Two local climbers among eight summit Gasherbrum-I

GILGIT: Two local climbers from Gilgit-Baltistan were among a team of eight mountaineers who successfully summited Gasherbrum-I (8,080m), the 11th highest peak in the world, on Tuesday, expedition organizers confirmed.

The summit team included Abbas Ali and Mehabub Ali from Arandu, Shigar, alongside renowned Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja, Sheikha Asma Al Thani from Qatar, Rawia Ismail Mohamed Abdallah from Egypt, Tenji Sherpa, Sandip Gurung, and Dachhetar Sherpa from Nepal.

According to the Nepal-based expedition organizer Elite Exped, the climbers reached the summit at 5:50pm local time.

 “We had the mountains to ourselves during our summit push, relying on precision, discipline, and teamwork,” the company said in a statement. “Well done to the entire team!”

The company said this was Nimsdai Purja’s 51st successful ascent of an 8,000-meter peak, achieved without the use of supplementary oxygen.

Also read: Two Pakistanis among 11 climbers summit Nanga Parbat

The expedition organizer said all climbers have safely returned to Camp 2 and are expected to descend to Camp 1 on Wednesday. The team will assess weather conditions before launching a summit push on Gasherbrum II (G2).

“Huge congratulations to the entire team for their strength, determination, and unity at altitude,” the organizer added.

This was Sheikha Asma Al Thani’s 10 successful ascent in her ongoing mission to summit all 14 of the world’s eight-thousanders – mountains exceeding 8,000 metres.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had recently appointed Qatari mountaineer and royal family member Sheikha Asma Al Thani as Pakistan’s Mountains and Tourism. Al Thani  summited Nanga Parba earlier this montht, becoming the first Qatari woman to conquer the 8,126-metre-high peak.