Comment by Riaz Haq on April 21, 2012 at 7:14pm

Here's an Economic Times story on mountain climbing adventures in Pakistan:

Treacherous glaciers, vertical rock faces, steep ice walls and the sheer thrill of climbing...think mountain adventure and you think India? Unfortunately not. In fact, though India has the longest stretch of the Himalayas, we have lost out to neighbours Nepal, Pakistan and China when it comes to the eight-thousanders (8,000-ers) - or the world's 14 tallest independent mountains.

Only Kangchenjunga (8,586 m) is located in India. But that too cannot be climbed from here because it has been declared a sacred peak by the Sikkim government. But it's not only the absence of the star 8,000-ers that is keeping the serious mountaineers and adventure tourists away from India.

There are bureaucratic issues such as permits and the special X visas which are required for mountaineering expeditions to peaks which are not classified as open. In fact, excessive red tape is often a far bigger reason for keeping the global mountaineering community away from India rather than the absence of the challenging terrain.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/...

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 1, 2012 at 10:10pm

Here's a Dawn report on multiple foreign expeditions of Pak summits:

Pakistan is in the grip of ‘summit fever’ as three different expeditions — K2, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum 2 (G2) — all along the Karakoram Range, have taken place this year.

News about the summits — K2, Broad Peak and G2 — started jamming mailboxes and blogs on the morning of July 31, 2012.

According to the Alpine Club Pakistan (ACP), 20 members of the international Seven Summit Treks took the Abruzzi Ridge on K2, standing like a perfect pyramid 8, 611 metres, in the early hours of July 31 to conquer the second highest peak in the world.

Although the ACP has yet to confirm, if it was 20 or 23 members who pushed for the summit. Nonetheless, the mountaineering community was proud to share that this was one of the biggest group to reach the top of K2.

Ten Sherpas from Nepal, three Chinese, Azim Gheychisaz from Iran, Fabrice Imparto from France and Turkish Tunc Findik are said to be among those who reached the summit in a group led by Chhang Dawa Sherpa of the Seven Summit Treks.

ACP said this was an incredible feat on K2 from the Pakistan side, since the last three years. Few more from other teams were also said to have reached the summit but their names were not available putting the total number to 23, ever to have reached K2 in a single day, the ACP elaborated.

According to ACP, the last attempt to conquer K2 was back in 2008, which was marred by a tragedy — 11 people from different nationalities lost their lives in avalanches, exposure to extreme weather and other mysterious circumstances on the deadly
mountain. Several Sherpas lost their lives attempting to rescue the trapped climbers around the elusive ‘bottleneck’ that is famous for ice avalanches high on the Abruzzi Ridge.

Mingma Sherpa was the first Nepalese to have climbed all 14, eight thousand metre peaks in the world. While supporting his elder brother and chasing his own dreams, Chhang Dawa Sherpa also crowned 12 of these peaks. Dawa led this large international team to achieve his last Karakoram peak and reached the top of K2 at around 10:55am, followed by his colleagues.

ACP said that Dawa spoke from the summit and gave the brief details of their success to Nazir Sabir’s expedition office, which was handling the team in Pakistan.

“He was ecstatic about this achievement and informed many of the team members returning to Camp IV, while others were descending,” said an official in ACP.

While most climbers reached the top with oxygen tanks, Polish Adam Bielecki and Persian Azim Ghaychesaz reportedly topped out without O2.

Meanwhile, ACP said that famous Chinese climber Wang Jing and her counterpart Zhang Liang accompanied by two Sherpas also reached Broad Peak also known as K3, 8,051 metres high and the 12th highest mountain in the world, around the same time
as K2.

And climbers from Spain, according to ACP topped out the 13th highest mountain in the world, G2, standing at 8,035 metres.

http://dawn.com/2012/08/02/summit-fever-grips-pakistan-2/

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 20, 2013 at 8:46am

Here's an Express Tribune story of first Pak woman on Everest:

ISLAMABAD / GILGIT-BALTISTAN: Two young siblings achieved rare mountaineering glory for themselves on Saturday by becoming the first Pakistani woman and only the third Pakistani man to set foot on the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal.
Through their feats, 21-year-old Samina Baig and her 29-year-old brother Mirza Ali ensured that their country’s flag fluttered on the world’s highest summit.
An ecstatic Samina informed her family about her successful ascent via satellite phone.

Mirza Ali and Samina can count themselves lucky as they will be remembered as the only Pakistanis to scale Everest on the 60th anniversary of the first conquest by Edmund Hillary on May 19, 1953.
Only two other Pakistani mountaineers, Nazir Sabir and Hassan Sadpara, have ever climbed the highest peak.
“According to initial reports, the two mountaineers and 29 other foreigners reached the summit at 7.30am (local time),” said Pervaizuddin, a resident of Shimshal Valley.
Two twin sisters from India, Tashi and Nugshi, also accompanied Samina and Mirza.
Together, the siblings placed the flags of India and Pakistan side by side on the highest peak on earth – making a statement of peace.
But Samina and Mirza’s effort stood out because the two siblings managed to scale the peak on the 48th day of their expedition, without the use of supplementary oxygen.
Mirza, who has been regularly updating about their expedition on his blog mirzaadventure.blogspot.com, wrote: “We request all our readers and visitors [to] please pray that Samina becomes the first Pakistani woman to reach the summit of Everest. And I hope to be the first young Pakistani without bottled oxygen to unfurl Pakistan’s flag on top of the world together with our Indian friends! Wish us luck! Thank you for sharing and for your support!”
Hailing from Shimshal village in Gojal tehsil of Hunza-Nagar district, Samina has come a long way.
“She is proof that the country has the talent and motivation; unfortunately there is no government support for mountain climbers,” said Colonel Sher Khan, one of the country’s leading mountaineers. “It is a sport without spectators.” Khan counts the people of Shimshal as among the world’s the best climbers.
Samina’s expedition began on April 1. She and her team ascended the mountain via the south face from the Nepalese side.
Mirza and Samina have been mountaineering for leisure for the last 10 years. They have served as mountain guides and expedition leaders for peaks in the Karakoram, the Himalayas and the Hindukush. But Samina has started climbing professionally for the past four years.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/551757/for-the-record-woman-climber-mak...

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 2, 2014 at 8:26pm

Samina Baig becomes the first Pakistani to scale Mount Everest

“Today at 7:40am local time Samina Baig has successfully reached the summit of Mt Everest together with her brother Mirza and the Indian twin girls Tashi and Nugshi!” Mirza Ali updated his blog on Sunday.
The brother and sister have engaged several dangerous mountains for the last 4 years. Against all the odds in a largely male dominant society, Samina and her brother have pushed all the limits for what they call “mission for gender equality and eco-realization’’.
The Everest Expedition was started on April 1st and is reported to be privately sponsored by Mirza and Samina’s Kiwi friends through Seven Summit, a Nepali tour operator. The people of Gilgit Baltistan have extended their congratulations to Samina and Mirza on the latest mountaineering accolade.
In a special message from London, MQM’s chief Altaf Hussain has congratulated Samina Baig for her courageous achievement.
"Samina Baig has made the nation proud by scaling the highest mountain of the world. I salute to the courage of the lady. Hopefully, Samina will be followed as role model by women of Pakistan. Her achievement will ignite zeal in women folk of the country”, Altaf Hussain said.
The love for Everest demands life. It always reciprocates human feelings with dangers. Gender equality, women empowerment and love for ecology were so dear to Samina that she did not stop until she had to— to pitch the victory flag on the top of the Everest.

http://www.dardistantimes.com/News/1844513019/samina-baig-becomes-f...

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