Guest Post by Jenny Corteza
Northern Pakistan is quite popular among adventure tourists around the world. Gilgit-Baltistan is settled between the western tail of the Karakoram Range, the Hindu Kush mountains, and the Himalayas. The region has the world’s 18 highest peaks out of 50, including the second-highest, K2 (8.611 meters), and the ninth-highest, Nanga Parbat (8,125 meters). Mountaineers are attracted to North Pakistan because of the challenging terrain of the mountains.
Nanga Parbat got the gruesome nickname Killer Mountain after the deaths of thirty mountaineers who tried to climb it before it was successfully conquered in 1953 by Hermann Buhl. For 30 years, mountaineers made futile attempts to scale the peak in the months of winter.
How to get there?
Nanga Parbat has a ridge that combines rock and ice -- a mountaineer’s worst nightmare. The mountain has three faces, all of which can be used to scale the mountain. However, all three of them have their challenges.
- The Rupal Face is located on the south side of the mountain. It is considered the world’s highest face, with a height of 4,600 m above its base. To reach the Rupal base, mountaineers start their journey from Gilgit or Karakoram Highway to Tarashing. From Tarashing, it is another two days jeep ride to the Rupal base.
- Raikot is towards the northern side of the mountain. To make a journey to Raikot, mountaineers travel the Karakoram Highway to Raikot bridge, shifting to local jeeps to continue the journey to Tato Valley in the breathtaking Fairy Meadows. The base camp is just 10 km (6.21 mi) from the Fairy Meadows.
- Diamir is the furthest away as it takes the longest to reach.
These northern areas can be easily accessed through the capital city, Islamabad. From there, you have several options to plan your trip. If you mean strictly business, you can start your journey as soon as you feel like it. Generally, various tour operators have designed itineraries in a way that will be the most time adequate. The bonus is that they will know their way around the area. However, if you want to travel solo, worry not! The people of the region are extremely helpful and friendly. You may face a language barrier in the north because few people speak English fluently.
You can take the following route:
Islamabad-> Chilas -> Gilgit -> Tarashing -> Bizhin -> Shaigiri Base Camp -> Mazino Base Camp-> Mazino High Camp -> Loiba -> Kachal -> Diamir Base Camp
It should not take more than a week to take you from Diamir Base Camp to Islamabad.
The cost of reaching there depends on the method you adopt. If you are going with a tour company, it should not cost you more than $2500. Do keep in mind this cost does not include international travel fare. It will take you to the base camp and back to Islamabad. Generally, the cost will include the following:
- Four-star hotel stay
- Visa processing fee
- Transportation to the base camp and back
- Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
- Camping/climbing equipment
- Freshly cooked meals on the trek
- Security
The cost may decrease if you plan to travel in a group.
The First Successful Winter Ascent
On February 26, 2016, three of the four persistent mountaineers reached the summit. Climbers included Ali Sadpara from Pakistan, Simone Moro from Italy, and Alex Txikon from Spain. The fourth climber, Tamara Lunger, had to stop the ascent couple of meters beneath the summit.
At least four teams consisting of international mountaineers decided to scale the peak at the start of the year. Unfortunately, not all of them got the chance to scale the mountain.
- Adam Bielecki, a renowned Polish climber, was injured while fixing the ropes and was forced to return.
- Extreme weather conditions drove Tomek and Elisabeth away after waiting three days at Camp 3.
- A team member of Alex Txikon, Daniele Nardi, also called it off and returned after a disagreement with other team members.
On the other hand, Simone and Tamara stayed back and waited patiently for the weather to calm down. Shortly after the weather cleared, the duo picked their climbing gear, including tools that can be as sharp as a Japanese Hocho Hamono knife, commonly used to climb mountains, for example, to thaw snow. Initially, they had wanted to take the Messner-2000 route, but after some discussions and mutual understanding, they decided to take the more known Kinshofer route. They were joined by Alex on that route. Some credibility issues arose initially because it was reported that the GPS tracker the foursome was using stopped providing real-time location just meters before the summit.
The mountaineers who conquered the "Killer Mountain" in the winter
All four mountaineers are exceptionally well accomplished. Climbing mountains is not just a hobby for them- it is a way of life. Here are some facts about each individual:
- Muhammad Ali Sadpara belongs to Sadpara village, Skardu, Pakistan. He started as a low-altitude porter in 2000 to earn a living. However, in 2004 he joined as a high-altitude porter for a K2 expedition and realized how much he enjoyed it. His first eight-thousand peak was Gasherbrum II in 2006. He has climbed Nanga Parbat twice (2008 and 2009).
- Simone Moro is an Italian alpinist. He is the only climber to have scaled four 8000-meter peaks in the winter season. The peaks include Shisha Pangma (8,027 m), Makalu (8,463 m), Gasherbrum II, Nanga Parbat.
- Alex Txikson was inspired by his brother to mountaineering when he was only three years old. He was only 21 when he reached an 8000m peak- Broad Peak (8,051m).
- Tamara Lunger is an Italian mountaineering who started climbing mountains very young. Her first high-altitude peak was Island Peak (6189 m) in 2009. She successfully climbed K2, without oxygen, in 2014.
It's a remarkable achievement.
This guest post was written by Jenny Cortenza.
