Czech climbers arrive to scale Muchu Chhish
Tents stand under dark rain clouds in the valley of the river Braldu at Bardoumal near the Baltoro glacier in the Karakoram mountain range. -Reuters Photo Shukrullah Baig, a 52-year-old brick layer and former cook at a five-star hotel chain cooks a chapati in the village of Askole in the Karakoram mountain range in Pakistan. PHOTO: REUTERS
Three Czech climbers arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday aiming to scale the as yet unclimbed 7,452 metres peak Muchu Chhish in the Batura Muztagh sub-range of the Karakoram.
It is one of the tallest, unclimbed peaks in the world which are not off-limits due to religious or political prohibitions.
The expedition was given the customary briefing at the Alpine Club by its secretary Karrar Haidri on Tuesday.
The expedition’s leader, Pavel Korinec said that he and his team were glad to arrive in Pakistan given the global novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
We are also thankful to the government for opening the mountain and the visa policy for foreigners which made it very easy for us to obtain the visa in time, the climber said
On the Muchu Chhish peak - also known as Batura V, he said that many people tried to scale it in the past but have not been successful, thwarted by the risk of avalanche and other challenges.
Haidri said that the arrival of the Czech group was a good sign for the local tourism Industry that people abroad were choosing Pakistan even amidst the pandemic due to its beautiful landscape and high mountains.
With the smart lockdown policy helping curb the spread of the virus, Haidri hoped that more visitors will visit Pakistan soon.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2020.