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SHIMSHAL, PAKISTAN (AFP) – He is the only man to ever beat K2 three times, but Fazal Ali's achievements have been largely ignored, along with many of his fellow colleagues who risk their lives. on the highest peaks of Pakistan.
One of the few elite carriers in the country to specialize in high-altitude expeditions, the 40-year-old spent nearly two decades on Pakistan's deadliest slopes – plotting routes , carrying kits and cooking for paying customers.
At 8,611 meters above sea level, the K2 is not as high as Mount Everest, which rises to 8,848 meters.
But his technical challenges earned him the nickname "The Wild Mountain" and dozens of people lost their lives on his perfidious and icy flanks.
Mr. Ali conquered the K2 in 2014, 2017 and 2018, all without additional oxygen.
"He is the only mountaineer to win this success," said Eberhard Jurgalski of Guinness World Records.
While foreign mountaineers have been hailed for their achievements, Mr. Ali and his colleagues are neglected, even among the mountaineering community.
"I'm happy," Ali told AFP. "But I'm also sorry because my feat will never really be appreciated."
He is one of the many high-altitude carriers who participate in overseas expeditions to northern Pakistan, a remote region home to three of the world's highest mountain ranges, the Himalayas, the Karakoram and the Hindu Kush.
Chosen for their endurance and their knowledge of the extremely difficult terrain, the bearers set the course for mountaineers and repair the ropes for their ascent. They also carry food and provisions on their backs and plant the tents of their customers.
However, once mountaineers have returned home, porters – indispensable during expeditions – often feel forgotten.
"When they arrive, they are full of good will and make a lot of promises," said Ali. "But once they've achieved their goals, they forget everything."
One incident in particular left Mr. Ali with a bitter taste in his mouth: he arrived at the summit of K2 with a Western mountaineer, but instead of taking a picture together, she posed alone with a flag in her hand.
"She ordered us to take a picture and stay at a distance," he said, adding that the episode had caused an argument between the climber and a Nepali porter, also present.
MOUNTAIN VALLEY
Ali, like many high-altitude Pakistani carriers, was born in the remote Shimshal valley in the north of the country near the Chinese border.
Mr. Ali's village of just 140 families has produced many of the country's greatest mountain climbers, including Rajab Shah, the first Pakistani to cross the country's five 8,000-meter peaks.
Mr. Rehmatullah Baig, who conquered K2 in 2014 while taking essential geographical measures and installing a weather station, is also from Shimshal and shares Mr. Ali's resentment.
"I should be happy, but I am not," he said.
"If I was recognized, if mountaineers from … Pakistan were recognized, or if they enjoyed some recognition or financial assistance, they would climb the 8,000 meters of the world, "he said.
Mr. Baig's father was the first of Shimshal to pursue the deadly pursuit of mountaineering, but he now tells his children not to follow in his footsteps.
INVESTMENT AND TRAINING
A source of major resentment among Mr. Ali and his colleagues is their belief to be treated worse than their Nepali counterparts.
In case of an accident, Pakistani employers rarely have the right to rescue a helicopter.
In Nepal, local guides are entitled to about US $ 12,700 (US $ 17,451.07) in government life insurance after mountain workers have been able to obtain an increase as a result from an avalanche in 2014 that killed 16 Sherpas on Mount Everest.
According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, porters in Pakistan are fortunate to obtain life insurance policies worth $ 1,500.
Mountaineering experts agree that there is a disparity and believe that Pakistani workers should be better trained and supported by the government.
German mountain dweller Christiane Fladt, who wrote a book about Shimshal, said Pakistani bearers "should organize in a union to focus on their financial demands".
& # 39; WE HAM THE MOUNTAIN & # 39;
In 2008, two Shimshal carriers were among the 11 people who died the same day in the worst K2 disaster.
One of them, Mr. Fazal Karim, fell alongside French mountaineer Hugues from Aubarede while he was descending from the summit. Mr. Karim's body has never been found.
His widow, Ms. Haji Parveen, said she was doing her best to dissuade him from going on an expedition.
"I told him, 'We have a good life here and we have enough to live on,' but he did not listen to me," she said softly.
Mr. Karim was a skilled worker, owner of a sawmill in the village, where he had also opened a shop for his wife. After his disappearance, his widow had to sell the factory to finance the education of their children.
According to Parveen, neither the shipping company nor the foreign mountaineers helped her.
Now his eldest, who is studying in Karachi, wants to become a carrier like his father.
"He talks about it every time he comes home and says that he wants to be like his father.But we scold him because we hate the mountain: it's useless, nothing at all . "
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