LAHORE: Pakistani mountaineer Sirbaz Khan on Friday added another achievement to this name after becoming the first Pakistani to climb nine of the world’s highest 14 peaks — each of which has a height of more than 8,000 metres.
The 33-year-old achieved this feat by successfully summiting 8,167-metre-high Dhaulagiri mountain in Nepal , said Alpine Club of Pakistan Secretary Karrar Haidri. He is also the first Pakistani to summit Dhaulagiri and the first from the country to lead a team there.
Sirbaz was part of the 19-member ‘SST-Dhaulagiri I Expd. 2021 Autumn’ expedition organised by trekking company Seven Summits Trek.
According to Seven Summit Trek officials, the climbers summited the world’s seventh highest peak on Friday morning, with Sirbaz raising Pakistan’s national flag upon reaching the mountain’s top.
After summiting nine of the 14 eight-thousanders in the world, Khan has five more peaks to climb before he can get his name included in record books and join the unique list of 44 mountaineers who have summited all 14 eight-thousanders in the world.
“Going for the ninth 8000m summit has a special meaning to me and all my brothers and sisters from the Pakistani mountaineering fraternity. With your prayers, I’ll do everything in my capacity to make this dream come true,” he had said, before pushing for summit.
Sajid Ali Sadpara, the son of legendary mountaineer late Mohammad Ali Sadpara and a climber himself, tweeted, “Lots of congratulations to Sirbaz Khan to climb Dhaulagiri . After climbing Daulaghiri he is first Pakistani to summit nine 8000 mountains.”
Lots of congratulations to @Sirbazkhan to climb Daulaghiri .
After summitting Daulaghiri he is first Pakistani to summit nine 8000 mountains.#Daulaghiri#mountains#highaltitude#Sirbazkhan pic.twitter.com/YvZMfxX57W— Sajid Ali Sadpara (@sajid_sadpara) October 1, 2021
In 2019, he became the first Pakistani to summit Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest mountain at 8,516m in Nepal, without the use of supplementary oxygen. He had also summited Nanga Parbat, K2, Lhotse, Broad Peak, Manaslu, Annapurna, Mount Everest and Gasherbrum-II.
