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Pakistani Climber winter summit attempt status unknown - search operations underway

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — Bad weather on Monday forced Pakistani army helicopters to temporarily halt their search for three mountaineers who went missing while attempting to scale K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.

The search was stopped just hours after it resumed for the third consecutive day, with officials uncertain when weather conditions would improve enough for it to resume again. Friends and family of the three — Pakistani climber Ali Sadpara, John Snorri of Iceland and Juan Pablo Mohr of Chile — grew increasingly concerned for their fate in the harsh environment.

The three lost contact with base camp late on Friday and were reported missing on Saturday, after their support team stopped receiving communications from them during their ascent of the 8,611-meter (28,250-foot) high K2 — sometimes referred to as “killer mountain.”
Located in the Karakorum mountain range, K2 is one of the most dangerous climbs. Last month, a team of 10 Nepalese climbers made history by scaling the K2 for the first time in winter.

Waqas Johar, a district government administrator, said on Twitter that almost 60% of K2 was under clouds. The search and rescue team was unable to find any clue of the climbers’ whereabouts so far, he said, adding it will attempt again once the weather improves.
Earlier, Sadpara’s son said in a video statement released to the media that the chances of the mountaineers’ survival in the harsh winter conditions were extremely low. Sadpara, an experienced climber, had earlier scaled the world’s eight highest mountains, including the highest, Mount Everest in the Himalayas, and was attempting to climb K2 in winter.

“Miracles do happen and the hope for a miracle is still there,” said Karar Haideri, secretary at the Pakistan alpine Club. He said a statement from the authorities was expected later on Monday.
Sadpara’s son Sajid Ali Sadpara, himself a mountaineer who was part of the expedition at the start but later returned to base camp after his oxygen regulator malfunctioned, said their chances after “spending two to three days in the winter at 8,000 (meters’ altitude) are next to none.”

The younger Sadpara praised the rescue and search efforts but said “as a climber, I know that ... only a miracle can save their lives.”
The younger Sadpara’s oxygen regulator had malfunctioned when he reached K2′s most dangerous point, known as Bottle Neck, earlier last week. There, he waited for his father and two other climbers for more than 20 hours but with no sign of them, he descended.

Since the climbers went missing, Iceland’s foreign minister, Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, has spoken to his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, by telephone. According to Pakistan’s foreign ministry, Qureshi assured him that Pakistan would spare no effort in the search for the missing mountaineers.

Although Mount Everest is 237 meters (777 feet) taller than K2, the K2 mountain is much farther north, on the border with China, and subject to worse weather conditions, according to mountaineering experts. A winter climb is particularly dangerous because of the unpredictable and rapid change in the weather.
Winter winds on K2 can blow at more than 200 kph (125 mph) and temperatures can drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 Fahrenheit). In one of the deadliest mountaineering accidents ever, 11 climbers died in a single day trying to scale K2 in 2008.
 
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so much tax payers money spent on this, ppl risking their lives for sports should know the risk and embrace the enevitable and tax money shouldn't be spen on that but on the poor ppl, period.

regards
 
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is this pointless crap to die for the reason the reason their mothers gave birth to them. just to see them suffer and possibly die like this.
That's why some men achieve and other don't. You will live a safe life and die and no one will remember you. God bless all those who follow their passions and live life to the max.

Surely as a Muslim you know the time of your death is written and even if you are in the deepest cave death will find you. It's a myth that you will live if you wrap yourself in cotton wool
 
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so much tax payers money spent on this, ppl risking their lives for sports should know the risk and embrace the enevitable and tax money shouldn't be spen on that but on the poor ppl, period.

regards
Everone has their own opinion and i respect that but it clearly shows you've led a boring city life and have never visited any mountainous region.
 
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so much tax payers money spent on this, ppl risking their lives for sports should know the risk and embrace the enevitable and tax money shouldn't be spen on that but on the poor ppl, period.

regards
Rather tax payers money was spent saving lives of Pakistani than given to politicians to steal.
Have you ever taken a risk in your life....like cross the road?
 
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Rather tax payers money was spent saving lives of Pakistani than given to politicians to steal.
Have you ever taken a risk in your life....like cross the road?

ppl involved in such risky sports as i said should accept the ultimate consequences, money should rather be spent on for homeless poor pakistanis, those who cant afford medical care etc and not this stupid BS. If the climbers are willing to pay for it then its all well and good, but tax payer's money shouldn't be spared.

these stunts are done to attract sponsonship, Pakistan doesn't earn anything from such a stunt.

regards
 
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That's why some men achieve and other don't. You will live a safe life and die and no one will remember you. God bless all those who follow their passions and live life to the max.

Surely as a Muslim you know the time of your death is written and even if you are in the deepest cave death will find you. It's a myth that you will live if you wrap yourself in cotton wool

following those same idiotic passions is why most people that try getting into showbiz and leave education end up as waiters and prostitutes.
 
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following those same idiotic passions is why most people that try getting into showbiz and leave education end up as waiters and prostitutes.
so mountaineers are the same as showbiz and prostitutes...
PS why do you watch movies? TV? you are helping them so you are party to this.

please don't cross the road. prostitutes work on roads and they cross them too.

this is your education? logic defies you

PS why r u in bahrian.....education didn't get you a job in Pakistan? now cry me a river with nonsense excuses
ppl involved in such risky sports as i said should accept the ultimate consequences, money should rather be spent on for homeless poor pakistanis, those who cant afford medical care etc and not this stupid BS. If the climbers are willing to pay for it then its all well and good, but tax payer's money shouldn't be spared.

these stunts are done to attract sponsonship, Pakistan doesn't earn anything from such a stunt.

regards
you talk so much

what have you done for Pakistan?
put Allah in front and say you pay he taxes due and not cheat the system.

so pleaase stop talking. its best fro you
 
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so mountaineers are the same as showbiz and prostitutes...
PS why do you watch movies? TV? you are helping them so you are party to this.

please don't cross the road. prostitutes work on roads and they cross them too.

this is your education? logic defies you

PS why r u in bahrian.....education didn't get you a job in Pakistan? now cry me a river with nonsense excuses

i barely watch tv. climbing the riskiest mountains is even more risky and pointless than trying to be an actor. i am in Bahrain because i have an education and got a better paying job here while remaining in the same profession.

then show us the size of your balls then and jump into a pool of sharks, live on tictoc. if you come out alive, whole world will think highly of Pakistan for one second. if you die, result will be the same. so go ahead.
 
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Muhammad Ali Sadpara: Porter, family man and tough as nails mountaineer

Sumaira Jajja
February 8, 2021



Muhammad Ali Sadpara is the only Pakistani to have climbed eight of the 14 8,000 metre peaks. — Photo courtesy Twitter


Muhammad Ali Sadpara is the only Pakistani to have climbed eight of the 14 8,000 metre peaks. — Photo courtesy Twitter



“Mountains demand passion. Aap ki dillagi hone chahiyee paharoon kay saath [your heart needs to be in love with the mountains],” a beaming Muhammad Ali Sadpara had said in 2016 when I asked what it takes to become a mountaineer.

A “jolly, good fellow”, Sadpara is often described by his peers as a tough as nails climber with a good-humoured nature. The only Pakistani to have climbed eight of the 14 8,000 metre peaks, Sadpara came to prominence in local media when he, along with Spain’s Alex Txikon and Italy’s Simone Moro, made a world record with the first winter summit of Nanga Parbat in 2016. The Spaniard and the Italian said their summit would not have been possible without Sadpara, a rousing endorsement for a man largely hidden from the public eye in Pakistan.

Pakistan is home to five 8,000m peaks including K2, Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and II. The remaining are in Nepal and China.
Born on February 2, 1976, the naturally talented and humble climber hails from a village called Sadpara, near Skardu in the Gilgit-Baltistan region.

‘Sadpara' or 'Satpara’ is famous for its porters who have helped countless summit seekers achieve their dreams as they carry backbreaking loads on Baltoro glacier — the gateway to the mighty K2 and other peaks.

Over the years, the country has seen few mountaineers rise up. Nazir Sabir, the first Pakistani to climb Everest; Ashraf Aman, the first Pakistani to climb K2 along with the now deceased Nisar Hussain Sadpara and Hasan Sadpara; and Samina Baig, the first Pakistani woman on Everest are just a few more names. In this backdrop, Muhammad Ali’s Sadpara’s rise has been, in his own words, “due to hard work and sheer luck”.

Staring out as a porter, he found his first proper climbing gig in 2004 when he accompanied an expedition to K2.

“One of my very first jobs was to deliver supplies to Pakistan Army posts leading to Siachen way back in the mid-1990s,” he said in an interview published in Dawn.

According to his profile in Alpinist magazine, when a Pakistani army truck pulled into Sadpara to recruit porters, Ali couldn't resist the opportunity. At the time, Pakistan and India were locked in a longstanding conflict over the Siachen Glacier, a strategic corridor to China. Ali was headed into the world's highest battleground. At night, he scaled walls of ice, ferrying supplies to soldiers in remote mountain passes, praying darkness would shelter him from shell-fire that seemed, he recalls, 'as relentless as firecrackers at a wedding'.

"'After the Siachen, I wasn't afraid anymore,' Ali remembers. 'In climbing, there are two outcomes—life or death—and you must find the courage to accept either possibility.'"

Not listening to his family’s advice to join the police force or the army — which offered good pay and free housing or a plot — he stuck with his heart’s calling.

“I used to tell my wife and family I don’t want to work, it’s climbing that I want to do.”


No looking back

When work was short, Sadpara would go back to farming. In 2006, he climbed Gasherbrum II, his first 8,000m peak, without proper climbing gear.

“I didn’t have the right boots, didn’t have a down jacket, let alone a down suit to protect me from the harsh cold. I had some second-hand climbing gear which I bought from the market in Skardu and repaired. But I still managed to climb and come back safely."


And since then there was no looking back. He went on to climb Spantik Peak (Pakistan) in 2006, Nanga Parbat (Pakistan) in 2008, Muztagh Ata (China) in 2008, Nanga Parbat (Pakistan) in 2009, Gasherbrum I
(Pakistan) in 2010, Nanga Parbat First Winter Ascent (Pakistan) in 2016, Broad Peak (Pakistan) in 2017, Nanga Parbat First Autumn Ascent (Pakistan) in 2017, Pumori Peak First Winter Ascent (Nepal) in 2017, K2 (Pakistan) in 2018, Lhotse (Nepal) in 2019, Makalu (Nepal) in 2019 and Manaslu (Nepal) in 2019.

In 2018, veteran French climber Marc Batard roped in Sadpara along with Pasang Nuru Sherpa of Nepal to undertake a five-year mountaineering programme named 'Beyond Mount Everest.'

The trio planned to scale Nanga Parbat in 2019, K-2 in 2021 and Mount Everest in 2022 to mark Batard’s 70th birthday. Batard hoped that Sadpara’s inclusion in the team would help in building a positive image of Pakistan.

On January 25 this year, the government announced that Sadpara will be sponsored to climb the remaining 8,000m peaks.


Financial restraints

As a husband and a father, Sadpara came across as a person who would do anything to put food on the table. Money motivated him, mountaineering motivated him even more.

Not one to shy away from saying that it was poverty that propelled youngsters in Sadpara to become porters, he said: “Many climb for money which isn’t that much but it sustains people. However, not many of my fellow porters want to climb. If they had better opportunities, they would quit climbing.”

In the Alpinist interview, Sadpara said he wanted a sewing machine for his wife and for himself a winter ascent of K2. All these pursuits required money. Money that was made by carrying backbreaking loads on rugged, cruel terrain that showed no mercy.

“There are few who would love to climb if their financial burdens were eased. For climbing, one has to be free from restraints,” Sadpara added.

Back in 2016, he said he wouldn’t want his children to follow his profession.

“Honestly if you ask me, I would not want my children to work in this field. My sons are studying, one of them is in college, and has simply refused to climb. I want to be able to earn enough to provide for my family."

'Gem of a person'

Sadpara was in the search team that had been looking for a British climber Tom Ballard and Italian climber Daniele Nardi who were reported missing on Nanga Parbat. Their bodies were later found on the mountain.
“The man who was always ready for the rescue operation to save lives, today I’m remembering your picture of 27 February 2019 when you were ready for the rescue operation of Nardi and Tom on Nanga Parbat. Today we lost you and your [sic] resting high on K2,” said Karim Shah Naziri, a skier and climber, in a tweet.


“Muhammad Ali Sadpara is a very nice guy. Soft, clean and genuine soul. In short, gem of a person,” said Nazir Sabir. He is very funny and would start dancing, he added.

“He is a genuine person inside out, as a mountaineer and in daily life.”

“Sadpara is such a jolly fellow,” said Mingma G Sherpa, a Nepalese climber who was part of the 10-member team that successfully completed the first ever winter summit of K2 last month.

“He works hard and has a good attitude. He has what it takes to reach the top,” he had said last week when Dawn reached out for comments on the teams at the K2 base camp.

After reports that Sadpara, along with John Snorri from Iceland and JP Mohr Prieto from Chile, successfully summited K2, news emerged that the three had gone missing. 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 8,611m-high K2.

Search and rescue operations have been underway since then, but with zero luck.

“Waiting for the good news of this jolly man. Praying for Ali, John and Pablo to return safely," Mingma said in a Facebook post on Friday. "Their walkie talkie was not working well as they had a low frequency walkie talkie. I hope they are already back. Muhammad Ali is world class climber from Pakistan and we climbed Nanga Parbat together in 2017 and we are good friend since 2014 from my first visit in Pakistan."


Talking to media in Skardu yesterday, Ali's 21-year-old son Sajid 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 summiting the K2. He said the trio had already climbed 8,200m and were moving into the bottleneck – the most technical part of the mountain – when he broke away from them.

Sajid said 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.
A rescue operation involving army helicopters and climbing experts continues on Monday for a third consecutive day with no success.

A shell shocked Sajid recalled his father’s bid towards the summit. Maybe Muhammad Ali saw the danger that lied ahead and the malfunctioning equipment gave him the opportunity to send his son back into a safe zone — a final fatherly act that protected Sajid from the cold abyss on the Savage Mountain.

https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sha...awn.com/news/1606183&display=popup&ref=plugin
 
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i barely watch tv. climbing the riskiest mountains is even more risky and pointless than trying to be an actor. i am in Bahrain because i have an education and got a better paying job here while remaining in the same profession.

then show us the size of your balls then and jump into a pool of sharks, live on tictoc. if you come out alive, whole world will think highly of Pakistan for one second. if you die, result will be the same. so go ahead.
The reason I support these mountaineers is because I spend a lot of time in the mountains and to hiking trekking and climbing. My last expedition was on khosergung with a famous mountaineer called hassan jaan. He has a shop in Skardu as well.
My name trango towers should give you a clue.
So you DO WATCH TV and support the people with your money that you look down upon. Sad.
Now regarding you having an education...I am truly pleased that a fellow Pakistani has an education and he took a RISK to go to a foreign land into the unknown away from his family to make a better life for himself and his family. You said these mountaineers do it for fame and money...same as you went to Bahrain for money and your fame comes when you return to Pakistan....I am in Bahrain.

As an educated brother you should understand that living life to the max and exploring new horizons is part of human evolution. If man had not gone over the horizon you would still think the earth is flat and you would fall off the edge beyond the horizon. I would urge you to think laterally and even with an education you don't know everything. Unless you open your mind and chase your dreams (as you did getting an education and going to Bahrain) u would be stuck in a dead end job somewhere in Pakistan.
Additionally, education doesn't get you money..there are billionares with no education...Richard Branson an example and people with doctorates who are penniless.
Finally jumping into a pools of sharks...well people actually go swimming with shark...please please I urge you to open your mind b4 you type...this is just silly now
 
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The reason I support these mountaineers is because I spend a lot of time in the mountains and to hiking trekking and climbing. My last expedition was on khosergung with a famous mountaineer called hassan jaan. He has a shop in Skardu as well.
My name snowflake should give yoh a clue.
No regarding you having an education...I am truly pleased that a fellow Pakistani has an education and he took a RISK to go to a foreign land into the unknown away from his family to make a better life for himself and his family. You said these mountaineers do itvfor fame and money...same as you went to Bahrain for money and your fame comes when you return to Pakistan....I am in Bahrain.

As an education brother you should understand that livening life to the max and exploring new horizons is part of human evolution. Of man had not gone over the horizon yoj would still think the earth is flat and you would fall off the edge beyond the horizon. I would urge you to think laterally and even with an education you don't know everything. Unless you open your mind and chase your dreams (as you did getting an education and going to Bahrain) u would be stuck in a dead end job somewhere in Pakistan.
Additionally, education doesn't get you money..there are billionares with no education...Richard Branson an example and people with doctorates who are penniless.
Finally jumping into a pools of sharks...well people actually go spinning with shark...please please I urge you to open your mind b4 you type...this is just silly now
dont want to hear all this. jump into that pool of sharks bruh. show me a little of that risk and how cool it is.
 
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dont want to hear all this. jump into that pool of sharks bruh. show me a little of that risk and how cool it is.

Read what I wrote about the sharks.


Now get your head out of the sand

I don't think you have an education...I think you are a labourer in Bahrain serving tea to the Arabs...an educated man would not behave like you.

Me on one of my expeditions

20190621_105612-01.jpeg


Hassan jaan training me before the khoser gung attempt

20190619_104354-01.jpeg
 
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