Copyright © 2011 Pakistan Youth Outreach All rights reserved.
Pakistan Youth Outreach
A Youth Mountaineering Education Program
Project Update -
Account of first Pakistani women’s winter climbing expedition -
The Pakistan Youth Outreach second Climbing Expedition in winter to Mingligh Sar,
6050m, was indeed amazing. Samina Baig became the first woman from Pakistan to go
on a winter attempt in the Karakorum and this was a great milestone in Pakistani
women’s adventure history. Samina Baig also summited Chashkin Sar Peak in August-
Since the Ka
rakorum area has different weather conditions, winter arrives around
late November in the high mountains of the Karakorum. According to the calendar year,
it has been said that December climbing expeditions are not a full calendar year
expedition. However a few years back, the Alpine club of Pakistan organized a climbing
expedition to Peer Peak in the Karakorum which was named a “Winter Expedition”. Similarly
there was another expedition in November by locals which was also named a winter
expedition. Looking at the extreme weather situation in the high mountains, December
and January is normally considered winter in the Karakorum, Pamir area hence this
expedition is also considered a winter expedition.
The expedition kicked off on the 9th of December 2010 after five days acclimatization
in Shimshal Valley. We hired 12 porters, two cooks and Mr. Yausaf Khan, former army
climber, as our expedition advisor. The first day was spent at Korband. During the winter,
days are short and most streams at different summer camp sites get frozen. Therefore,
the first night spent at Korband was pretty chilly and there was a lot of frost in
the tents. After a steep climb of Ghar Sar, the next day the team managed to reach
Uch Forzeen in 9 hours. The chill was great though the day was sunny. Uch Forzeen
provided us with good shelter for cooking in the hut but sleeping in the tent was
pretty hard. At midnight, I found my sleeping bag frosty and frozen half due to
my breathing but a great adventure all the same! Uch Forzeen to Arbon Purian was
a nice journey, the frozen slopes of Arbon Purian were nice for practice and play adventure
in the cold climate.
It was longer in the winter from Arbob Purian to Shujrave where we set our base camp. The cold was great. It took us four days to reach Shujrave which is normally three days walking in summer. After two days of acclimatization and practice in Shujrave, the team prepared for the trek to high camp. Samina and Jennifer Rawlins (guest climber from Atlanta, Georgia, USA) made it to the pass during this time as well. Unfortunately, Jennifer got sick and was unable to join the rest of the team on the trek to high camp and subsequent summit attempt. Jennifer came to take part in this historical adventure and she believed it was a wonderful experience but truly cold!
We hiked up to high camp. Samina, Yausaf, and Mr. Tafat Shah, PYO Trainer, also
Mr. Yahya Baig, and myself, Mirza Ali, Expedition leader, and Wazir Baig were the
climbers in the team. The high camp was settled at approximately 5520m, the night
was terribly cold and Yahya and Wazir got sick in the night. However Samina was
the first woman from Pakistan to experience such extreme and freezing temperatures
at High Camp. The sleeping bags were icy in the mo
rning. The weather was very pleasant but
again, very cold. The next morning, we started our summit push at 8AM.
The stones were frozen and frosty, the chill factor was high but the sun did come out to favor us at the beginning. After three hours of walking, we reached below the glacier, changed our climbing shoes and dressed up for the next stage of the expedition. The snow was drifting and the upper layers were pretty frozen but it was complete sugar type beneath the upper layer. The climb was pretty tough going from the beginning. The layers started breaking and it was hard for all of us. Wazir became ill and returned half way. We climbed for another two hours when the wind and weather started becoming very cold. Samina had a down jacket with no hood and this was not suitable protection for the extreme cold weather and her pants were not even down so that made it difficult to continue to the summit. We reached approximately 5900m, just 150m short of the summit. The time was running out, so we decided to return since it was a step forward in progress and we naturally wanted to return home safely!
During the climb I noticed my video camera battery got dislodged and was unable to make more video of the climb and I was not adapted with still setting of ISO on my camera which also caused bad pictures in the bright sunlight. Later, Jennifer helped me to set ISO setting correctly on the way back to base camp.
The descent was arduous, the long ridge descent was tiring but we finally made it to the High Camp. The wind was extremely strong and was threatening to blow our tents off the ridge. After preparing tea, Samina and Yausaf left straight for Base Camp. We packed our belongings and tents to follow. Jennifer and Gul were down at the pass. We had planned to fix another high camp at Quz Sar after a successful attempt of Mingligh Sar. However, it was not really achievable since other members were tired. We met them down in the evening it was then decided to have some rest and then move back to Quz Sar approximately 5900m and climbed an unnamed peak the next day.
We reached base camp as the dusk was all around. Imran our “cook” welcomed us and served the meal. The night was cold and chills were looming. In the morning it was very cloudy and started snowing. We consulted Yausaf and Tafat the experienced climbers who then decided to call off the expedition so all packed and we left for Shimshal.
This expedition was an initiative for the youth and women of Pakistan to enter into
extreme sports such as mountaineering. It was a myth breaking expedition for Pakistani
women and youths whatever the outcome. Reaching the summit is the exception in the
mountains; most renowned mountaineers find that the “fail summit ratio” is higher
than success. When I made the decision to return 150m short of the summit, the Sir
Edmund Hillary quote was the basis that he used for Everest mostly to avoid any chance
of accidents. It was the right decision to go home safely since mountains never go
away!
After the expedition, Pakistan Youth Outreach conducted a Basic Mountaineering School for boys and girls in Shimshal at Malangutti Glacier, the participants were from different schools. Among the participants there were Bibi Numa (10th Grade), Shumaila Biag (10th Grade), Mudasir Pannah (9th Grade), Nargis Murtaza (9th Grade), Shah Dualat (5th Grade), Afsana Tafat (6th Grade), Muhammad Habib (4th Grade), Arshad Karim and Samina Baig.
The training was overseen by Mr. Yausaf Khan, former Pakistan Army climber, and Mr.
Tafat Shah, the best technical and experienced mountaineer, myself, as PYO Founding
President, also supervised the training. Jennifer Rawlins, Pakistan Youth Outreach’s
main supporter was also on the training. The kids enjoyed the outdoors and the basics
of mountaineering and wanted similar training for them in the future. PYO’s objective is
to encourage youth and women’s outdoor and adventure activities and spread this across Pakistan and
the world to bring a peaceful and healthy environment for youths and also encourage
nature studies and research work on hi
gh mountain settlements and glaciers as well
as study tours as part of recreation for fresh mind for studies!
The expedition was organized with help of individual donations, apart from individuals,
the Danish Embassy also donated for the expedition. The Danish support is to convey
a different and positive side of Pakistan than what you would normally see in the
media and thereby to support development in Gilgit-
We are very grateful to the Danish Embassy and Eloise Fox Peyman for donations. We thank Jennifer Rawlins for coming to Pakistan in the extreme weather conditions and becoming a part of the team and giving a positive image to other women around the world showing that Pakistan is safe and secure as well as welcoming everyone to enjoy a Karakorum adventure. We also thank Carol Anne Grayson for her support and article and hope to share much more in the near future about our projects. We also appreciate those individuals who sent their personal donations! We are here just because of you people and your support and hope to have your support in the future as well to make PYO objectives possible! Thank you ALL! Interested people can join us on our future trainings on mixed or purely female expeditions to virgin and other mountains in the Karakorum!