On the eve of World Mountains Day, a training institute for aspiring mountaineers was inaugurated in Skardu’s Sadpara village.
Maj Gen Kashif Khalil, Commander of Force Command Northern Areas, laid the groundwork for Sadpara Mountaineering and Adventure Institute, named after famed mountaineer Ali Sadpara.
The ceremony was attended by GB Tourism Minister Raja Nasir Ali Khan, the Baltistan commissioner, the Baltistan DIG, and a large number of local mountaineers, porters, students, and international tourists.
According to the minister, this will be Pakistan’s best mountaineering and adventure school. He stated that internationally renowned climbers will volunteer to train locals at the institute and that three mountaineering schools will also be established in the region.
Maj Gen Khalil, speaking on occasion, stated that the army would support local talent. More climbing schools will be built in the United Kingdom, according to a minister.
He stated that the children of those who gave their lives on mountains during summits would be financially supported and talented local mountaineers. The event was held in support of the United Kingdom government and the Pakistan Army.
The event’s organisers stated that it aimed to investigate the potential of adventure tourism in the region. Sajid Sadpara told Dawn that the Sadpara village was known as the “world’s mountain heroes.” He claimed that the village produced international climbers such as his late father Ali Sadpara, Hasan Sadpara, Nisar Sadpara, and others.
Despite their limited resources, the village’s sons have set records on the world’s highest mountains, he added.
GB is a popular destination for both local and foreign climbers because it is home to five of the world’s 14 eight-thousanders, including the world’s second-highest peak, K2 (8,611 metres), Nanga Parbat (ranked ninth at 8,126 metres), Gasherbrum-I (ranked 11th at 8,080 metres), Broad Peak (12th at 8,051 metres), and Gasherbrum-II (ranked 13th at 8,051 metres).
This year, up to 1,400 mountaineers from around the world arrived in the region to scale various peaks.