GILGIT(National Times)- A Czech mountaineer has died after falling during an attempt to climb Masherbrum, one of the most challenging and rarely scaled peaks in Pakistan’s Karakoram Range, as the summer climbing season reaches its peak with foreign expeditions targeting some of the world’s highest mountains.
Mr Bansky Jaroslav, a Czech national, was part of a foreign expedition team attempting to summit Masherbrum, also known as K1, which rises 7,821 metres above sea level.
The climber died after falling from a cliff near Camp 1 of the mountain on Thursday, sources at the base camp told Dawn.
DIG Baltistan Tufail Ahmed Mir confirmed the incident, saying members of the expedition team were attempting to climb the peak when the accident occurred.
A base camp source said the family members of the deceased climber had arrived in Islamabad and a decision had not yet been made on whether to bring the body down from the mountain to Skardu.
Masherbrum is considered one of the Karakoram’s most challenging and rarely climbed peaks. Jaroslav’s expedition was the first team to attempt its slopes in nearly five decades.
His death marks the second fatality of the summer climbing season in the region. On June 22, French climber Guillaume Pierrel was killed by an avalanche while attempting to scale the 7,282-metre K-6 peak in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Ghanche district.
Despite the tragedies, the summer climbing season is in full swing, with hundreds of foreign climbers currently attempting to summit several of the world’s highest mountains.
Pakistan is home to five of the 14 peaks in the world that exceed 8,000 metres: K2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak, and Gasherbrum II.
The summer climbing and trekking season typically runs from June to mid-August. The Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism Department has issued 31 mountaineering permits and 39 trekking permits to foreign visitors so far this season, according to Sajid Hussain, an assistant director at the department.
The region will continue issuing permits until Aug 1.
Meanwhile, expedition teams have set up basecamps across the region, where they are undergoing acclimatisation rotations, fixing ropes, and waiting for clear weather to begin their summit pushes.
Climbers are currently taking advantage of a stable weather window expected to last until July 21. Seven Summit Treks, a major expedition operator, said in a statement that conditions have improved across the Gasherbrum massif following several days of challenging weather.
Route-fixing teams have successfully established Camp III on Gasherbrum II and Camp II on Gasherbrum I, the operator said. Climbers are preparing to push for the Gasherbrum II summit first, followed by Gasherbrum I.
On K2, the world’s second-highest mountain at 8,611 metres, teams have established Camp II and are progressing toward Camp III. Activity on Broad Peak remains limited, while the climbing season on Nanga Parbat has officially closed following a series of successful summits.
