Visit Pakistan through ‘Argentine eyes’

ISLAMABAD: Renowned mountaineer and photographer Tommy Heinrich displayed his first photo exhibition that had captured the Northern Areas of Pakistan. The exhibition, titled ‘Pakistan through Argentine eyes,’ provided compelling peeps into pristine areas of the north, including Hushe Valley, Latobah, Dofana Peak, K-2 and Baltoro Glacier. He had also tried to encapsulate the life and culture of the area through portraits of the native people.

Capturing nature in its crude form and the struggles associated with living in such harsh terrains, his photographs illustrated the mountainous areas fittingly.

Elaborating on the vision behind his photographs, he said that they were all “spontaneous”. “I do not ask people to pose; I look at nature for ideas and capture it as it is.”

Heinrich is a professional photographer who works for the National Geographic magazine and has filmed several documentaries on mountain climbing. This is his fifth visit to Pakistan and along with his Polish teammates, plans to climb both K-2 and Broad Peak.

“I’m attempting to summit two of the greatest peaks; Broad Peak and K-2,” the 48-year-old mountaineer said. His fist attempt to climb K-2 was in 1999 when he lost one of his teammates. Even then, his mission continues. “ I lost close friends in my struggle; still, I have great respect for K-2 and am adamant to climb it.”

He leaves with his team on June 20 and hopes to be back by the end of August.

“Broad Peak is a much safer mountain to climb than K-2, but I’m nervous about both,” he acknowledged.

Despite the somewhat volatile situation in Pakistan,  Heinrich said he was not deterred from wanting to return. “Being away and reading about the situation in the news does frighten one, but that was not true in my case. Every time I come here, I feel comfortable and safe.”  Heinrich was also keen on visiting Swat but was discouraged from doing so by authorities.

During his trip to Pakistan in 2007, he climbed the ‘killer mountain’ Nanga Parbat.

However, he added that there was more to Pakistan than just mountains. “I want to explore the deserts in the South as well,” he said.

Speaking about his experiences in the northern areas, he said the people were “warm and welcoming”. Communicating with the locals, he said, was not an issue as well. “The language we speak is beyond words, we laugh and smile; that is our language. There are many times, while climbing when we cannot talk to one another but we communicate by understanding each others body language and facial expressions.”

Being away from home is difficult for him. “I am a father and I miss my son which is why I take a satellite phone to speak to him regularly.”

Speaking at the occasion of the exhibition, Ambassador Rodolfo J Martin praised the mountaineer and said, “Tommy has travelled to Northern Pakistan and, with the eyes of a friend, captured the essence of this region and its inhabitants.”

Published in the Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2010.