Man vs nature: Renowned mountaineer passes away

Rajab was the first Pakistani to scale all ‘eight-thousanders’ in the country.

GILGIT: Renowned mountain climber Rajab Shah who gained worldwide acclaim after scaling all ‘eight-thousander’ peaks within the territorial boundary of Pakistan passed away on Thursday.

Rajab breathed his last at the age of 65 at Combined Military Hospital Gilgit following brief illness.

Hailing from the picturesque Shimshal Valley in Hunza-Nagar district, Rajab started as a high-altitude porter—running errands, a fetcher for professional climbers during their expeditions. The adrenaline rushes he got witnessing mountaineers negotiate their way to the top of some of the most dangerous peaks of the world compelled him to don the gear himself and live the dream.

“If you ask me to rate mountaineers, Rajab would certainly top my list of all-time great climbers.” This was the tribute paid by famous climber Hassan Sadpara while he was talking to The Express Tribune. Sadpara remained Rajab’s understudy for years before moving a notch ahead of his mentor’s record and climbing Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. “It is a sad moment for the mountaineer family worldwide,” he said.

Sans oxygen support

Rajab accomplished his ultimate feat over a period of nine years when he climbed the five peaks in Pakistan that rise over 8,000 metres above sea level – K2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum-I, Gasherbrum-II and Broad Peak. He was the first Pakistani to do so.

According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Rajab started off with scaling the unforgiving Nanga Parbat in 1989 as a part of a Pakistan Army expedition. Three more years and he was standing atop Gasherbrum-I and it took him only 12 more months to conquer Broad Peak. He scaled the peak twice in the same year.

After strategizing and weighing the risks for another two years, in 1995 Rajab and his colleague Meherban Shah successfully hoisted the Pakistani flag at the second highest summit of the world – K2. The Gasherbrum-II climb was the last of the series which he accomplished in 1998.

Rajab’s unmatched flair for adventure and his prowess as a conqueror of peaks inspired generations of Pakistani climbers who went on to achieve great heights. His mountaineering school in Shimshal village produced famous climbers like the brother-sister duo of Mirza Ali and Samina Baig, Qudrat Ali, Shaheen Baig and others.

The receiver of President’s Pride of Performance Award was laid to rest in his native village on Friday.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2015.