Pakistan: Two expeditions succeed in summit bids
Eight members of a Pakistani expedition team successfully summited Broad Peak (8,051m), while eight women climbers reached the summit of Khosar Gang, a 6,040-metre peak in the Shigar Valley, in separate achievements announced on Monday.
According to a statement issued by Karakoram Expeditions, the Broad Peak team included Argentina’s Juan Pablo Toro and Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig, Rizwan Dad, Waqar Ali, Mansoor Karim, Nawaz Ali Khan, Mirza Ali, and Zaman Karim.
The statement said the lead rope-fixing team reached the summit via a new direct variation, bypassing Section V and the long ridge above Camp IV. After analysing the route, expedition leader Mirza Ali led the team from Camp III at 2am on Sunday and they reached the summit at 10pm.
Meanwhile, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said its Second Women’s Khosar Gang Expedition successfully summited Khosar Gang.
The climbers were Zeba Batool and Bibi Afzoon from Gilgit-Baltistan, Haiqa Ghazi and Ammara Sharif from Islamabad, Maria Khan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Bisma Hassan and Sadia Maqbool from Punjab, and Bibi Malka from Balochistan.
The expedition, launched by the Alpine Club of Pakistan, aimed to promote women’s participation in mountaineering, adventure sports and outdoor leadership. A documentary team, including Haiqa Ghazi and Sharukh, accompanied the climbers.
The participants were selected through a transparent process by a committee of experienced women mountaineers led by renowned Pakistani climber Naila Kiani.
The expedition was conducted under the leadership and technical guidance of high-altitude guides Ali Muhammad Sadpara, Sadiq Hussain Sadpara and Ilyas Hushay, while Qauid Shigri fixed ropes on the peak.
“Our women climbers have proven that they are fully capable of achieving the highest goals through courage, determination, professionalism, and teamwork,” Alpine Club of Pakistan General Secretary Ayaz Shugri said.
He added that the club would organise the K2 Baltoro Cleanup Expedition in September to promote environmental conservation and responsible mountain tourism.
Reference Link:- https://www.dawn.com/news/2017149/two-expeditions-succeed-in-summit-bids
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
