https://arab.news/2ydeb
- Khan reached the peak of Mount Kanchenjunga (8,586 m) in Nepal in the early morning of Saturday
- On Thursday, Pakistani climber Shehroze Kashif became the youngest person to summit Kanchenjunga
KHALPU: Climber Sirbaz Khan summited Mount Kanchenjunga on Saturday, becoming the first Pakistani to scale 10 out of the world's 14 eight-thousanders.
Born and raised in Ali Abad in the mountainous Hunza district of Gilgit-Baltistan, Khan has already climbed Mount Everest (8,849 m), K2 (8,611 m), Nanga Parbat (8,126 m), Mount Lhotse (8,516 m), Manaslu (8,163 m), Broad Peak (8,047 m), Mount Annapurna (8,091m), Gasherbrum-2 (8,035), Dhaulagiri (8,161m).
He reached the peak of Mount Kanchenjunga (8,586 m) in Nepal in the early morning.
“Alhamdulillah! Pride of Pakistan Sirbaz Khan reached the summit at 7am local time," Saad Munawar, manager of his expedition team announced in a Facebook post. “Communicating from the summit, Sirbaz thanked the whole nation for their support and requested prayers for a safe return.”
Khan, 32, started his professional career as a mountaineer only six years ago.
“Sirbaz is the finest mountaineer of Pakistan who belongs to Hunza Valley of Pakistan and he had been part of many expeditions before he started proper climbing since 2016,” Karrar Haidri, secretary general of the Alpine Club of Pakistan told Arab News.
“Sirbaz is on mission 14, and he has climbed 10 peaks out of the 14 so far,” Haidri added, expressing hope that Khan will become the first Pakistani to summit all eight-thousanders.
The remaining four peaks are Makalu (8,463m) and Cho Oyu (8,188 m) in Nepal, Gasherbrum-1 (8,080m) in Pakistan, and Shishapangma (8,027) in China.
As Khan reached the peak of Kanchenjunga on Saturday, congratulations poured in for him.
“Congratulations to Sirbaz Khan for the big achievement! Best wishes for the future endeavors,” Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Muhammad Khalid Khursheed tweeted.
Climber Sajid Ali Sadpara, the son of Pakistan’s iconic high-altitude mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who went missing while attempting a winter ascent of K2 last year,
welcomed Khan’s success as a “great day for Pakistan,” as he took to Twitter to congratulate him.
Khan’s ascent of Kanchenjunga was the second by a Pakistani mountaineer in just two days.
On Thursday, Shehroze Kashif, who last year became the world’s youngest climber to scale the K2, became the youngest person to summit the peak.
Kanchenjunga is the world’s third highest mountain and popular with climbers who visit Nepal for the spring climbing season which ends this month. Climbers say Kanchenjunga is a difficult mountain to conquer because of its remote location and is prone to avalanches.