After a successful climb to Kanchenjunga (1991) and an unsuccessful one to Annapurna (1992), Božić climbed K2 in 1993. The expedition's progress was smooth until shortly before the top of the climb, when the weather worsened. Božić, Viki Grošelj, Carlos Carsolio and Zvonko Požgaj were only able to touch the summit, because standing on it would have been impossible due to high winds. On the way back, the team got lost in the snowstorm, but ultimately managed to get to base four, where they found Boris Sedej and Boštjan Kekec. The latter was in distress, showing symptoms of hypoxia, his condition worsening. Due to the urgency of the situation, Sedej, Požgaj and Božić descended with Kekec through the snowstorm. Soon Kekec was unable to walk and became unresponsive, and the trio pulled him through the deep snow. When this became physically too difficult and when Požgaj began to suffer from frostbite, they decided to leave Kekec to die on the mountain. Božić was affected by snow blindness and barely made it to safety, using only the climbing rope to direct himself back to the base camp.