Pakistani mountaineers Naila Kiani and Sirbaz Khan found themselves in aharrowing situation on the slopes of Tibet’s Shishapangma peak, standing ata towering 8,027 meters. In a perilous moment, they narrowly escaped anavalanche that threatened their lives during their expedition.
Tragically, the treacherous mountain claimed the lives of two climbers fromthe United States and Nepal. Additionally, two others from these countriesremain missing, lost to the wrath of massive avalanches that struck theprimary climbing route. These incidents occurred as climbers were makingtheir ambitious push toward the summit.
Naila Kiani and Sirbaz Khan were an integral part of the Imagine Nepalexpedition team, embarking on their journey with high hopes. However, theirdaring summit attempt took a devastating turn when the avalanche struckabove the perilous altitude of 7,800 meters. Among the victims wereAmerican climber Anna Gutu and her Nepalese guide, Mingmar Sherpa, whotragically lost their lives in the avalanche. Another American climber,Gina Marie, and her guide, Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa from Nepal, remainunaccounted for.
In the face of this calamity, a frantic and heroic rescue effort isunderway. As of now, the bodies of the two climbers have been recovered.The expedition manager, Saad Munawar, managed to establish communicationwith Sirbaz Khan via satellite phone, confirming their safe return to Camp1 after a heartbreaking decision to abandon their mission.
On October 2, Naila Kiani and Sirbaz Khan had achieved a remarkablemilestone by becoming the first Pakistani duo to conquer Cho Oyu, acolossal peak standing at 8,201 meters in Tibet, ranking as the world’ssixth-highest. Kiani’s remarkable achievements include being the firstPakistani woman climber to summit an astounding 10 peaks above 8,000meters, accomplishing seven of these awe-inspiring feats in a mere sixmonths. Sirbaz Khan stands tall as the sole Pakistani mountaineer toconquer 13 peaks above 8,000 meters, an impressive feat further enhanced byhis ability to do so without supplementary oxygen.
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Karrar Haidri, Secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, providedconfirmation that both Naila Kiani and Sirbaz Khan had safely reached Camp1. Despite their triumphant past endeavors, the mission had to be cut shortdue to the catastrophic events that unfolded.
A somber tone was expressed on Naila Kiani’s official social media page,mourning the loss of four climbers to the merciless avalanches and thesubsequent termination of their mission. Naila and Sirbaz, who bore witnessto this tragedy, returned to Camp 1 with heavy hearts, deeply shaken anddistressed. Their sincere condolences go out to the families and friends ofthe climbers who tragically lost their lives on the unforgiving slopes ofShishapangma.