Summit Push

Yesterday, Sirbaz and Joshi left the basecamp for the summit push on Mt Annapurna. Today, they reached Camp 3 (6,420m) late in the afternoon. By pushing their physical limits on icy slopes under overhanging sercas for an entire day, now they are resting up in a tent. While they are up there, I wonder why … Read more

Hello From Annapurna Basecamp!

Today we went to the helipad in the morning. First the heli made rounds to the basecamp with sherpas, kitchen crew, food, and other camping equipment. Then it flew us. It was only a 10-minute flight to the basercamp from Dana village. The heli quickly gained height and dropped us at the elevation of 4,200 … Read more

1st Pak Expedition to Annapurna Starts

On 18th March, the sun rose from the horizon like a fireball at Islamabad airport. Team Annapurna boarded the Emirates Flight EK 613. What could have been a two-hour journey to Kathmandu took us 12 hours, including a 5-hour layover in Dubai. After passing through a countless number of security checkpoints at three airports, we … Read more

From A Tricycle To A Bicycle Tour Around The World

One crisp winter morning, mom bathed me and applied Surma (kohl) to my eyes. She tried to dress me up in brown pyjamas with long yellow stripes. As a kid, I was only used to wearing Shalwar Kameez. So, I resisted every bit. “If you wear this, I will ask your dad to buy you … Read more

Thoughts in the Monument Valley

In the Monument Valley, sandstone buttes and mesas towered above the Colorado Plateau. A long road stretched out into the distance like a bold line on the sandpaper. It was here when Forrest Gump decided to stop after running for three years, two months, 14 days and 16 hours. He quit much to the bewilderment … Read more

What Is So Special About Shimshal?

“You must go to Shimshal,” Saad said to me. “What is so special about it?” “Everything.” I was intrigued. So, in November, I rode 55 km from Passu to Shimshal on a bicycle. In Shimshal, I came to know the stories of high-altitude-porters, their families, aspiring mountaineers, and community members. I published about a dozen … Read more

Lal Pari – First Lady Health Worker of Shimshal

A young girl sets out to become the first qualified midwife in a remote village with no ambulance and labour room. She has a tough job to deliver babies at people’s homes at night while carrying her kids on the back. Shimshal is a village of 250 or so houses built with stones and mud. … Read more

Hussn Bibi—First Graduate of Shimshal

After a schoolgirl is married off at the age of nine, she leaves behind her life in pastures and sets out on a long journey to become the first graduate woman of her remote village. Tucked away in the mighty Karakoram mountains of Gilgit Baltistan–Pakistan, there is a village called Shimshal which people know as … Read more

Yazghil Sar Winter Expedition 2021

As days become shorter and nights grow darker, we dial up our heaters and chew pistachios and walnuts while sitting under blankets in our cosy homes. Meanwhile, a few brave ones dare to venture deep into the icy mountains that give shivers to the sun. They are on a mission to do something that no … Read more

Daulat Amin — First Teacher From Shimshal

“My name is Daulat Amin. Perhaps God wanted me to become the guardian (Amin) of a treasure (Daulat) and what bigger treasure than the knowledge (Ilm)?” Born in 1945, Daulat Amin was the first matriculate teacher from Shimshal. When Daulat was young, his family suffered an economic shock after their 300 goats and sheep, and … Read more

Fazal Ali — The K2 King

“It is unfortunate that mountaineering has no value in our country. Everywhere I go, I have to tell who I am and narrate my achievements. In other countries, mountaineers are considered as heroes and don’t have to introduce themselves.” Fazal Ali is a veteran high altitude porter (HAP) from Shimshal, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. He has … Read more

Shaheen Baig—The Rescuer

“In 2004, there were so many climbers on K2 that I felt I was in Raja Bazar, Rawalpindi. Two years later, we were only two people on 8,000m tall Broad Peak in winter. At that time, I learnt that the most difficult part of mountaineering is descending without a rope. That experience still helps me … Read more

Karim The Dream

They call it the Savage Mountain. It is the second-highest peak on Earth. For every four people who summited K2 (8,611m), one died on the mountain. On 1st August 2008, twenty-five climbers left Camp IV to attempt the K2 summit, but eleven never returned. It was a perfect day for climbing, one in a million, … Read more

The Father, The Son, And The K2

They call it the Savage Mountain. It is the second-highest peak on Earth. For every four people who summited K2 (8,611m), one died on the mountain. On 1st August 2008, twenty-five climbers left the Camp IV to attempt the K2 summit, but eleven never returned. It was a perfect day for climbing, one in a … Read more