since mid-June 2011 he and his Austrian wife, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, have been in the Himalayan region preparing for their ascent of K2. 'It is really impressive to see the mountain like this,' says German mountaineer Ralf Dujmovits. Perspective images and a virtual flight around the mountain, only possible using satellite technology, reveal every imaginable ascent route and illustrate the enormous magnitude of this pyramid of rock and ice. The result pleased both EOC scientists and mountaineers. As part of this cooperation, DFD is able to access the data for its own scientific analysis.

The DFD operates the WorldView Regional Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, under contract to European Space Imaging (EUSI), which holds the rights to sell WorldView data in Europe. This is the first time that images of this quality have been published. The scientists fine-tuned the exposure sensitivity in a second overflight to avoid overexposure caused by the white snowfields.ДЇrom the collected data, the DLR researchers created views of K2 with a resolution of less than one metre. 'The satellite had to be extensively programmed in accordance with the requirements set by DLR engineers to record the ridges and peaks of K2 from three different viewing angles. 'The flanks of K2 are very steep, and the high contrast between ice, snow and dark rock complicates the process of using optical data from space to create a highly-accurate 3D model.' In the autumn of 2010, DLR ordered data from the US WorldView-2 satellite and made a number of special requests to the operating company, Digital Globe. For high-altitude mountaineers, K2 is one of the most challenging mountains for Stefan Dech, Director of the German Remote Sensing Data Center (Deutsches Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum DFD) at DLR, the 8000-metre mountain is the most challenging relief on Earth. K2, in the Karakoram mountain range, is difficult terrain for both mountaineers and the researchers at the DLR Earth Observation Center (EOC). For mountaineers Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Ralf Dujmovits, DLR's 3D model provides an ideal opportunity to plan and analyse their ascent of K2 at the end of June. For scientists at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt DLR), it is the perfect place for testing the latest processes for converting satellite data into 3D models. As Norwegian climber Lars Nessa explained in 'The Summit,' 'the main tactic is to minimize your time under the serac.'ДЄs the trailbreaking group headed toward the Bottleneck, it became apparent that they'd begun fixing rope way too early on the course, which meant that not enough rope was left for the most difficult parts of the climb.Considered one of the most beautiful mountains in the world and, at 8000 metres high, the most difficult to climb, K2 lies on the border between Pakistan and China.

A serac - a block of glacial ice - hangs over the Bottleneck, threatening to fall on climbers at any moment. They also failed to bring enough rope to properly prepare the Bottleneck, a narrow rocky pathway with steep gullies, widely considered to be the most harrowing part of the climb. The climbers were being led by a nine-person 'trailbreaking group' made up of members from various climbing teams who were responsible for the fixing ropes along the course that would make it possible to safely summit.Д«ut they got a late start on the trail. You can see the icy serac overhang above. Climbers begin to traverse K2's Bottleneck.

K2 mountain 3d model