Pakistani Climber winter summit attempt status unknown - search operations underway

[Turingsage]

Sadly he is dead. It will be difficult to recover his body as finding it in this weather and height will be difficult. I am gobsmacked there are people ridiculing the efforts of this brave mountaineer.
He gave his life doing what he loved.
I salute you.

 

[Tomcats]

High-altitude porter team being formed to locate Sadpara, others missing on K2

The search and rescue operation to locate missing climbers Muhammad Ali Sadpara, Jon Snorri and Jon Pablo Mohr on K2 could not resume on Wednesday as bad weather persisted for the third straight day. Plans are underway to set up a team of six high-altitude porters (HAPs) from the Gilgit-Baltistan region to help with ground activities once the climbers are spotted using aerial search.

The mission is expected to resume tomorrow, if the weather permits, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday evening.

“Images taken by the Icelandic Aerospace Agency during the search operation for missing climbers are “unlikely to significantly affect the course of the search and help clarify the picture of what happened,” a Russian mountaineering blog Mountain.ru reported, along with a set of blurry images.

Harsh weather conditions are likely to continue in the coming day, with strong winds and low visibility making the search mission a hard task.

“Some of the best HAPs are being selected and chances are the team will be sent to the base camp by tomorrow. They will have to acclimatise first so that they are able to carry out activities,” Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) secretary Karrar Haideri told Dawn.com. A meeting in this regard took place at the DC Skardu office where Sajid Sadpara was also present.

The younger Sadpara is staying with his relatives in Skardu since his return from K2 on Feb 7 while his mother and three younger siblings are in the village, only meeting them briefly once.

Haideri and other sources said the grieving family has been told that Sajid is taking part in the rescue efforts. “The main reason for keeping Sajid in Skardu has to do with connectivity as phone reception in Sadpara is very poor,” the ACP official said.

Meanwhile, members of the mountaineering community and ACP urged media and social media users to respect the privacy of the families of missing climbers, particularly the family of Muhammad Ali Sadpara and avoid sharing fake or unverified reports.

Calling the video interviews of a visibly shaken Sajid insensitive, they said, “He needs psychological counseling and long term support to deal with this trauma. Rather than hounding him for interviews and asking insensitive questions, it’s best to give him space to grieve along with his family.”

In a Facebook post, John Snorri’s wife Lína Móey Bjarnadóttir said that she is still hopeful her husband will return home safely. “I have not given up and know that there is still room for a miracle because the week is not over, his camp will stay open until Saturday. Those who know John Snorri Sigurðsson know what strength he has and I hope that more people out there will give me the strength to try until we’ve tried everything.”

The three climbers 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.

Since then, rescue operations have been ongoing but have been suspended due to harsh weather conditions.

 

[Great Janjua]

There seriously needs to be a rule implemented in which porters get the right amount of money for their role in transporting goods to base camp right now they are I think getting paid 2 dollars how cruel.Lastly in memory off Muhammed Ali Sadpara one off the routes to K2 should be renamed in his legacy

 

[Black.Mamba]

 

[ghazi52]

Sajid Sadpara waited 20 hours for father before descending K2
Says rescue teams should look for bodies now


Sajid Ali Sadpara, the son of Pakistani mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpar, has said that he waited 20 hours for his father and two other climbers before descending K2.

Muhammad Ali Sadpara, John Snorri from Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr from Chile went missing while attempting the winter K2 summit. They have been missing for over two days now. The Pakistan Army is currently carrying out a search operation.

He did not join his father on the ascent to K2 peak because of a problem with his oxygen tank regulator.

Sajid recalled that he saw his father last at the Bottleneck of the mountain with his companions. "The last time I talked to my father he told me to join him in the ascent to the peak of K2," he said.

Between 20 to 25 other mountaineers attempted one last time to summit the world's second-highest mountain during the winters. Most climbers returned midway. "It was just me, my father, John Snorri and Juan Pablo Mohr who decided to continue," Sajid revealed. "When we reached Camp 3, I decided to quit the climb because of my health conditions and a problem in the oxygen regulator."

He added, "I think that they reached the peak of the mountain as it was just a few meters away. They might have met an accident on the way back to Camp 3."

Sajid said that the chances of finding his father alive are slim now because it has been over three days. "The winds on the mountain are very strong and the temperature has dropped to -60 degrees. In such conditions, a person can survive for a maximum a day."

The Pakistan Army launched a search mission to rescue the missing men on Friday. A five-member squadron has been formed and two AS350 Écureuil helicopters have been assigned. On Sunday, the search operation was halted after the weather at the base camp worsened.

"I have told the rescuers to now continue the operation to find the bodies," Sajid said.

On the other hand, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has assured that the Pakistan Army is doing everything to find the climbers. President Arif Alvi and the entire nation has commended Ali Sadpara for his passion and love for the country and have requested prayers for his safe return.

Sajid revealed that his father, who has summitted Nanga Parbat and multiple other mountains, had one dream: to hoist Pakistan's flag on K2. "He always told me it's our mountain and Pakistanis should be the ones to climb it."

A team of Nepali climbers made history on K2 last month when they became the first to scale it in winter.

Conditions on K2 are harsh: winds can blow at more than 200 kilometres per hour (125 miles per hour) and temperatures can drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 Fahrenheit).

With Pakistan’s borders open and 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 scaled by thousands of climbers young and old, K2 is much less travelled due to its tough conditions.

 

[Asian.Century]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1359340163667816456

https://twitter.com/IcelandSpace/with_replies

 

[Asian.Century]

 

[User]

Virtual Base Camp established by Ireland at K2, Pakistan:
Miracle Happened!! Ali Sadpara Is Alive? II Next 48 Hours Crucial as Virtual Base Camp Established

Chances of finding Ali Sadpara alive have increased.
A Pir Sahab from his village has found out that one among the trio is dead but Ali Sadpara is alive. This has led to a decision that an Irish Space Agency will deploy a satellite and try to locate the team using geo-fencing technology.
Ali Sadpara had reportedly once said that if a calamity struck him on a mountain, he could survive there for few days by building himself a shelter.
PAF has also deputed a C-130 with infrared and cameras to scan the mountain. Fortunately, met dept has also given a green light for the next 2 days.

@krash
Summary

 

[El Sidd]

You are home now Mr. Sadpara.

Rest in peace amongst the peaks of Himalaya.

 

[SQ8]

“I didn’t go up there to die. I went up there to live.”

Reinhold Messner - first man to summit everest without oxygen.

What is the delineation between thrill seeking fools and pioneers?

Was Roald Amundsen a thrill seeker or Pioneer?

Reading some of the comments I am reminded about a relative in Karachi.

If you told him the clouds went away - “Drought sir, destroyed this cursed city of Karachi and Pakistan is..hell on earth!”

If you told him it would rain - “Devastated Sir! Floods will sweep this pathetic city and people. I wish I was never born here”

 

[nahtanbob]

For those interested in this topic please read Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air"

 

[Tomcats]

Sadpara, his team's last location traced through satellite

The satellite pictures were shared by Iceland and Chile with Pakistan.

arynews.tv

SKARDU: The last location of three climbers, including Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who went missing while attempting to summit the world’s second-highest mountain K2 has been traced through satellite images, ARY News reported, citing sources.

The satellite pictures released by Iceland and Chile were shared with Pakistan that helped in identifying the last location of the missing climbers, sources privy to the development said.


The last location of the missing climbers has been traced where the GPS of the team got off.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the biggest rescue operation at K2. The operation to be carried out with the help of satellite pictures

On February 5, Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali Sadpara and two foreign climbers, John Snorri from Iceland and JP Mohr from Chile went missing while attempting to summit K2.

Soon after, the land and aerial search to find the missing climbers was kicked off by the Pakistan Army rescue teams but failed to trace any clue of the team.

(I would reccomend personally taking each media report with a pinch of salt given the amount of disinformation that has seeped its way through)

 

[baqai]

honestly these SAR missions should have been started the first day, we are too late for it, God speed my friend, hope by some miracles we find you alive

 

[krash]

Chances of finding Ali Sadpara alive have increased.
A Pir Sahab from his village has found out that one among the trio is dead but Ali Sadpara is alive. This has led to a decision that an Irish Space Agency will deploy a satellite and try to locate the team using geo-fencing technology.
Ali Sadpara had reportedly once said that if a calamity struck him on a mountain, he could survive there for few days by building himself a shelter.
PAF has also deputed a C-130 with infrared and cameras to scan the mountain. Fortunately, met dept has also given a green light for the next 2 days.

@krash
Summary

These bastards never knew him when he was alive and are now hell bent on turning his death into a circus for their own 2 kori benefit. Every two bit idiot is out to squeeze or fabricate sensationalism out of it. Makes you question the entire qoum. Good job Pakistanio.

 

[PanzerKiel]

Bravery all around...

A word about the helicopter pilots....
These are unsung heroes, we will never come to hear even the names of these pilots...involved in this SAR operation.....what they are doing right now is a separate story in itself....

...official service ceiling of AS350 heli from the manufacturer side is 4600-4800 m...these pilots, initially managed to take this heli to 7000 meters....and then later they even managed to take it to 7800 meters.....that is sheer bravado.....pushing these machines beyond the limits to which they are supposed to go.....that requires skill on the part of pilots themselves...

After the first day, once ordered back due to adverse weather, these pilots even refused to come back, saying that we havent accomplished our mission yet....the pilots and their crews kept on waiting around their helis just waiting for the first ray of sun to pierce through, so that they can go in the air again....thats the spirit....leaving no one behind.....

A word about the mountaineers, Ali Sadpara and his son....
They undertook this journey, this feat, not in the summers even, but in the winters.....status of nations are elevated this way, not by empty slogans or processions, but by undertaking extraordinary feats.....what made Ali Sadpara undertake this journey.....that i will wave the flag of Pakistan on top of K2 in winters....for all the world to see, that what Pakistanis are capable of doing.....

Bad on our part.....we, the normal citizens or shall i say, people with narrow mental horizons, dont realize this....Ali Sadpara, his son, his whole family, people like him, their villages.....these people are legend themselves....their hearts are bigger than K2 itself....K2 is itself a very small criteria or parameter to measure the heart in these people and their lovely families.....

This motivation, i must say, is the real death knell for our enemies....with this motivation, 313 will always win against 1000s.....no amount of technology and equipment can beat someone having this motivation, neither on the battlefield nor off it.