"A team of 10 Nepalese sherpas have scaled the K2 this afternoon," the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), Karrar Haidri told dpa on Saturday.

Haidri said the push to the winter summit had started at 1 am (0800 GMT) and the climbers conquered the K2 at 4.56 pm.

The 8611-metre-high K2, which has earned the nickname "savage mountain", lies in northern Pakistan near the border with China.

It was until now the only summit higher than 8,000 metres that had never been climbed during the winter season, with the first ascent on July 31, 1954.

Over 50 mountaineers from around the world who are part of three international expeditions are also to attempt the ascent this winter season.

K2 is deemed a more challenging climb than the world's highest summit, Mount Everest.

In August 2008, 11 climbers were killed by an avalanche on K2 in one of the worst tragedies in climbing history.

Northern Pakistan is a magnet for mountaineers and is home to some of the tallest mountains in the world, including K2 and Nangaparat, also known as the "killer mountain."

Nestled between the western end of the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush mountains and the Karakoram range, the Gilgit-Baltistan region houses 18 of the world's 50 highest peaks. It is also home to three of the world's seven longest glaciers outside the polar regions.

Australian Associated Press