a tribute to Muhammad Ali Sadpara (Prince of Mountains)

Muhammad Ali Sadpara, known as Ali Sadpara was born on 2 February 1976. He was a Pakistani high-altitude mountaineer and was part of the team that successfully achieved the first ever winter summit on Nanga Parbat in 2016. Both his partners, Alex Txikon and Simone Moro, have stated that they would not have been able to do this without Sadpara’s honor.
During his career he achieved 4000 successes in a calendar year. He began his career as a high-altitude porter assisting in mountaineering expeditions. Like most porters, Ali shifted the rugged Baltoro Glacier into flip flops and castoff gear. Due to his passion for mountaineering, he became a successful mountaineer.

Sadpara and his son Sajid Sadpara had climbed K2 in 2019. They teamed up with Icelandic mountaineer John Snorri Sigurjónsson and Chilean mountaineer Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto for a combined K2 climb. These four climbers left the highest camp on the evening of 4 February 2021. Sajid had to get off due to some technical problem, and the others were left on a bottleneck the summit. While Sadpara, Sunori and Mohar continued their climbing, but did not return by night as planned. They were reported missing on February 5, 2021. On February 6, a rescue mission was arranged with two army helicopters.

Early life

He was born in the village of Sadpara, near the city of Skardu, in the far north of Pakistan, to Fiza Sadpara. Sadpara was the youngest of eleven children and his eight siblings did not survive childhood. He married his wife Fatima when he was 19 and soon after that his first son Sajid was born. Sadpara had three children. He completed his intermediate in arts from a government college in Skardu and was a member of his college football team.

Death

Pakistan authorities announced on 18th February, that the three men are assumed as dead but the search for their remains would continue. His family, including his son Sajid Sadpara, announced that they also believed he was dead.

Mountaineering experience

He climbed eight of 14 Eight-thousanders. His first climb was Gasherbrum II in Karakoram.
List of mountains climbed:
• Gasherbrum II (Pakistan) in 2006
• Spantik Peak (Pakistan) in 2006
• Nanga Parbat (Pakistan) in 2008
• Muztagh Ata (China) in 2008
• Nanga Parbat (Pakistan) in 2009
• Gasherbrum I (Pakistan) in 2010
• The first winter climb of Nanga Parbat (Pakistan) in 2016
• Broad Peak (Pakistan) in 2017
• First Autumn Ascent of Nanga Parbat (Pakistan) in 2017
• First Winter Ascent of Pumori Peak (Nepal) in 2017
• K2 (Pakistan) in 2018
• Lhotse (Nepal) in 2019
• Makalu (Nepal) in 2019
• Manaslu (Nepal) in 2019

In 2015 Sadparas team tried to scale Nanga Parbat in winter and were unsuccessful. After that they tried in 2016 and summited the peak, resulting in the first winter reach of Nanga Parbat. He has climbed Nanga Parbat four times. In January 2018, Ali Sadpara climb with Alex Txikcon (a Basque mountaineer), and tried unsuccessfully to reach Mount Everest in the winter without any supplemental oxygen.

Speed climber Marc Batard enlisted Sadpara in June 2018 to undertake a five-year program entitled “Beyond Mount Everest”. They planned to reach at the top of Nanga Parbat, K2 and Mount Everest in 2019, 2021, and 2022 respectively.

Missing climbers were declared dead on 18th Feb in a press confrerence held in skardu. The family members and friends of the climbers were present in this conference. Tourism Minister of Gilgit Baltistan Raja Nasir Ali khan and sadparas son, Sajid Sadpara were also present at the time of briefing.

The three climbers were last seen near Bottleneck on K2 on February 2. They tried to reach the top of Savage Mountain. Sajid Sadpara,, had to give up his summit bid due to a malfunction in the oxygen regulator and he returned to Camp 3.

Bad weather has thwarted several attempts to find the missing climbers, though efforts are ongoing.

An update to the search mission on February 14 stated that “leads — taken after examined satellite images, using SAR technology and checking testimonials and timings — turned out to be a sleeping bag, torn tents or sleeping pads, none of these belong to these climbers.”

Sajid sadpara said that the great love and support for the ‘national hero Ali Sadpara’ has given huge strength to me, my younger brothers, my sister, and my mother. My family and I have lost a kind person and the Pakistani nation has lost a brave and great exploratory person who was passionate about the Pakistani flag to the point of craziness.

Stressing that the love of Pakistanis offered great help to his family in this sad time, Sajid said that he would follow his father’s footsteps and continue to climb.
He said that his father skillfully climbed eight of the world’s 148,000-meter peaks and placed the green Pakistani flag on their top. Not only this, my father alo set many records, including the first winter climb of Nanga Parbat in 2016. Due to his adventoures, he get huge respect and admiration from the best climbers in the world. This is his lasting legacy.”

When I came back to Skardu and met the media, I told them that they had disappeared in the death zone and the chances of their survival are less. More lives must not be endangered during the search. Sajid thanked the Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and “Brave Pilot of Askari Aviation” as well as with a long list of officials. The list also ensures that all available resources are used during the search and rescue operation.

He said that i am very thankful to all the Pakistanis who sent good wishes to my father during this harsh time. Your wishes gave rise to the hopes of the climbers coming to Pakistan.