Climbing
Part 2: Two Pakistanis and a history-making 3-Mountain Range Traverse
In 2019, Saad Munawar and Qudrat Ali traversed three of the world’s highest mountain ranges on foot within 30 days. This is their story.
Traversing a total of 665 kilometers on foot in three of the world’s highest mountain ranges and that too within a span of 23 days is nothing short of super-human. It definitely sounds like the plot of a superhero-slash-adventure film. And to think this feat was achieved by two Pakistanis last year.
Saad Munawar and Qudrat Ali did the impossible when they finished their extraordinary expedition covering Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas, Rakaposhi in the Karakoram and Tirich Mir in the Hindukush.
Saad Munawar and Qudrat Ali on their historic 3-mountain range traverse
© Saad Munawar
PHASE 1: THE HIMALAYAS
The first ever attempt to traverse all 3 highest mountain ranges of the world in one go had been the talk in the town since a long time but the expedition formally began on June 16, 2019 when Munawar and Ali packed their rucksacks and set off for their first big milestone - Rupal face basecamp at Nanga Parbat.
“When we arrived in Tarishing on June 15, it was raining heavily.” Ali recalls. “I got really worried because I know that the weather can be very harsh in the mountains. If it gets bad, it can rain on and on for many days. And that would not have been a good start to our expedition. We needed good weather for the basecamp.”
“But Alhamdulillah, when we woke up the next morning, the weather had cleared up a little. The mountains were still covered in clouds but at least it was not raining anymore,” adds Munawar.
The two mountaineers established their first basecamp of the expedition on June 16 when they reached Nanga Parbat basecamp.
We had to take it one day at a time and eventually we would get there - Ali
© Saad Munawar
Nanga Parbat famously known as ‘The Killer Mountain’ lies in the Himalayan range. It is the ninth highest peak in the world and the second highest peak in Pakistan.
“When we established the first basecamp successfully, we were happy and grateful and thanked Allah, but there were no feelings of celebration,” Munawar reminisces. “How could we celebrate when we had more than 600 kilometers waiting for us? I won't lie, it was a big weight, that number. We could feel the pressure because with the involvement of all the sponsors and media, there was no chance of turning back anymore.”
Ali says their destination did seem very far away at the beginning but that was just how it was supposed to be. “Nobody said that it was going to be a walk in the park. To get what no one has ever got, you have to give what no one has ever given. And we were ready to do that. I discussed it with Saad and told him not to worry about the destination just yet. I told him that we had to take it one day at a time and eventually we would get there; and to just give it our all, that is all that matters."
One day at a time, the two of them embarked on an arduous yet exciting journey. Little did they know that it would be interrupted by an ill-timed tragedy.
665 kms on foot - A historic mountain traverse by Saad Munawar & Qudrat Ali
© Saad Munawar
On the second day of their expedition, as they approached Astore, Munawar and Ali heard the tragic news of an avalanche hit on a Pak-Italian expedition on Melvin Jones peak resulting in the death of Ali’s close relative and Munawar’s dear friend Imtiyaz Ahmad.
The two of them continued their journey while a rescue team attempted to recover the injured climbers and Imtiyaz's body from the mountain.
However, two days later, when Munawar and Ali reached Juglot, they found out the rescue mission was not successful in recovering Imtiyaz’s body and that a second attempt was being planned.
The next morning, the duo trekked 55 kilometers in just 10 hours to reach Gilgit, making it a total of 177 kilometers in five days, and completed the first phase of the expedition before pausing it in order to volunteer for the rescue operation.
After three hard days on the mountain, Imtiyaz Ahmad's body was recovered successfully. On 26th June 2019, Munawar and Ali arrived back in Gilgit to resume their expedition.
PHASE 2: THE KARAKORAM
After covering the Himalayas, Munawar and Ali set off towards Karakorams in the second phase of their expedition. The duo covered 45 kilometers in a day to reach Juglot Guroo. From Juglot Guroo, they aimed for the south-facing basecamp of Rakaposhi in the Karakorams.
To get what no one has ever gotten, you have to give what no one has ever given.
On June 28, 2019, Munawar and Ali established their second basecamp at Darukush in front of the south face of Rakaposhi.
“It was a very special moment for me,” Munawar notes about his special connection with Rakaposhi. “Not only because we had achieved another important milestone of our expedition but also because this was the first time that I was visiting Rakaposhi basecamp after writing ‘Rakaposhi k saaye mein’. I don't think many writers, if any, would have had the opportunity to take their book back to the mountain it was written about. I'll always remember that moment.”
Saad Munawar with his book ‘Rakaposhi k saaye mein’
© Saad Munawar
After establishing their second basecamp, the duo headed towards the trickiest part of their traverse: the crossing of 4700 meters high Naltar pass that connects Naltar Bala with Ishkoman valley.
While the Natlar Pass trek usually takes three to five days, the duo crossed it in a record-breaking time of only 42 hours.
After a day’s rest in Birgil, Ali and Munawar completed the second phase of their expedition upon reaching Gupis on July 6, 2019, covering a total of 408 kilometers in 14 days.
PHASE 3: THE HINDUKUSH
With Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas and Rakaposhi in the Karakoram covered, only Tirich Mir in the Hindu Kush stood in their way… only far, far away.
We had gone through so many difficulties; our knees and ankles had swollen, our shoulders bruised, but we did not give up.
With Tirich Mir more than 250 kilometers away, connecting their route from Nanga Parbat (and Rakaposhi) to Tirich Mir meant covering the entire width of the country as Nanga Parbat is located by the eastern border with India and Tirich Mir lies right at the western border with Afghanistan.
After crossing Shandur Pass on July 10, Munawar and Ali entered into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province. Passing through the beautiful Laspur, Mastuj and Mulkow valleys and Qaqlasht meadows, the two of them reached their final Tirich Mir basecamp on July 16 after covering 665 kilometers in 23 days.
Saad & Qudrat named the new basecamp in the honor of Imtiyaz Ahmad.
© Saad Munawar
“We had mixed feelings on that last night,” Ali recalls. “We were happy to have made it this far, excited for the big final day. But, at the same time, it was very overwhelming. We had waited for 22 days but did not want to wait anymore.”
On the final day, they established a new basecamp in front of the east face of Tirich Mir mountain. As per the mountain traditions, since Munawar and Ali were going to be the first two to establish a camp there, they had the choice to name it as per their wish.
Usually, mountaineers tend to name such summits or camps after their own name. As a matter of fact, Ali already has a camp (Qudrat camp) named after him. But on this occasion, the two adventurists named it in honor of their late friend and fellow mountaineer Imtiyaz Ahmad, who had lost his life in the expedition a few weeks earlier.
By establishing the final basecamp on July 16, the two achieved an unthinkable feat and made history. 665 kilometers in 23 days. One can bet they won’t forget these numbers, and more importantly the overwhelming experience anytime soon.
“It was unbelievable,” exclaims Saad. “I still cannot put it into words. When we established the last camp, it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was just so grateful to Allah for making it happen. We had gone through so many difficulties; our knees and ankles had swollen, our shoulders bruised, but we did not give up. And once we achieved our target, everything bad just went away. As Rocky Balboa says, ‘it's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.’”
