General General Mountaineering Thread

[ThunderCat]

@Lulldapull @ThunderCat @MuHayMin Pakistan is blessed with mountains. @Bilal9

yeah i guess.

 

[Ghazi52]

K2 permit and trekking fee hiked for international climbers​

Gilgit-Baltistan govt sets K2 permit fees for foreign climbers at $5000 in summer, $2500 in autumn and $1500 in winter

News
September 15, 2024

Broad Peak is the 12th highest of the world's 8,000-metre-plus mountains. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

The Government of Gilgit-Baltistan has issued a notification detailing new fees for mountaineering and trekking permits, including a significant hike in the cost of permits for climbing K2.

According to the notification from the Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism, Sports, Culture, Archaeology, and Museum Department, the permit fee for foreign climbers to scale K2 has been set at $5,000 for the summer season (April-September), $2,500 for autumn (October-November), and $1,500 for the winter season (December-March).

For Pakistani climbers, the new K2 permit fees are Rs100,000 for the summer season, Rs50,000 for autumn, and Rs 30,000 for winter.

Additionally, the trekking fees for foreigners have increased, now set at $300 for the summer season, $200 for autumn, and $100 for winter.

The notification also specifies several important regulations: climbers can only scale one peak per permit, groups are limited to a maximum of 20 members, and high-altitude porters must now be insured for up to Rs2 million.

Low-altitude porters will be insured for up to Rs1 million. Environmental fees are to be deposited into the GB Adventure Tourism Account, and all expedition briefings and debriefings will be conducted at the tourism offices in Gilgit-Baltistan.

During 2023 and 2024, K2 climbing permits were granted collectively to groups of seven climbers at $12,000.

Each additional climber cost an extra $3,000. For 2025, Gilgit-Baltistan authorities have got rid of the collective fee and established an individual royalty of $5,000 per climber.

A group of seven climbers that paid $12,000 this year will therefore pay $35,000 in 2025. That’s nearly a 200% increase.

The revised fees and regulations are aimed at streamlining mountaineering operations in the region and are set to take effect immediately.

 

[Ghazi52]

'Most broken' man completes Everest trek​

Clara Bullock - BBC News, Gloucestershire

Simon Clark


Simon Clark was temporarily paralysed following a head-on car crash, but has since recovered

A man once described by paramedics as the "most broken man" they had ever helped from a crash, has completed a trek to Everest base camp.

Simon Clark, 44, who lives near Cirencester, in Gloucestershire, was involved in a crash on the A429 in October 2019 that killed his partner and left him with catastrophic injuries.

He was temporarily paralysed, but has since recovered the ability to walk, completing the 40 mile (64km) hike to base camp, which is 5,430 metres above sea level.

"I want to try to prove to people... it's possible to overcome almost anything," Mr Clark said.

"I still can't quite believe it.

"It's absolutely amazing, it's a once in a lifetime thing to do anyway, but from where I started from it's astounding."

Simon Clark

Mr Clark said he "just kept going" until he reached base camp

Mr Clark, and his partner, Lindy, were driving to a supermarket when they were involved in the head-on collision.

Paramedics who attended the scene said there were a "number of injuries he suffered that should have killed him there and then".

Two months later Mr Clark woke up to find he had been in a coma and had suffered extreme injuries, including extensive brain damage that risked him becoming severely disabled.

At that point he was completely paralysed, could not speak and had to blink to communicate.

But he said he was determined to walk again and soon set his sights on the Everest challenge to prove to himself and others that he could do it.

"When I was told I would never walk again, I made a promise to myself that I would walk out of hospital in six months, and I did it after five," he said.

"My secret goal was to walk to base camp within five years and I did that with a month to spare."

'Next big challenge'​

He said the challenge was also a way for him to thank the Great Western Air Ambulance for saving his life.

"[The trek] was horrifically challenging and painful," he said.

"I honestly didn't believe I was going to make it, it took everything I had and more to get there. But it's one of those things, I just had to keep going."

So far he has raised more than £1,500 but he said his "ultimate goal" was to raise £4.5m.

"This is the first of many challenges," he said.

"My next big challenge is to try and walk through the north pole."

 

[Ghazi52]

Sirbaz Khan becomes first Pakistani to summit all ‘8,000ers’​

Jamil Nagri
October 5, 2024

SIRBAZ Khan is the only Pakistani climber to have summited Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, twice.—Instagram / sirbazkhan_mission14


GILGIT: Sirbaz Khan has become the first Pakistani climber to summit all 14 mountains with a height of over 8,000m in the world after his latest feat at the Shishapangma peak (8,027m) in Tibet.

In mountaineering, summiting all 14 ‘eight-thousanders’ is considered the biggest trophy, with only a handful of climbers being able to accomplish the feat till date.

In a statement, Imagine Nepal, Mr Khan’s summit organiser, said 11 climbers reached the summit at 4:06pm local time on Thursday.

Five group members, including Mr Khan, completed the summit of all 14 8,000ers, with MingmaG doing so without supplemental oxygen, the organisers added.

Renowned Pakistani alpinist Naila Kiani confirmed Mr Khan’s accomplishment on Friday. “History has been made,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

Alpine Club of Pakistan Secretary Karrar Haidri hailed Mr Khan for “breaking boundaries” with his latest summit.

He said the mountaineer’s journey “exemplifies the power of perseverance and meticulous preparation, cementing his place in mountaineering history”.

Hailing from Aliabad village of Hunza, Mr Khan started his alpine career as a porter and kitchen boy 11 years ago.

He is also the first Pakistani climber to have summited 11 out of the 14 peaks without supplemental oxygen and ascended Mount Everest twice.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2024

 

[Ghazi52]

Congratulations to Shehroze on reaching the top of the magnificent Dhaulagiri, which stands at an impressive 8,167 meters and is the seventh-highest peak in the world.

Shehroze has accomplished a great feat by ascending 12 peaks higher than 8,000 meters, making him the youngest climber in the history of the mountaineering.

 

[Ghazi52]

This Unassuming Village Produces Some of the World’s Strongest Mountaineers

Unlike their Nepalese counterparts, Pakistan’s untrained high-altitude workers seldom have their own guiding companies or receive acknowledgement for their vital role in mountaineering. But a shift could be on the horizon.

Bernadette McDonald
June 11, 2024
Photo: Simone Moro collection


Camp 3 was dreamlike and cold, the full moon bathing the tent in an ethereal light and illuminating the elusive summit 1,400 meters above. Four climbers—Alex Txikon from Basque country, Tamara Lunger and Simone Moro from Italy, and Ali Sadpara from Pakistan—shared one goal: the historic first winter ascent of Pakistan’s second-highest mountain, Nanga Parbat (8,125m). Ali was the workhorse on the team, breaking trail, carrying massive loads, and rigging most of the lines, all without supplemental oxygen.

On day 56 of the expedition, the team arrived at Camp 4 (7,100m) at 3:30 p.m. At 6:00 the next morning, they crept from their tent into a pitch-black world, an unforecasted polar jet stream hitting them like a punch to the face. The tiny orbs of light from their headlamps slashed at the darkness as they climbed.

Moving faster than the others, Ali stopped five meters from the summit to let his partners catch up. He waited, banging his arms together, shuffling his feet, trying to stay warm. When Alex reached him, the pair fell to their knees, embracing each other. Tamara had turned back, but Simone eventually appeared. Each had fought for their life against the harsh winter elements, battling to keep the horrendous cold and shrieking wind from piercing their skin, and now they were on the summit.

It was February 26, 2016, and it was a historic moment. Alex, Simone, and Ali had done what 34 teams over the last 50 years had failed to do: make the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat. In the following days, all of Pakistan celebrated, draping garlands of flowers around the climbers’ necks. Crowds cheered, calling Ali a national hero. Although they may not have known his name before, they did now—and they knew where he was from.

Ali Sadpara and his son Sajid near their home in northern Pakistan. Photo: Sajid Sadpara Collection


Like most people from northern Pakistan, Ali’s last name, Sadpara, is also the name of his village, where 2,000 people live in a maze of narrow alleyways lined by two-story clay and stone houses. Sadpara is a largely colorless place, with the occasional splash of red from a jacket drying in the sun or the turquoise of a freshly painted door. There are no coffee houses or restaurants.

Motorized vehicles are absent because the cobbled roads are barely wide enough for pedestrians. An open water channel flows through the streets. The odd chicken pecks and clucks. It’s quiet. It’s hard to imagine that this place is home to some of the strongest mountaineers in the world—and that most of the local climbers have made multiple ascents of Pakistan’s five 8,000-meter peaks.

Considering the number of world-class climbers hailing from small villages like Sadpara, it seems preposterous that young Pakistani climbers learn their dangerous trade on the job. While the lucrative allure of Everest has brought several enviable training facilities to neighboring Nepal, these centers took significant foreign financial backing and years of effort to create. But there has been little appetite for replicating them in Pakistan. Of course, the countries’ climatological and geographical differences play a role: Nepal has two distinct climbing seasons while Pakistan has one. Nepal has eight 8,000ers. Pakistan has five. But the impact of training is undeniable: there are over 70 internationally qualified Nepali mountain guides. Pakistan has none.

As a result, Sadpara climbers have long relied on local mentors rather than formal programs for their high-altitude knowledge. But that may soon change.


Born Muhammad Ali Sadpara in 1976, Ali was the youngest of 11 children, eight of whom didn’t survive childhood. He shepherded livestock with his father in the pastures above Sadpara until, in his 20s, he got a job with a Korean cleanup expedition to K2, clearing the high camps of shredded tents, food waste, and fixed lines. His first summit was in 2006 when he hoisted Pakistan’s green crescent flag on the 7,029-meter Spantik Peak.

He summited Gasherbrum II (8,034m) later that year, breaking trail, fixing lines, carrying massive loads of supplies and oxygen, and setting up camps for clients. Word of his first 8,000-meter summit followed him home, where his neighbors placed the ritual garland around his neck and did much congratulatory tea drinking. Two summits of Nanga Parbat followed, then Gasherbrum I (8,080m) in 2010. Paying climbers wanted him on their expeditions for his strength and natural intelligence, complemented by a curious and sincere temperament. His smile could light up a tent.

In 2011, Ali joined a Polish winter expedition to Broad Peak (8,051m). When the team reached Camp 2 during their summit bid, they discovered their tents had blown away. They spent the night sitting in the remains of a tattered tent abandoned by a previous expedition: no floor, drifting snow, and nearly –50°F temperatures. Sixty-mile-per-hour winds prevented them from even crawling into their sleeping bags.

Ali had never experienced conditions so harsh, and endured frostbite on his toes as a result. When he attempted Gasherbrum I the following year, he learned that the frostbite from Broad Peak would bother him for the rest of his life.

Ali’s historic winter ascent of Nanga Parbat earned him respect from the global climbing community and the Pakistani government. However, despite his achievements, he faced challenges gaining financial support. Nevertheless, he continued to make significant strides. He completed a fourth ascent of Nanga Parbat, a winter ascent of Pumori (7,161m) in Nepal, and attempted Everest. In 2018, he climbed K2, and the following year, he summited both Lhotse (8,516m) and Makalu (8,485m).

K2 as seen from the Baltoro Glacier, Pakistan. Photo: Brad Jackson/Getty


But winter climbs continued to entice Ali, and K2 still had not seen a winter ascent. In December 2020 he, his son Sajid, and their Icelandic client, John Snorri, arrived at K2, hoping to make a bid for the summit. There were more than 60 climbers at base camp, which was buzzing with competition. The trio began fixing ropes immediately.

By January 12, the fixed lines reached Camp 3. Then, a series of storms pinned everyone down in base camp. Finally, one weather forecaster predicted a short good weather window. Nepali climbers Mingma G and Nirmal (“Nims”) Purja joined forces and began heading up the mountain with a 10-person Nepali team.

But Ali and his group followed a different forecaster and remained in base camp. The Nepali team topped out four days later. Their summit video went viral on social media. What a sight: ten Nepalis singing their national anthem as they touched the 8,611-meter summit of K2 for the first time in winter.

As happy as Ali was for his friend Mingma G, it was a crushing blow.

This Unassuming Village Produces Some of the World’s Strongest Mountaineers

Unlike their Nepalese counterparts, Pakistan’s untrained high-altitude workers seldom have their own guiding companies or receive acknowledgement for their vital role in mountaineering. But a shift could be on the horizon.

www.climbing.com

 

[Ghazi52]

Cont'd...

K2 was Pakistan’s highest mountain, and Ali was Pakistan’s leading climber. But, unlike the Nepalis, he wasn’t climbing independently and he couldn’t take advantage of short and unlikely weather windows. He was working. He needed to guide his client.

Another opportunity presented itself when a three-day weather window appeared in early February. The Sadpara team headed up alongside numerous independent climbers. By the evening of February 4, Camp 3 was heaving: six people stuffed into tents designed for three. With temperatures dropping to -60°F, little rest, poor hydration, and no space to cook or eat, many descended in frustration. But Ali, Sajid, John, and Chilean alpinist Juan Pablo Mohr stayed put.

They planned to summit on February 5 directly from 7,200 meters—a big day—climbing 1,400 meters of elevation. Sajid began to feel ill at 8,200 meters as they shuffled beneath the serac-threatened Bottleneck feature. Speaking to Spanish journalist Isaac Fernandez, Sajid later recounted how he began using extra bottled oxygen intended for John, but the regulator was a poor fit and leaked. His father urged him to descend and said they would regroup at Camp 3 the next day after he and his client had summited. “I made tea and hot water and left a light on so they could find the tent,” Sajid said. “I was awake all night waiting for them.”

By morning, a fierce storm had enveloped the mountain, and there was no sign of John, Juan Pablo, or Ali. Heartbroken, Sajid made the long descent alone. Helicopters arrived days later, searching for the missing trio, but their high-resolution images revealed nothing. The three climbers were presumed dead.

Sajid flew back to Skardu alone, where the media clamored for a firsthand report. “They have been at 8,000 meters for two days. At that height, in winter, I have no hope they are alive.” He added, perhaps hopefully, “I think they summited.” Sajid then left the press conference and returned to his grieving family.

Mingma G, the Nepali climber, later reflected on his friend Ali. “Ali was like our brother, and he visited our camp almost every day. He knew our tentative plan on K2, but he was there guiding. If he was alone, I think he would have been with us on the summit. I still feel very sorry for this man.”

After his father disappeared on K2, Sajid stopped climbing to be with his family. Several months later, he asked his mother’s permission to return to climbing. Her answer was clear: Yes, but not in the winter.

In the summer of 2021, Sajid returned to K2 to find the bodies of John, Juan Pablo, and his father high on the mountain. He relocated them out of the path of ascent so they’d rest out of sight of future climbers. “My father is with Allah now,” Sajid said. “He is safe.”

Ali Sadpara, and his son Sajid climbing on K2. Photo: Sajid Sadpara Collection

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[Ghazi52]

Cont'd .................

Death in the mountains is a common trauma for the families of Sadpara. At the same time as Ali Sadpara’s rise to the top of Pakistani mountaineering, his neighbor, Nisar Hussain, was also gaining recognition. As the eldest of seven siblings, he started by building roads in Sadpara as a teen before ascending to the porter ranks. By 2012, he realized his dream of becoming a high-altitude worker, braving perilous conditions to fix lines on avalanche-prone slopes. Joining an international team led by Austrian alpinist Gerfried Göschl, they aimed for the first winter ascent of Gasherbrum I. Gerfried hailed Nisar as Pakistan’s strongest climber, noting his multiple oxygen-free summits above 8,000 meters.

While hurricane-force winds battered Gasherbrum I, Nisar, Gerfried, and Cedric Hählen waited in base camp for a favorable weather forecast. They finally set out on March 6, reaching 7,100 meters by the next day. Despite bitterly cold nights and poor visibility, the winds remained relatively calm.

However, the weather took a sudden and ferocious turn, and soon there was only silence from their radios. Their bodies were never found.

Despite being a highly respected professional climber, Nisar was neither sponsored nor well-paid and lacked insurance coverage for accidents or death. Following his disappearance, the Pakistani government posthumously honored him with the Sitara e Imtiaz Award for his remarkable achievements.

Hussain’s younger brother, Muhammad Kazim, proudly accepted the award on his behalf and later married his brother’s widow, Nissa, taking on the responsibility of caring for the family. In Pakistan, it is customary for climbing widows to marry their deceased husband’s younger brother. Kazim embraced this role, along with the family’s wish for him to retire from climbing.

Reflecting on her late husband, Nissa noted how Nisar’s modest personality belied his many accomplishments, including multiple summits of Gasherbrum I and II, Broad Peak, Nanga Parbat, and K2. He had led the way for countless clients, fiddling with their oxygen tanks while never using them himself, even when breaking trail through deep snow, fixing lines, setting up camps, and carrying horrifically heavy loads. His speed above 7,000 meters was legendary.

In many countries, he would have been hailed as a superstar climber, been fêted and sponsored, and offered opportunities to travel and climb abroad. Instead, this remarkable man was barely known outside his country.