Pakistani mountaineer Ali Raza Sadpara falls off mountain, suffers serious injuries
Sadpara was on a routine training expedition in his village when he lost his balance and slipped off the mountain
May 17, 2022
KARACHI: Veteran Pakistani mountaineer Ali Raza Sadpara has suffered serious injuries after falling from a mountain during a routine climbing practice near his village in Gilgit.
According to Karar Haideri, the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Sadpara was on a routine training expedition in his village when he lost his balance and slipped off the mountain.
“He was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors have confirmed that his ribs and backbone have received serious injuries,” he said.
Sadpara was eyeing to summit K2 – the highest peak in Pakistan – this season. This was his only peak left for climbing among all eight-thousanders in Pakistan.
He has summited the Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II and Nanga Parbat for a record collective 17 times. No other Pakistani has summited mountains over 8,000 metres.
Sadpara had made two attempts to summit K2 in the past but both went unsuccessful due to the weather.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s renowned mountaineer Sirbaz Ali Khan has said that Ali Raza Sadpara is ustaado ka ustaad (teachers of the teachers) in the Pakistani mountaineering community.
“I just got to know that our dearest Apo Ali Raza, the legendary Pakistani Mountaineer had an accident and got severe injuries. Apo Ali is hospitalized now and will be going through surgery. I request your prayers for my ustad, the legendary Pakistani Mountaineer, Ali Raza Sadpara,” Sirbaz said on his Instagram.
Sirbaz is currently in Nepal and on the way to summit Mt. Makalu, the fifth highest peak in the world which will be his 11th 8000m mountain.
The top Pakistani mountaineer further added that Ali Raza has spent his whole life in the service of Pakistan. He has raised the Pakistani flag on 8000-metre summits more times than any other Mountaineer.
“He has trained a whole generation of Mountaineers. We call him ‘ustaado ka ustaad’,” Sirbaz added.
He also appealed to the Government of Pakistan, the Government of Gilgit Baltistan, the Pakistan Army, and all other concerned authorities to make sure that Ali Raza is treated in the best way possible.
