Destination: K2 & other mountaineering stories

[d0gers]

some great images of the road to K2 courtesy the New York Times:

The journey to K2, deep in the Karakoram Mountain Range of Pakistan, offers landscapes both harsh and beautiful. Left, on the road through the barren valley outside of Skardu in northern Pakistan. The carving on the hillside says, "Welcome to Shigar, Valley of the Mighty K2."

Skardu, a dusty fort town of bazaars and second-hand shops for climbers, is the main stop before the mountains. Left, a vendor in one of the town's produce markets.

In contrast to Skardu, the valley on the way to Askole, a seven-hour drive into the mountains, is lush and green.

Provisions have to be brought up on treacherous roads by jeep. The vehicles only go as far as Askole; the rest of the journey is by foot.

The poverty of the Karakoram foothills can be seen in Askole, a small village of mud huts. Children played outside the village's old mosque.

 

[iHammad]

Beautiful.

 

[d0gers]

here are some more:

Local men vie for work as porters for expeditions. At $5 a day the work is relatively good pay.

The camp at Paiju offers the first real glimpse of the big peaks to come. In the distance, from left, Trango Towers, Baltoro Cathedrals and the Lobsang Spires.

It is tradition for the porters to have a day of rest and celebration at the Paiju camp before the big push into the mountains.

Once on the Baltoro Glacier, the main conduit to K2, the trek becomes colder and harder. Trango Towers peeks through the mist and fog.

Even in June, the world of the mountains is covered with deep snow and ice. Porters carry supplies over the Baltoro Glacier.

 

[d0gers]

and finally:

Gasherbrum IV glows in the morning light at the head of the glacial valley. This is the mountain in my avatar

Concordia, an amphitheater of mountains, is a major crossroads where two glaciers and several trekking routes meet. K2 is the second peak from the left, still another day-and-a-half walk up the Godwin-Austen Glacier.

The Gilkey Memorial at K2 Base Camp has mess plates engraved with the names of climbers who have lost their lives on the mountain. It's named after Art Gilkey, an American climber who died in a 1953 expedition.

The view of K2 from the Broad Peak base camp. Although 800 feet shorter than Mount Everest, K2 has retained an aura of mystery and danger, and among hard-core mountaineers its ascent is considered a far greater achievement than Everest.

 

[d0gers]

Here is the main article about this trip. Very nice read.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/travel/17K2.html?ref=travel

 

[iHammad]

thanks d0gers.

 

[d0gers]

no probs
spread the word. our beautiful country has a lot to offer!

 

[critical]

beautiful pictures. i feel feel really sorry for the porters for a mere 5 dollars a day? the should be paid atleast 25 dollars a day for what they are doing

 

[ali110]

Absolutely marvelous read and pictures, Thanks for sharing this info. I was and will remain amazed by the beauty of Northern areas of Pakistan. I hope someday, someday, I will be able to go back and revisit my old memories of Naran, Skardu and other valleys.

 

[d0gers]

beautiful pictures. i feel feel really sorry for the porters for a mere 5 dollars a day? the should be paid atleast 25 dollars a day for what they are doing

yeah $5 a day doesn't sound much. but it's the rate set by tour companies in Pakistan. it pays at a rate a bit higher than whatever other work these men would have found elsewhere, otherwise there's no incentive for them to go. and almost all trekkers/mountaineers are known to tip their porters once the work is done so that's on top of their base rate.

but ultimately the work they do is backbreaking and dangerous (though not as dangerous as high altitude porters, who actually carry loads up mountains) and a lot of these men as you can see in the pictures don't have proper equipment - cold weather clothing, proper hiking boots, etc.

 

[d0gers]

Absolutely marvelous read and pictures, Thanks for sharing this info. I was and will remain amazed by the beauty of Northern areas of Pakistan. I hope someday, someday, I will be able to go back and revisit my old memories of Naran, Skardu and other valleys.

i hope you're able to go back as well. doing this trek to K2 is a dream for me. so far I have to make do with books and pictures. i need a month of free time during the summer months, and of course at least a couple of eager friends to do it. hopefully some day!

 

[ali110]

i hope you're able to go back as well. doing this trek to K2 is a dream for me. so far I have to make do with books and pictures. i need a month of free time during the summer months, and of course at least a couple of eager friends to do it. hopefully some day!

Let's plan to do it.... then?
kiya bolta ?

 

[d0gers]

yaar chutti milay tou baat banay!

 

[Gabbar Singh]

An old thread I know but K2 is in the news right now because of this amazing achievement.

A team of Sherpas has accomplished one of the most coveted achievements in mountaineering: the first winter ascent of K2, the world’s second tallest mountain, and the only one of the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 metres high never to have been climbed during the winter season.

Ten Sherpas, prominent among them Nirmal Purja, a former Gurkha and UK special forces member who had previously climbed all 14 8,000-metre-plus peaks in just over six months, summited K2 in Pakistan on Saturday. They left their high camp at 1am for their summit attempt via the Abruzzi Spur in temperatures as cold as -40C but with low wind and in brilliant sunshine.

K2 was first climbed 66 years ago by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli; there had been six previous attempts in winter on the mountain, none of them successful.

In the world of high altitude climbing, so long dominated by western climbers and expeditions who have relied on Sherpas to assist them, the ascent – and by such a large team – marks an extraordinary achievement for Nepali mountaineering.

The team finally reached the summit at 5pm local time, waiting until they were all assembled before singing the Nepali national anthem and descending.

K2 was the last 8,000m peak awaiting a winter ascent after Nanga Parbat was climbed in 2016. Winter ascents of the world’s very highest mountains are at best extremely rare, and the technical and weather challenges on K2 have beaten determined attempts by some of the world’s strongest Himalayan climbers.

In a statement from the summit Purja said: “What a journey. I’m humbled to say that as a team, we have summited the magnificent K2 in extreme winter conditions.

“We set out to make the impossible possible and we are honoured to be sharing this moment, not only with the Nepalese climbing community but with communities all across the world.

“Mother nature always has bigger things to say and standing on the summit, witness to the sheer force of her extremities, we are proud to have been a part of history for humankind and to show that collaboration, teamwork and a positive mental attitude can push limits to what we feel might be possible.”

A winter ascent of the 8,611-metre K2 had been considered by many to be an impossible task due to the inclement weather conditions. Attempts on K2 are normally made in July or August, during the warmest periods – and only 280 people have reached its summit in comparison with 3,681 who have made it to the top of Everest. Climbers have been interested in climbing K2 in winter since the mid-1980s, not long after the first winter ascent of Everest.

Before the successful ascent on Saturday, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, one of the summit team, underlined the importance to the Sherpa community of making the first winter ascent. “For all the other 8,000ers summited in winter, no Sherpa was with them, so this is an opportunity for Sherpa to demonstrate their strength,” he said.

“Besides alpinists, all the climbers take help from Sherpa to fulfil their dreams of 8,000-metre peaks. I have helped several foreign climbers to get to the summit of different 8,000ers. I was a little surprised to see no Sherpa on winter first ascent. So this climb is for all the Sherpa community who are so known because of our friends and clients from different foreign countries.”

The team took advantage of a brief weather window on the mountain, which is infamous for the heavy winds that hit it, especially during the winter months, to climb to a high camp at 7,350 metres from where they launched their summit attempt.

The ascent was quickly hailed as a historic achievement. “It’s done,” tweeted the Karakoram Club, an online community celebrating the area in the Himalayas where K2 is located. “The history books have been rewritten.”

Mountaineer Steve Razzetti tweeted: “Mountaineering history is being made as I post this. The Sherpa climbing team are above the Bottleneck and heading for the summit in perfect winter conditions.”

Alan Arnette, who has long chronicled Himlalayan ascents, put the climb into a historical perspective in the US climbing magazine Rock and Ice.

“That this latest holy grail of mountaineering should fall to a Sherpa and Nepali team is a clarion sign that the scales of high-altitude mountaineering are shifting.

“Ever since Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal made the first ascent of Annapurna in 1950, becoming the first humans to stand astride the summit of an 8,000-meter peak, climbing the world’s 14 highest mountains has been an imperialist and colonialist enterprise.

“The Sherpa have been the backbone of that enterprise – portering supplies, tending camp, fixing ropes – but reaped none of the glory or benefits.”

As news of the successful summit emerged it was also reported that a Spanish climber had died on the mountain.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...am-makes-first-successful-winter-ascent-of-k2

 

[last_knight]

Wishing All the Best for Ali Sadpara and co.

 

[Extra_Cover]

Pak Army helicopters fail to locate Pakistani climber, two others on K2

Pakistan Army helicopters embarked on a "search flight" on Saturday but returned to Skardu after they were unable to locate three climbers, including Pakistan's Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who went missing while attempting to summit the world's second-highest mountain, K2.

Sadpara, John Snorri from Iceland and MP Mohr from Chile have not been contacted since the three began their push for the K2 summit from camp 3 at midnight between Thursday and Friday, according to their team.

News of the missing men comes a day after a Bulgarian mountaineer was confirmed to have died on K2.

At the time the three began their summit attempt, 18 members of one of the expedition teams decided to abandon their attempt and spent the night at camp 3, choosing instead to descend on Friday morning.

According to the Alpine Club, two Pakistan Army helicopters started a search and rescue mission on Saturday at 11am to locate the three missing climbers who have not been contacted for over 30 hours.

Chhang Dawa Sherpa, the team leader of the SST winter expedition team, said that the army's helicopter made "a search flight almost up to 7000m and returned back to Skardu".

"Unfortunately, they can't trace anything," he shared.

"The condition up in the mountain and even at the base camp is getting poor. We are looking for further progress, but the weather and winds are not permissible," he wrote.

Earlier, it was reported that the three climbers had managed to summit K2, prompting congratulations from government officials, including the Gilgit-Baltistan governor and chief minister. However, no official statement has been released in this regard and it is currently unclear whether they managed to summit the peak on Friday or not.

Speaking to Dawn, an official from the expedition team said the only verified news was that the climbers had crossed the bottleneck which led many to assume that they had reached the summit.

The news of the climbers has prompted several hashtags to trend on Twitter, with netizens and politicians praying for their safe return.

President Arif Alvi said he hoped the climbers were alive and fine. "These are very brave mountaineers. We pray for their safety," he said.

Meanwhile, Sadpara's son, Sajid Sadpara, who was also part of the expedition, reached the K2 base camp after waiting for the three climbers at camp 3 for over 20 hours. Sajid was with the three up until the bottleneck, the most dangerous area of the mountain, and had returned to camp 3 after facing issues with his oxygen regulator.

At 12:00am on Friday, around the time they began their climb to the peak, Snorri's official Facebook page shared the update that the climbers were unable to rest over the day as "three other climbers needed shelter in their tent so there were a total of six people in the small tent".

"The climbing went well. They were feeling a little sick but are okay now," the post said.

However, more than seven hours later the team shared that there had been no news since camp 3.

"The GPS track is unclear going back and forth. I believe it is just some misreading from the [satellite] signal or low battery. We need to keep our faith and believe they will succeed."

The team later shared the update that the GPS had not updated Snorri's location in six hours.

"They have been climbing for 12.5 hours and [Snorri] mentioned 15 to 16 hours to the summit. Their chef at the base camp thinks they're in the bottleneck [...] His plan was to call me when he reached the summit. I am hoping for that plan to stick."

At 5pm, Snorri's team said they were in contact with the expedition team's chief and base camp manager.

"We have decided not to bother them and wait until they will contact [base camp manager]. We are not listening to other news, we are the only source to the team."

However, on Saturday the Snorri team said it had not heard from the three climbers. "The only news we have is that Sajid Ali [Sadpara's son] is descending safe from camp 3."

It also thanked the Pakistan Army for carrying out a search and rescue mission using a helicopter and the Icelandic ministry of foreign affairs for their cooperation.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1605828/p...-to-locate-pakistani-climber-two-others-on-k2

 

[MenInG]

The rescue operation to locate three climbers, including Pakistan's Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who went missing while attempting to summit the world's second-highest mountain, K2, was suspended after it failed to locate the mountaineers for the second day on Sunday.

Sadpara, John Snorri from Iceland and MP Mohr from Chile have not been contacted since the three began their push for the K2 summit from camp 3 at midnight between Thursday and Friday, according to their team.

Several experts, including four local high altitude climbers, Fazal Ali and Jalal from Shimshal, Imtiaz Hussain and Akbar Ali from Skardu, Chhang Dawa Sherpa and other members of the SST winter expedition team, are part of the rescue mission.

Two army helicopters flew to their maximum limit of 7,800 metres for a second time and conducted aerial reconnaissance for an hour to locate the missing climbers. The search team traced the Abruzzi and other routes but did not see any signs of the mountaineers, according to Chhang Dawa Sherpa.


Sherpa said the operation was not successful due to cloudy conditions and strong winds, and was temporarily suspended.

Talking to media in Skardu, Sajid Sadpara, the son of Ali Sadpara who was also part of the expedition but had to abandon due to equipment issues, said the three climbers probably met an accident while on their way back after climbing the K2. He said the trio had already climbed 8,200m when he broke away from them.

Sajid said the chances of surviving the extremely cold weather after remaining missing for three days and without proper gear were "very low", adding that an operation could be conducted to retrieve the bodies.

"We had started our push for the K2 summit on February 5 at 12am. I, my father Ali Sadpara, John Snorri and MP Mohr were at the bottleneck, while other climbers had descended," Sajid said, adding that he decided to descend to camp 3 from an altitude of 8,200m after the oxygen regulator he was using leaked.

Sajid said he started his descent from the bottleneck around 12pm and arrived at camp 3 at 5pm, adding that he could not get in touch with the climbers because their communication devices were not functional.

He said he spent that night waiting for the climbers at camp 3, and kept the camp light on so the missing mountaineers would notice it.

On Saturday morning, the base camp manager told Sajid not to move up as the weather conditions were not good, and advised him to begin his descent.

"Unfortunately, the climbers didn't come the next day either," said Sajid, who reached the K2 base camp on Saturday evening.

"My father Ali Sadpara and the other two climbers were crossing bottleneck (8,200m), which is the most technical part of K2, at 11am on Friday. I am sure they went missing while descending from the summit," he added.

He thanked the Pakistan Army, civil administration, the rescue team, and well-wishers for their support and sympathy in this situation.

Search launched
An official of the expedition team earlier told Dawn that rescue teams were searching for the missing climbers by following the route they had taken towards the summit through helicopters. The search will continue until all three are located, he added.

Another official of the expedition said the rescue teams were trying hard to trace the mountaineers.

The search began on Saturday with aerial reconnaissance but the helicopters returned after worsening weather conditions made the search harder to continue, according to Chhang Dawa Sherpa.

The three lost contact with base camp late on Friday and were reported missing on Saturday after their support team stopped receiving reports from them during their ascent of the 8,611-metre high K2 mountain.

"The base camp received no signals from Sadpara and his foreign companions after 8,000 meters [...] A search is on and let’s pray for their safe return home," Karrar Haideri, a top official with the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told The Associated Press.

On Saturday, choppers flew to a height of 7,000m to try to locate the missing mountaineers with no success.

News of the missing men comes a day after a Bulgarian mountaineer was confirmed to have died on K2.

At the time the three began their summit attempt, 18 members of one of the expedition teams decided to abandon their attempt and spent the night at camp 3, choosing instead to descend on Friday morning.

Earlier, it was reported that the three climbers had managed to summit K2, prompting congratulations from government officials, including the Gilgit-Baltistan governor and chief minister. However, no official statement has been released in this regard and it is currently unclear whether they managed to summit the peak on Friday or not.

Speaking to Dawn, an official from the expedition team said the only verified news was that the climbers had crossed the bottleneck which led many to assume that they had reached the summit.

The foreign ministry issued a statement saying Iceland’s foreign minister, Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, spoke to Shah Mehmood Qureshi by telephone. Qureshi assured him that Pakistan will spare no effort in the search for the missing mountaineers.

Haideri noted Sadpara’s experience as a mountaineer who has climbed the world’s eight highest mountains, including the highest, Mount Everest, and was attempting to climb K2 in winter.

K2 is the most prominent peak on the Pakistani side of the Himalayan range and the world’s second tallest after Mount Everest. Winter winds on K2 can blow at more than 200 kph and temperatures drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius.

A team of 10 Nepalese climbers made history on Jan 16 by scaling the K2 for the first time in winter.

 

[Firebat]

Ali Sadpara, two other mountaineers missing on K2 declared dead

Missing climbers Muhammad Ali Sadpara, Iceland's John Snorri Sigurjónsson and Chile's Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto were officially declared dead on Thursday in a press conference attended by the families of the climbers in Skardu.

Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism Minister Raja Nasir Ali Khan and Ali Sadpara's son, Sajid Sadpara, were also present at the briefing.

The three climbers were last seen on Feb 5 near the Bottleneck on K2 as they attempted to reach the summit of the Savage Mountain. Sajid Sadpara, who was accompanying the three, had to abandon his summit bid after his oxygen regulator malfunctioned and he returned to camp 3.

Bad weather thwarted multiple attempts to search for the missing climbers, though the efforts continued.

A Feb 14 update on the search mission said that the "leads — taken after scrutinising satellite images, using SAR technology and checking testimonials and timings — turned out to be a sleeping bag, torn tents or sleeping pads, none of which belong to these climbers."

"The overwhelming love and support for the 'national hero Ali Sadpara' has given immense strength to me, my sister, brothers, and my mother. My family and I have lost a kindhearted person and the Pakistani nation has lost a brave and great adventurous individual who was passionate about climbing," an emotional Sajid said.

Stressing that the outpour of love from Pakistanis offered his family great support in a tragic time, Sajid said that he will follow his father’s footsteps and continue to climb.

Citing experienced climbers, Sajid said he believed his father and the other two mountaineers made it to the summit of K2, but met with an accident on their way down. He was with them but unfortunately, he had to descend because he felt unwell and his oxygen equipment had issues.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1608060/ali-sadpara-two-other-mountaineers-missing-on-k2-declared-dead

 

[aqeelPK]

He literally committed suicide & we all cheered him through his mission.

 

[Bilal_103]

K2 is called savage mountain for a reason. In its history it was the first time this year that somone managed to summit in winter. The 8 Nepalese nationals who summited this winter were all elite mountaineers and I'm sure they supported each other (strength in numbers). I hope more people dont attempt this.

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: Sherpas have found the bodies of three mountaineers including that of Pakistan’s celebrated mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who went missing on K2, the world’s second highest peak, earlier this year.

“The bodies of 3 lost mountaineers have been found below the Bottleneck on K2. The bodies have been recognised by a rope fixing team,” Alpine Club of Pakistan said in a statement on Monday.

The difficult task is to bring them back, it said, adding that the government of Pakistan is helping through army aviation in this connection.

“Hopefully tomorrow army helicopter will fly to bring the bodies down through sling operation. John Snorii’s body will be move to Iceland as requested by Lina Pablo family.”

“The body of legendary Pakistani mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara seems to have been found just below Bottleneck, according to sources at Base Camp. #K22021,” Everest Today, a mountain blog with over 44,000 followers on Twitter, broke the news earlier today.

Alpine Adventure Guides also confirmed the development. “The dead body of [the] late legendary climber [and] national hero Muhammad Ali Sadpara [has been found] below 300m from Bottleneck. Rest in peace,” it wrote on the microblogging site.

It added that two more bodies were also spotted at “Camp 4 below 300m from Bottleneck”, which is known as the most treacherous trek of K2.

G-B Information Minister Fatahullah Khan also confirmed that the body found earlier today is of Sadpara, according to a private TV channel.

Muhammad Ali Sadpara, along with two colleagues – John Snorri Sigurjónsson from Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto from Chile – were declared dead on Feb 18, nearly two weeks after they went missing on the ‘Savage Mountain’.

The trio had lost contact with Base Camp on Feb 5 while attempting an unprecedented winter ascent without supplemental oxygen. K2, nicknamed the ‘Killer Mountain’, had never been scaled in winter until a Nepalese team accomplished the feat less than a month before the Sadpara expedition.

Ali Sadpara’s son, Sajid Sadpara, who was accompanying the three, had to withdraw after his oxygen regulator malfunctioned and he returned to Base Camp. He is confident the trio had scaled K2 and might have met an accident while descending.

Quoting sources at the Base Camp, Everest Today says that legendary Sadpara’s body was spotted by Madison Mountaineering sherpas “just above CIV on K2 w/ black and yellow suit”.


In an another tweet earlier in the day it said that “Elia Saikaly, Sajid Sadpara among many others reached CIV on K2 (8611m) today. Multiple summits expected tomorrow. #K22021”.

There is no official confirmation of the development thus far.

However, Sadpara’s son tweeted two days back that he was hopeful of finding a trace and answers.

“We have started our climb again. Will resume search, both physical and by drones; above 8000m and beyond bottleneck. I am hopeful of finding a trace and answers #MissionSadpara #K2Search,” he wrote on his Twitter handle.

Winds on K2's peak can blow at more than 200 kilometres per hour (125 miles per hour) and temperatures drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 Fahrenheit).

With Pakistan's borders open and with few other places to go, this winter an unprecedented four teams totalling around 60 climbers have converged on the mountain, more than all previous expeditions put together.

Unlike Mount Everest, which has been topped by thousands of climbers young and old, K2 is much less travelled.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2312228/sherpas-find-body-of-legendary-ali-sadpara-two-others-on-k2

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: After scaling Mount Everest, Shehroze Kashif, 19, in another major achievement, has become the youngest Pakistani to reach the summit of K2, the world’s second highest peak.

Talking to Geo News, his father Kashif Suliman confirmed that Shehroze Kashif has successfully scaled K2 at 8:10 am today morning and made a history. He maintained Shehroze has started his journey towards K2 two weeks earlier.

 

[MenInG]

Sajid Ali Sadpara, the son of legendary Mohammad Ali Sadpara, has retrieved the bodies of three missing climbers including his father, who went missing while attempting to summit K2 in February this year.

The bodies were spotted at the Base Camp of K2 on Monday, a development confirmed by Gilgit-Baltistan Information Minister Fatehullah Khan on Tuesday.

Ali Sadpara, along with two colleagues – John Snorri Sigurjónsson from Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto from Chile – were declared dead on Feb 18, nearly two weeks after they went missing on the ‘Savage Mountain’.

The trio had lost contact with Base Camp on Feb 5 while attempting an unprecedented winter ascent without supplemental oxygen. K2 had never been scaled in winter until a Nepalese team accomplished the feat less than a month before the Sadpara expedition.

Sajid, who was accompanying the three, had to abandon his summit bid after his oxygen regulator malfunctioned and he returned to camp three. Bad weather thwarted multiple attempts to search for the missing climbers, though the efforts continued.

"Sajid Sadpara has fulfilled his duty as son of #AliSadpara. He has secured the body of our hero at C-4. He single handedly not only retrieved the body from a dangerous slope but also managed to bring it from bottleneck to C-4. An Argentinian climber has only helped him #K2Search," an official Twitter account of Team Ali Sadpara said on Wednesday.

In another tweet, it said that Sajid offered Fateha and recited verses of the Holy Quran as per the wishes of his mother.

Team Ali Sadpara further said that the climbers had summited K2 in winters and were frozen to death due to a storm on their way back.

Sajid said that retrieving the bodies was challenging as they were at a very "technical and dangerous" slope. "I am securing bodies of fallen climbers to a safe place and instant retrieval from above bottleneck is not possible without endangering many lives," he had said.

He thanked the entire nation for love and prayers, saying that the entire ordeal was very painful for his family and friends.

"I am thankful to whole nation for their love and prayers. I request everyone at K2 not to share any photo/video of the bodies, as it’s very painful for all families and friends," he further wrote.


https://tribune.com.pk/story/231265...-legendary-sadpara-two-other-climbers-from-k2

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.dawn.com/news/1637624/technical-spot-on-k2-would-make-retrieval-of-sadpara-and-snorris-bodies-difficult-says-sajid

Sajid Sadpara, the son of Pakistani climber Muhammad Ali Sadpara, has said that the bodies of his father and Iceland’s John Snorri are on a "technical spot" at an altitude of 8,400 metres on K2 and retrieving them and bringing them down would be very difficult.

Sajid and his teammates safely reached the base camp at 6:15pm today after a successful K2 summit on Wednesday. A decision on the retrieval of the bodies is expected soon after the families of the deceased climbers decide on a course of action.

The K2 search expedition was planned by Sajid and his teammates — Canadian filmmaker Elia Saikaly and Nepal's Pasang Kaji Sherpa — to locate the bodies of his father Ali Sadpara, Iceland's Snorri and Chile's Juan Pablo Mohr. The three climbers were last seen on February 5 near the Bottleneck on K2 as they attempted to reach the summit of the mountain.

Sajid, who was accompanying the three, had to abandon his summit bid after his oxygen regulator malfunctioned and he returned to camp 3. Bad weather thwarted multiple attempts to search for the missing climbers. They were presumed dead on February 18.

In a dramatic turn of events, on Monday, July 26, the climbers' bodies were found by the Nepalese sherpa rope-fixing team of Madison Mountaineering K2 Expedition 2021 near the K2 Bottleneck.

“I am on the search mission for my father. All three bodies have been located. However, the bodies of my father and John Snorri are at a technical spot and bringing these down would be difficult,” said an overwhelmed Sajid in a video message released on Thursday.

The young Sadpara went on to add: “We are three team members — me, PK Sherpa and Elia. The bodies are at an altitude of 8,400m. What we can do for now is move them out of the way as they are on the main route. We will try to bury them out of the way.”

Meanwhile, according to an update shared on John Snorri’s Facebook page, Saikaly managed to retrieve Snorri’s GoPro camera, Garmin watch and satellite phone. “Sajid and Elia will head down to BC and there they can charge the gear and hopefully find proof that our team made it to the summit,” the update added.

Confirming Sajid and his team's return to the base camp, Mushtaq Mett, the base camp manager of Mashabrum Expeditions, Treks and Tours Pakistan and Madison Mountaineering K2 Expedition 2021, said, "At the moment, high camps situation is too bad due to rock fall and avalanche."

Earlier, sources told Dawn.com that along with good weather, retrieving the bodies and bringing them down would require at least eight skilled high-altitude porters (HAPs).

“For now, the bodies are being moved to a secluded area away from the path which climbers take. Once Sajid gets down from the mountain, a proper plan will be decided and logistics will be arranged. The bodies will be lowered to 6,000m and then a helicopter will be used to bring them down,” said Ali Asghar Porik, the head of the company providing logistics support for Sajid’s expedition.

 

[MenInG]

Veteran Pakistani mountaineer Ali Raza Sadpara, who had received serious injuries after falling from a mountain, has passed away, Geo News reported Friday.

On May 17, mountaineer Ali Raza Sadpara had fallen off a mountain during a routine climbing practice session near his village in Gilgit and sustained serious injuries.

According to Ali Raza's family, he was under treatment at a hospital, where he breathed his last.

Funeral prayers of Ali Raza Sadpara will be offered today at Olding graveyard at 10 am.

Sadpara was eyeing to summit K2 – the highest peak in Pakistan – this season. This was the only peak left for him to climb among all the eight-thousanders in Pakistan.

He has summited the Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II and Nanga Parbat for a record collective 17 times. No other Pakistani has summited mountains over 8,000 metres.

Sadpara had made two attempts to summit K2 in the past but both went unsuccessful due to the weather.

GEO

 

[MenInG]

Renowned Pakistani mountaineer Samina Baig, the first and only Pakistani woman to have summited Mount Everest, successfully scaled K2 on Friday morning.

Mount K2 in the Karakoram Range is the second highest mountain in the world, standing at 8,611 metres.

 

[daytrader]

Samina, Naila create history by scaling world’s second highest peak K2
Two Pakistani female mountaineers Samina Baig and Naila Kiani created history on Friday by achieving what no other woman from the country has ever done reach the top of the second highest peak in the world, the 8,611mhigh K2

KARACHI: Two Pakistani female mountaineers Samina Baig and Naila Kiani created history on Friday by achieving what no other woman from the country has ever done reach the top of the second highest peak in the world, the 8,611mhigh K2.

At 7:42am Pakistan Standard Time, Samina Baig summited the mighty K2 along with her team members and became the first-ever Pakistani woman to scale the K2. Less than three hours after Samina’s summit, at around 10:20am, Naila Kiani reached on top, becoming the 2nd.

Several other climbers from various countries, including female climbers from Oman, Lebanon, Iran, Taiwan and Bangladesh summited the peak on Friday morning. Around a dozen Pakistani climbers also scaled the 2nd highest peak in the world on Friday.

The exact number of successful summits on Friday is not known yet but Karrar Haidri of Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed that 22nd July 2022 was the busiest day on K2 in history as around 100 climbers in different groups reached the summit. The summit push started late Thursday night as soon the rope fixing teams completed their jobs. 31-year-old climber Samina Baig’s team confirmed that she, along with other members of her team, summited at 7:42am PST on Friday.

“We are extremely proud to announce that Samina Baig with her strong Pakistani team, successfully summited the world’s most fascinating & dangerous mountain known as the savage mountain, the world’s second and Pakistan’s tallest mountain K2 8,611 meters this morning at 7:42am,” said the statement by Samina’s team. “Grateful and blessed that K2 allowed her to stand atop this incredible mountain,” the statement added. Shimshal-based Samina is also the first Pakistani woman to scale the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. She achieved that feat in 2013.

The mountaineers who scaled K2 with Samina on Friday included Eid Muhammad, Bulbul Karim, Ahmed Baig, Rizwan Dad, Waqar Ali and Akber Hussain Sadpara. Less than three hours after Samina’s feat, Pakistan’s other climber Naila Kiani reached the top of K2. “Yes, Allhamdolillah,” Naila texted this correspondent via satellite device confirming her summit. Pakistan’s Sohail Sakhi and Sirbaz Ali Khan also summited the K2 along with Naila.

Later in the evening, Naila confirmed to this correspondent that she had descended back to lower camp 4 and will return to base camp on Saturday. Among the climbers who summited K2 on Friday morning is Norway’s Kristin Harlia, who reached the top of K2 between 2:30am to 4:00am and has returned to a safe camp.

Kristin Harilia is aiming to summit all 14 8000ers in six months. This was her 8th such summit in less than 3 months. If she gets success, she will be the first woman in the world to summit all top peaks in one season.

Harlia was joined by USA’s Kristin A. Bennett, Norway’s Frank Loke Canada’s Liliya Ianovskia, Pakistan’s Fida Ali and Nepal’s Pema Chhiring Sherpa, Dawa Ongju Sherpa, Pemba Tasi Sherpa, Dawa Dorchi Sherpa, Dawa Wongju Sherpa and Pemba Dorchee Sherpa.

She started her quest to become the quickest woman to summit all 14 8-thousanders in the last week of April when she reached on top of Annapurna on April 28. She then climbed Dhaulagiri on 8th May and Kanchenjunga on 14th before summiting Mount Everest and Lhotse within 12 hours on 22nd May. Before coming to Pakistan, Harila also summited Makalu on the 27th of May. In Pakistan, she reached atop Nanga Parbat on 1st July and now on 22nd July, she has summited K2. According to her team, she will now head to Broad Peak in Pakistan.

In another development, 29-year-old Tseng Ko-Erh, who is also known as Grace Tseng, summited the mountain without using supplementary oxygen and has become the youngest female in the world to do so. She is now also the 1st Taiwanese ever to have stood atop K2.

Her expedition organizers announced that their 3-member team has just made it to the top of the world’s 2nd highest mountain. They reached the summit of Mount K2 (8,611m) at 7:35am Pakistani time. Two other members of the team were Nima Gyalzen Sherpa and Ningma Dorje Tamang of Nepal.

Iran’s Afsane Hesamifard, Bangladesh’s Wasifia Nazreen and Oman’s Nadhira Alharthy became the first-ever female climbers from their respective countries to summit the K2. Nelly Attar, an Arab-Lebanese climber, also became the first of her nation to reach the K2 top.

Afsane and Nadhira were part of the seven summits treks team and reached on top just a few hours after the rope fixing. The team also included a Chinese female climber, He Jing, who summited the mountain without supplementary oxygen.

According to a statement by seven summits, Poland’s Monika Witkowska, Russia’s Vladimir Kotlyar and Nepal’s Mingtemba Sherpa, Pasang Sherpa, Fura Tshering Sherpa and Ngima Sherpa also summited the K2 early Friday morning.

Another group to summit K2 on Friday morning, Nelly Attar — an Arab Lebanese woman — successfully scaled the K2. She was accompanied by America’s Terray Ellington Sylvester, Argentina’s Claudio Cocho Javier and Estonia’s Krisli Melesk.

Along with them, Pakistan’s Inayat Ali also climbed the K2. Nepali Aang Phurba Sherpa, Siddhi Bahadur Tamang, Dorji Gyljen Sherpa, Kamdorji Sherpa, Lakhpa Wongchu Sherpa, Mingdongji Sherpa, Lakpa Bhote, Rinji Sherpa, Temba Sherpa and Lakpa Sherpa also summited K2 early morning.

Meanwhile, Andorra’s Stefi Troguet has also reached the top of K2. She summited the 2nd highest peak without supplementary oxygen. She sent a text via satellite to confirm her summit at 10:45am. “I can’t believe it. I’m on top of K2 without no O2. The hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said.

“This summit is for Sergi, Ali and Antonios,” the climber said while dedicating the summit to the late Ali Sadpara, Antonio Atanas and Sergi Mingote — the fallen heroes of the K2 winter expedition.

Pakistan’s Wajidullah Nagri was also among the mountaineers who summited the K2 on Friday morning.

Another team of four foreign climbers from Great Britain, South Africa, US and Japan led by Mingma Dorchi Sherpa summited the savage mountain. This was Mingma’s 4th summit of K2.

A statement by his organization, Pioneer Expeditions, said this K2 feat is not only teamwork but also a result of a strong desire to surpass the challenges put forth by valiant climbers. “A dream of passionate climbers finally came to the realization,” it said. Two French climbers Pascal Claude and Christophe Jean also summited the peak on Friday. Meanwhile, reports from 8,035m Gasherbrum II say that a Pakistani climber Ahmed Hussain reached the summit of G2 in 14 hours from the base camp.

The News PK

 

[daytrader]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Drone footage K2 Summit. How many people within & outside Pakistan realise that we live in one of the most diverse landscapes in the world with 12 climatic zones. <a href="https://t.co/cR8ZnQaZWB">pic.twitter.com/cR8ZnQaZWB</a></p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1556173827603849218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[PakLFC]

Seen the film "Vertical limit". Afterwards felt as if I had trekked the K2 The K2 is and will always remain an integral part of Pakistan

 

[MenInG]

Mountaineer Sajid Ali Sadpara on Saturday became the first Pakistani to scale the 8,091-metre tall Annapurna mountain in Nepal — the world’s 10th highest peak — without the support of high-altitude porters and supplemental oxygen.

This type of ascent, where climbers are not supported by high-altitude porters from base camp to the summit, is called Alpine style. During this summit, mountaineers manage everything — carrying food, tent, ropes and setting routes — themselves.

Following Sadpara’s latest feat, Kathmandu-based commercial adventure operator Seven Summit Treks congratulated him in an Instagram post.

“Confirmed by Chhang Dawa Sherpa (the enterprise’s director), Sajid Ali Sadpara, a son of legend Ali Sadpara successfully reached the top of mountain Annapurna this afternoon, unsupported and without using supplementary oxygen, as a part of Seven Summit Treks’ Annapurna Expedition 2023.

DAWN

 

[MenInG]

Mountaineer Naila Kiani on Monday became the first Pakistani woman to climb the 8,091-metre tall Annapurna peak — the world's tenth-highest peak situated in Nepal.

She was accompanied by climber Shehroze Kashif — who has attained the title of being the youngest Pakistani mountaineer to ascend the peak — and Nepalese sherpas.

 

[MenInG]

Mountaineer Naila Kiani on Sunday became the second Pakistani woman to climb the 8,848-metre-tall Mount Everest — the highest mountain in the world — situated in Nepal.

Separately, climber Sajid Ali Sadpara made history by becoming the first Pakistani to summit Mount Everest without the support of high-altitude porters and supplemental oxygen.

Both the mountaineers started their journey towards the highest peak in the world on Saturday evening.

According to Alpine Club of Pakistan Secretary General Karar Haidri, Kiani is the first Pakistani woman climber to summit four peaks over 8,000m and the second to scale the mighty Everest. The first Pakistani woman to climb Everest was Samina Baig in 2013.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adding yet another feather to her cap, Naila Kiani has made Pakistan proud by summiting Mount Everest. Through her passion for mountaineering & amazing achievements to her credit, she has reinforced the notion that our women are capable of achieving anything. Heartiest…</p>— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) <a href="https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/1657717283266109440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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