Defying odds, 11 climbers including three Pakistanis summit G2

GILGIT: Despite bad weather conditions, 11 more climbers including a three-member Pakistani Expedition team, successfully summited Gasherbrum-II, the 13th-highest mountain which is 8,035 metres above the sea level.

High-speed winds, snowfall, clouds and unpredictable weather conditions have made climbers stranded at the base camps of K2, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum-I, hampering their further progress.

According to base camp sources, three members of Pakistani expedition team comprising Iftikhar Ahmed Shah, Izhar Ali and Shah Doulat reached top of Gasherbrum-II on Monday at 2:25pm. The Pakistani team started their summit attempt on Sunday evening. Iftikhar Ali Shah of Karachi became the first climber from Sindh to summit Gasherbrum-II while Izhar Ali and Shah Doulat belong to Shimshal Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Iftikhar Ali Shah becomes the first climber from Sindh to summit the 8,035m peak

Pakistani mountaineers and civil society members congratulated the Pakistani expedition team members for their successful summit of Gasherbrum-II and prayed for their safe return.

The second three-member team of Seven Summits Treks conquered Gasherbrum-II on Monday morning. The second team members of the foreign expedition comprising Vadim Druelle of France, Nadhira Al Harthy of Oman and Pasang Sherpa of Nepal also successfully summited Gasherbrum-II.

On Sunday, 11 climbing members of Seven Summits Treks had scaled Gasherbrum-II while opening the route. Meanwhile, a five-member Imagine Nepal expedition team reached Gasherbrum-II on Monday morning. The tour organiser in a statement said that Imagine Nepal Gasherbrum-II expedition 2024 successfully reached the peak at 1:28pm.

The climbers of Imagine Nepal expedition team comprised Sashko Kedev of North Macedonia, Tracee Lee Metcalfe of US, Dawa Gyalje Sherpa, Kilu Pemba Sherpa and Angdu Sherpa of Nepal.

The team spent three nights at Camp 2, waiting for weather to improve, but it did not happen. Despite high winds, they, however, made a daring summit push last night and achieved their goal on Monday.

The team’s journey was marked by perseverance as they spent three nights at Camp 2, waiting for better weather conditions but this did not happen. Despite high winds, they made a daring summit push last night and achieved their goal.

Mingma G, a climber and the owner of the peak climbing operator Imagine Nepal, who is also expedition leader of K2 and Broad Peak expeditions, told Dawn from K2 base camp that despite bad weather, the climbers successfully summited Gasherbrum-II. He said that weather above 7,000 metres was challenging, with high-speed winds of above 50km per hour.

“Despite these conditions, our team reached the G2 summit with winds exceeding 50km/hr,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2024