National
February 10, 2021
ISLAMABAD: The search for missing Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara and his team members Jon Snorri of Iceland and Juan Pablo Mohr of Chile could not be resumed on Tuesday due to harsh weather as the nation prayed for the safe return of climbers.
Sadpara and other team members went missing on February 5 during the expedition to K2.Home Secretary Gilgit Baltistan Muhammad Ali Randhawa said the search and rescue operation could not resume due to cloudy weather, snowfall and strong winds. He said a request for FLIR (forward-looking infrared cameras) with the latest avionics package had been sent to the Pakistan Air Force.
Climbers of International Winter K-2 Expedition meet Pakistan Army Chief
January 22, 2021
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: A group of mountaineers part of the International Winter K-2 Expedition visited Pakistan’s army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Friday, and met the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Talking to the climbers, the COAS congratulated them for their great achievement, scaling K-2 (8,611 metres) in winter for the first time; making history in the field of mountaineering.
The delegation shared their experiences during the momentous expedition and thanked Pakistan and its people for their warm hospitality.
Winter K-2 Expedition 2020-21/Seven Summit Trek
In the winter of 1987 to 1988, 13 Polish climbers, seven Canadians, and four Britons attempted to make the first winter summit of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. The 28,251-foot peak is steeper, more technical, and deadlier than Everest, earning it the nickname “The Savage Mountain.” The team quickly established the low camps, but progress stalled as the climbers went higher. The expedition had only ten days of good weather during the effort. After three months, they canceled the entire outing. Over the next three decades, five more winter expeditions made up of some of the hardiest mountaineers in the world similarly failed. The mountain was too cold, there was too much wind and snow, and it was just too difficult and dangerous to get to the top. After every other 8,000-meter peak had been climbed in winter, K2 sat alone, one of the last big prizes in mountaineering.
Inspired by Everest’s first winter summit in 1980, a 1983 Polish expedition went to K2 in the winter for reconnaissance. They found byzantine logistics, uncooperative government authorities, and costs that exceeded the most generous budgets. Now, 38 years later, K2 has been summited in the winter.
Around 5:00 pm on Saturday, January 16, 2021, a team of 10 Sherpas and Nepalis stood on the summit of the world’s second-highest mountain, K2, on the border of Pakistan and China. It was the last of the world’s 14 8,000 meter peaks still unclimbed in winter. They are positioning the summit as a victory for Nepal and the Sherpa nation. All 10 climbers stopped 30 feet below the summit on a relatively safe spot (still on a 40-degree snow slope at 28,200-feet) so that they could summit together in a sign of solidarity. No individual was listed as first.