now blindness, fatal crevices, disastrous avalanches, frost bites, pulmonary edema, frequent sprains and sun burns are just a few of the challenges faced by the bravehearts who dare to take climbing as a sport, and reach the majestic peaks of Pakistan and Nepal. They brush their shoulders with the iron men and women of the world, and ink their names in the annals’ of history by scaling the highest yet deadliest snow-clad peaks in the world.

Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), a national climbing federation, which is responsible for promoting mountaineering, rock and sport climbing and other adventure activities like trekking, hiking, paragliding and rafting, organised the third Sustainable Mountain Sports Tourism Conference in Islamabad on December 12 which was followed by a reception and award giving ceremony at President’s Secretariat on December 13 to recognise the outstanding achievements of Pakistani climbers who have scaled mountains of 8000 meters and beyond.

Dr Arif Alvi, the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, paid rich tributes to the Pakistani climbers who are making the nation proud because of their outstanding achievements. The President said that despite the need of a new runway in Gilgit and development of infrastructure like better roads and hotels in Gilgit- Baltistan, we need to ensure that the ecosystem remains intact and the wildlife in the area is preserved.

It was a treat meeting great mountaineers like Naila Kiani, Sirbaz Khan, Sheroze Kashif, Saima Baig, Asif Ali Memon, Murad Ali Sadpara, Abid Ali Sadpara and many more. A very interesting and enterprising mountaineer Musa Ali was also present on the occasion, who had come to Islamabad to participate in the occasion from Siachen Glacier on horseback, riding 900 km to promote the message of environment- friendly mountain sports tourism in Pakistan.

Among this galaxy of mountaineers was present Anum Uzair from Lahore. The lady caught my attention because she and her husband Ahmad Uzair are the first Pakistani couple to have scaled the 8000-meter summit Manaslu in Nepal.

Anum during an exclusive interview revealed her thrilling story about her romance with the mountains and how she developed an unwavering passion for this exhilarating sport. Unlike most of the Pakistani mountaineers who are from the Northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan the fitness freak Anum, who has an MPhil degree in Forensic Sciences, hails from the historic city of Lahore.

She said that she had been into trekking and marathon running since early years of her life, but it was during her visit to Nanga Parbat base camp in Western Himalayas with her husband in 2015 that she got the idea to scale the Snow Lake and undertake further mountaineering training at Shimshal under the watchful eyes of Pakistan’s pride Samina Baig, who climbed Mount Everest in 2013, and all seven Summits by 2014 and K-2 in 2022.

Anum says that in order to become a successful mountaineer one should be physically and mentally fit, intrinsically motivated to undertake the challenges and fight out the contests thrown at you by the mighty nature. She says that mountaineering is not the sport for the weak and fragile hearted. Anum says that high altitude mountaineering requires financial resources, a lot of preparation and a very high degree of focus, because a little mistake in the mountains can lead to a fatal disaster.

Anum describes her experience of scaling the 8163-meter high Manaslu, also known as Kutang, along with her husband in September 2023, as extremely challenging yet exceedingly spiritual and rewarding. It is the eighth highest mountain in the world located in Nepal. Anum says that it was her sheer mental strength and support of her husband and family that proved vital in her resounding success.

While giving a message to the youth in general and Pakistani women in particular Anum says that there is no word like impossible in her dictionary. She said that Pakistani women are extremely talented and can undertake challenging tasks. Anum says that Samina Baig and Naila Kiani are beacons of light for the Pakistani women. "I am always available to guide the young girls interested in taking up mountaineering as a sport," she says. "However, the girls must focus on their fitness and dietary habits if they want to become successful athletes."

While discussing the future of mountaineering in Pakistan Mr Abu Zafar Sadiq, the President of ACP, said that there is great potential for sport tourism in the country. Mountaineering and adventure sports are helping Pakistan earn handsome amounts of foreign exchange and create livelihood for the marginalised communities. The sports are not only projecting the soft image of Pakistan worldwide but are also acting as a cultural bridge between different nations of the world.

He was of the opinion that in order to exploit the maximum potential of mountaineering and adventure sports the patronage and commitment of the government is a must.

Pakistan is lucky to have five out of 14 highest (eight thousand and above) peaks of the world four of which lie in the surroundings of Concordia. Most of the highest peaks in Pakistan lie in the Karakoram mountain range. Besides these lofty peaks, Pakistan is also the home of 7000 glaciers, more than anywhere except the polar region. This makes Pakistan a heaven for mountaineers from all over the world.

ACP is indeed trying its best to promote mountaineering and other disciplines of climbing and spreading awareness about the ecological and wildlife challenges associated with the sports within its limited resources. The government needs to show its resolve by extending more financial support to ACP and elevate its stature from an Alpine Club to a full-fledged national sports body so that ACP could deliver more effectively in the best interest of promoting sports in the country.

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