ISLAMABAD: A joint expedition team of Pakistani and French mountaineers departed here on Friday to scale the 8035m high Gasherbrum-II peak, next week.
The peak also known as K4 is the fifth highest mountain of Pakistan and 13th highest of the world. “Today, two French and one Pakistani climbers have flown from Islamabad Airport for Skardu to take on this summer’s first expedition. On arrival in Skardu, they will be joined by five other Pakistani climbers and from there they will leave to ascend K4, next week,” Karrar Haidri, the spokesman of Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) told APP.
The expedition is led by Dr Philippe ARVIS, who has been frequently visiting Pakistan and attempting to climb world’s highest peaks. He is accompanied by another French climber, Dr. Christophe FAISY, who also undertook several climbing expeditions in Pakistan in the past.
According to Karrar Haidri this year a total of 35 summer expeditions has been confirmed. The Pakistan team is led by seasoned Hassan Jan, who left Islamabad along with French climbers on Friday. While other Pakistani climbers – Ghulam Mehdi, Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Bashir, Zamir Ali and Zakir Hussain are already in Giligit-Baltistan.
“Hassan has climbed over one dozen peaks, including the five highest peaks of the country, while Mehdi has also scaled five to six mountains,” Haidri added. He said other Pakistani climbers were also highly experienced.
