Spantik Mountain, also known as Golden Peak, is located in the Karakoram range of Pakistan. First summited in 1955 by a German expedition led by Karl Kramer, it has since become a popular destination for mountaineers looking for challenging yet achievable 7000m (23,000 foot) peak experience.
Climbing Spantik is less technically challenging compared to other 7000m peaks but is still quite dangerous, even at basecamp where rockfall hazards exist. Natural erosion and instability due to snowfall can trigger these rockfalls and massive car-sized boulders can release and come crashing down through the camp. Once such incident made international news back in 2018 when a boulder ripped through the basecamp destroying a tent and missing climber by mere inches.
A similar situation occurred more recently and mountaineering outfitter K2 Alpine posted a video of it. Thankfully evasive maneuvers were taken and the boulder’s violent and chaotic descent did not intersect with any of the climbers. Word to the wise, if you are at Spantik basecamp, always keep your head on a swivel:
2018 rockfall incident at Spantik: