Last week, Pakistani climbers brought the body of Muhammad Hassan down from 8,400 meters on K2. They returned it to his family, ending a shameful episode in both the mountaineering industry and the history of K2. But there is at least hope that this could be a turning point for future 8,000-meter expeditions in Pakistan.
When Hassan suffered at an altitude of 8,400m on July 27, 2023, climbers who had jumped over him on the way to the summit and back tried to protect themselves from the criticism that lurked behind the alleged impossibility of rescuing someone from such a place. A year later, six men freed the body from a coffin of solid ice and managed to bring it down efficiently, safely and inexpensively within 48 hours. This is proof that the most remarkable feats in the mountains do not necessarily have to be linked to a summit. The whole operation began with the will and logistical skills of a Pakistani woman, Naila Kiani.
Pakistani mountaineer and K2 cleanup project manager Naila Kiani. Photo: Naila Kiani
“They were still crying”
Naila Kiani is pursuing her own 14 x 8,000m challenge, but she was on K2 this summer not to climb it – she did that last year – but to carry out a cleanup project sponsored by Mashreq Bank.
The cleanup team on K2. Photo: K2 Expedition Team
Kiani coordinated a combined team of porters and climbers at low altitude to improve the poor condition of the higher camps.
“During this time, I learned that Hassan’s family had been asking for help in recovering his body for over a year and, when they learned of my team’s presence, tried to contact us,” Kiani told ExplorersWeb. “I met Hassan’s mother, Khadija Bibi, and his wife, Batool Hassan, outside the mission in Skardu. They were still crying… They wanted to bury the body in their village to bring closure to the matter.”
Wilhelm Steindl (left) visited Muhammad Hassan’s family after the tragedy on K2. He helped Hassan’s family, invested in a climbing school project and contributed to the recent rescue operation. Photo: Philip Flaemig
Muhammad Hassan was an inexperienced climber who joined the summit attempt of K2 in the hope of increasing his standing in the mountaineering community. He fell ill and died a slow death at the Bottleneck while facing about a hundred climbers on his way to the summit.
As the climbers descended the mountain, they passed Hassan’s body. He left behind a sick mother, a widow and four sons. His youngest child was born on K2 months after his death.
Images by Philip Flaemig show a line of climbers under the Great Serac and the Bottleneck of K2, with Hassan’s location circled. Photo: Philip Flaemig/Servus TV
Hassan’s family fared better than many other families who have lost their breadwinner in Pakistan’s mountains. After ExplorersWeb broke the story, it quickly spread like wildfire thanks to Philip Flaemig’s revealing drone footage and the testimony of Austrian mountaineer Wilhelm Steindl.
Steindl raised a significant amount of money to support Hassan’s family. According to Kiani, Steindl arranged for the family to get a new house, land and money in the children’s accounts until they turned 18.
The retrieval
Kiani’s team decided to try to recover the body and received the required No Objection Certificate (NOC) on July 18, just days before the summit.
“Even though I had no initial funding and not enough (personnel or) time, I embraced this mission wholeheartedly,” Kiani said. “Then I used my mind to find the most efficient way to implement it.”
Naila Kiani in the K2 Base Camp at the beginning of summer. Photo: Naila Kiani
The team included three climbers who had just returned from Nanga Parbat: Akbar Sadpara, Dilawar Sadpara and Zakir Sadpara. It also included a climber from the clean-up team, Murad Sadpara, and another, Ali Mohammed, who had just returned from the summit.
Climbers move around Hassan, who is lying in the snow. Photo: Lakpa Sherpa
Minimize costs
“My logistics partner, Imran Pakora, committed to making no profit (from the expedition) and keeping costs low by using the infrastructure of the existing cleanup team at base camp,” Kiani said.
On July 27, Kiani sent the team to Camp 2 with instructions to wait there while she asked the rope fixers on K2 to check if the body was still under the Great Serac. On July 28, they confirmed the body’s location.
The recovery operation was carried out immediately. The team recovered the body and brought it to Camp 4 on July 30. A day later, everyone returned to the forward base camp.
Not for free, but not for profit either
“I received preliminary support from potential donors, including the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan and Wilhelm Steindl, but my aim was to secure funds internally,” Kiani noted.
This is important. The question of who pays for a rescue is of paramount importance, as the costs can be extraordinarily high. Although it is usually kept secret, those involved in rescues or body recoveries often make a profit.
Naila Kiani, Imran Shigri from the logistics company and Wilhelm Steindl with Hassan’s family. Photo: Naila Kiani
“This mission was humanitarian in nature, but we wanted to cover the expedition costs, including the salaries of the climbers,” said Kiani. “The logistics company only charged the cost of food, transportation and oxygen. I also did not take any money. All the funds we received went directly to the logistics company. Finally, I could not find an internal sponsor, so I asked Steindl, who had been supporting the family strongly for the last year and is working on a mountaineering school project in Pakistan. He paid the logistics company generously.”
Self-confidence boost
The rescue has brought comfort to a devastated family. It has also made clear that a rescue at 8,400m on K2 is possible. The Pakistani mountaineering community, often compared unfavourably to the Nepali Sherpas, has shown that it is skilled, motivated and strong enough to accomplish something previously thought impossible.
“The rescue mission has given the mountaineers confidence that they are capable of carrying out risky rescue missions,” said Kiani. “It should also give foreign mountaineers confidence in the capabilities of Pakistani high-altitude mountaineers. I also hope that after this success, the relevant government organizations can help us set up structured rescue teams.”
Next steps: training, payment, certifications
What Pakistani mountaineers now need to take the next step forward are better conditions, comprehensive training and appropriate certifications.
“Many Pakistani porters and mountaineers are highly skilled but lack international certifications,” explains Kiani. “While some have great potential, they often receive minimal training and poor remuneration. Inadequate pay and poor treatment lead to poorer performance and thus a loss of confidence among Western mountaineers.”
She points out that there are no IFMGA-certified mountain guides in Pakistan, but there are over 90 in Nepal. “In Western countries, mountain guides who take their clients to high altitudes must be certified, but in Pakistan this requirement does not yet exist,” she explains.
Some private initiatives, like Steindl’s, aim to provide mountaineering training, but Kiani has more in mind. She has managed to gain the support of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to establish a state-of-the-art climbing school that will certify mountaineers at an international level.
“We want to ensure that all high-altitude workers and mountaineers receive certified training so that they can receive fair wages and offer a high quality of service to international customers.”
According to Kiani, Nepali Sherpa guides earn an average of $10,000 to guide a client, while Pakistani high-altitude workers earn an average of $2,000 for comparable work.
Naila Kiani (in blue) and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Photo: Naila Kiani
A silver lining on the horizon
The project started last month.
“We have sent a report to the Prime Minister and are waiting for the budget approval,” Kiani told us. She is also asking the international climbing community for support.
“In the first few years, we will need help to train trainers in Pakistan, develop a curriculum and improve mountain tourism infrastructure,” she said.
Hassan’s death shocked many readers, embarrassed the climbing community and sparked an investigation by Pakistani authorities. But the real turning point may be this rescue mission. It has shown that something can be done for climbers in distress high up on K2. And more importantly, it seems to be setting in motion a national project to improve the lives of local climbers so that tragedies like Muhammad Hassan’s are not repeated.
Muhammad Hassan. Photo: Alpine Adventure Guides
