Adventure & ExpeditionsLEGENDS

Muhammad Ali Sadpara: A Porter, Family Man & Mountaineer

Muhammad Ali Sadpara (1976 – 2021) was a prominent and well-respected Pakistani Mountaineer. He was widely respected for his feats of high-altitude climbing particularly in the Karakoram Range, Himalayas.

He gained global recognition for his skills, resilience and determination for climbing. It earns him the distinction of being among Pakistan’s best-known climbers.

Ali Sadpara’s Early Life and Background

muhammad ali sadpara closeup picture

Muhammad Ali Sadpara was born in Sadpara village on February 2, 1976, near Skardu in the mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan. He is a name that will forever echo through the Pakistani mountaineering history. His childhood mingled with the rugged beauty of the Karakoram mountains, a landscape that would shape his destiny forever.

Sadpara was born in a low-class family. He knew the challenges faced by so many in the region. As the chances for serious work were scarce and food often needed to be grown. But these difficulties slowly start to carve a love for the mountains inside him.

He was introduced to the world of mountaineering when he began to work as a porter. Being a porter was a way of supporting skilled climbers in traversing the brutal topography of the Karakoram. Gaining practical experience at high altitude, he learned practical techniques and the challenges of climbing at elevation.

He studied the climbers intensely, lending/scouting their experience and picking up their knowledge. Gradually he developed a deep understanding of his role and the demands the mountains made on the climber.

Sadpara had high aspirations but when he gained experience and became an expert in his craft, his ambitions started changing. He progressed from being a simple porter to a complete mountaineer, fueled by a determination to climb the towering mountains that loomed above him. Impressive, isn’t it? His rise from the ground up to the peak of Mount Everest signifies all that is good about the mountain climbing community.

Personal Life

Muhammad Ali Sadpara was a hard-core mountaineer K2, but he also was a devoted family man. He was married to Fatima and had three children. Sajid Ali Sadpara (eldest son) is also building a career in mountaineering and has already achieved a great deal including climbing K2 the savage mountain at the age of 20.

How did Mohammad Ali Sadpara began Climbing?

Livestock farming is the dominant occupational activity in the region where he was born. The region’s youth also function as porters for western mountaineers and adventure tourists who come to the region each year.

Sadpara studied at the middle school in the village before his father, a low-grade government job holder, shifted the family to Skardu town. Here, Sadpara finished higher secondary school before becoming an international climber.

According to a local journalist, Nisar Abbas, who was also a relative and fried of Sadpara hails from the same village, describes him as being extraordinary even then.

He had the physique and the habits of an athlete and was also good in studies. He never failed a class. Since his elder brother never did well in school, his father was keen to get him a good education and that’s why he moved him to Skardu.

Because of the family’s financial means, he switched to climbing around 2003 or 2004. Hamid Hussain, a Karachi-based tour operator from Skardu, who has known Sadpara since 2012, shares similar memories.

He was an instant success with tour operators because the expeditions he led were mostly successful. He earned worldwide fame in 2016 when a three-man team he was a member of became the first to summit Nanga Parbat in winter.

Irish mountaineers summit peak within 24 hours of each other, he says;

He was brave, pleasant and very friendly and he was so physically fit. We trekked together on many occasions, and while there were times when we would run out of breath and collapse, he would still jog up the steep slopes and then shout back at us, asking us to be quick.

On one trek in the winter of 2016, when freezing winds caught him and his group in a snow-filled gorge as they trekked from Sadpara valley towards Alpine planes of Deosai and made their skin crawl, they saw him ascend the slope smoothly and start dancing over the ridge.

Ali Sadpara had been in tight spots before, and he understood the dangers.

I have lost 12 of my 14 colleagues in the mountaineering business. Two of us remain. So, my friends now often ask me, Ali, when are you going to die?

Ali Sadpara said in a 2019 interview.

Climbing Achievements

ali sadpara on the summit of k2

The climbing career of Muhammad Ali Sadpara was evidence of his superb skills. He has sheer determination and deep reverence for the mountains. He set off on a string of audacious expeditions, summiting some of the planet’s most difficult peaks and paving his legacy into the timeline of climbing history.

One of his most crowning achievements was taking part in the historic first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat in 2016. This incredible feat tested the limits of human endurance and demonstrated his astounding ability to navigate dangerous conditions and surmount the un-surmountable.

Sadpara’s skillset wasn’t limited to Nanga Parbat as he climbed a variety of peaks as:

PeaksRangeCountryYear
Gasherbrum IIKarakoramPakistan2006
Spantik PeakKarakoramPakistan2006
Nanga ParbatHimalayasPakistan2008
Muztagh AtaPamirsChina2008
Nanga ParbatHimalayasPakistan2009
Gasherbrum IKarakoramPakistan2010
Nanga Parbat First Winter AscentHimalayasPakistan2016
Broad PeakKarakoramPakistan2017
Nanga Parbat First Autumn AscentHimalayasPakistan2017
Pumori Peak First Winter AscentHimalayasNepal2017
K2KarakoramPakistan2018
LhotseHimalayasNepal2019
MakaluHimalayasNepal2019
ManasluHimalayasNepal2019

His individual summits were remarkable achievements, but there were more. Sadpara is the only Pakistani to have climbed four 8,000-meter mountains in one calendar year. It is a testament to his unmatched endurance, careful planning, and singular focus.

Related Pick: The Thrilling Saga of K2: Summit & Expeditions

Notable Achievements

Sadpara is widely famous for his astounding success in summiting challenging 8000 meters peaks especially in the Karakoram and Himalayas. His accomplishments include:

  • Officially First Pakistani to Summit Nanga Parbat (2008). Sadpara rose to prominence after summiting Nanga Parbat (8,126 meters). This feat was an incredible milestone, as the mountain is one of the hardest climbs in the world owing to its technical routes and dangerous weather patterns. He climbed it and summited it multiple times, establishing his legacy.
  • Summiting K2 (2014). One of his standout achievements was the summit of K2, the second-highest mountain in the world (8,611 meters). His achievement was noteworthy not only for the mountain’s unprecedented difficulty, but for the continuing challenge of climbing at high altitude. Where weather conditions, avalanches and the technical nature of the terrain combine to make summiting a rare and dangerous accomplishment.
  • Summit of Broad Peak (2011). Besides Nanga Parbat and K2, Sadpara also reached the summit of Broad Peak (8,051 meters). It’s one of the three so-called 8,000-meter peaks in the Karakoram Mountain range. He scale multiple peaks in a single season, showcasing his impressive endurance and mountaineering prowess.
  • K2 Winter Ascent Attempt (2021). He was one of several climbers who participated in the historic attempt on the winter ascent of K2, the first winter ascent of the peak. K2 was still a destination never climb-up in winter, and the expedition was one of extreme difficulty, but it was a key point in history of K2 climbing.

Tragic End

ali sadpara and two more climbers

Ali Sadpara’s life came to a tragic end in February 2021 when he was attempting K2 in winter. Muhammad Ali Sadpara and his son Sajid and several other international climbers were trying to make history with the first-ever winter ascent of K2.

Sadpara and his companions were last spotted near the summit before going missing on the descent. They were never found despite extensive search efforts. His death was a tremendous loss to the mountaineering community, particularly in Pakistan, which viewed him as a national hero. Let’s dive deeper into it.

Winter K2 Expedition (2021)

Muhammad Ali Sadpara set out in February 2021 on a bold expedition to summit K2 in the dead of winter. Such an endeavor was a testament to his restless spirit of adventure and tireless pursuit of what is achievable by humanity.

The expedition initially included the legendary Icelandic mountain climber John Snorri and the Chilean Juan Pablo Mohr, both of whom are prominent mountaineers. Thus, this trio embarked upon their epic adventure, fired by a common love of adventure and the desire to make history.

His son Sajid was also on the team; the idea was for the father-and-son pair to summit K2 without oxygen, an unheard feat in winter. But Sajid had to retreat at a place known as the death k2 bottleneck – also known as the “death zone” – about 300 metres from the summit after feeling unwell. He returned to the base camp.

On 5 February, Sadpara disappeared along with John Snorri and Juan Pablo Mohr. The team vanished high on the flanks of K2.

Search Efforts

Extensive search operation had started for the recovery of Sadpara and his team members after they went missing. They searched for the unforgiving landscape of K2 with cutting-edge technology that might lead them to lost climbers.

With severe winter weather and the intense isolation of the area, the search had been difficult. The search, however, proved to be unsuccessful, despite the best efforts of the rescue teams, and Sadpara and his partners remained lost.

They continued the search for two weeks using Pakistan Army helicopters, satellite imagery and SAR technology, it was the longest in the history of mountain search.

Unfortunately, their bodies were never found despite extensive searches. It leaves a void in the mountaineering community and a pall of sorrow over Pakistan.

K2 has embosomed my father forever.

Sajid said to the reporters at a press conference, according to a report by the Express Tribune.

Pakistan has lost a brave and celebrate climber, while our family has lost a loving and caring head.

The search was officially suspended on Thursday, they declared dead climbers at K2 bottleneck after two weeks on February 18th, 2021.

Bodies Found

Alpine Club of Pakistan Secretary Karra Haideri said in a statement that the bodies of climbers Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr, Muhammad Ali Sadpara and John Snorri were founded. Ali Sadpara’s dead body was found on 26th July 2021 above the Camp 4, over after five months after he went missing.

Haideri said that it was “very difficult” to bring the bodies down from the mountain. The Army Aviation was helping as well but high altitude was making it more difficult.

Legacy

Pakistani Mountaineer Ali Sadpara is a reminder for his fans and Pakistani nation that our mountains are waiting to be conquered. We should never lose hope despite reaching the end. His relentless approach, his planning to the finest details and his belief in the incomprehensible power of the mountains reminds us to dream big.

Ali Sadpara’s legacy is one of singular skill, a love for the mountains and a spirit of adventure. He has the credit to inspire a generation of young climbers in the region and made significant contributions to Pakistani mountaineering. With ascents like K2 and Nanga Parbat, his feats have made him an icon of high-altitude climbing.

As a guide, he helped foreign climbers reach some of the world’s most perilous peaks. His untimely demise in search of adventure and greatness cemented his legacy as one of the mountaineering greats.
He is one of Pakistan’s greatest mountaineers and his legacy continues to inspire climbers around the world today.

Tributes and Cultural Impacts

Ali’s accomplishments as a climber were unexplainable, but he was also famous for his commitment to his craft. That led him to numerous tributes in honor of the cultural impact he made.

  • Qayyum Stadium, Peshawar, has established a climbing wall in the name of Sadpara.
  • American non-governmental organization Paani Project constructed a well in Sadpara’s name.
  • Pakistan International Airlines has since renamed its air safari to honour Ali Sadpara.
  • Park in Korangi, Karachi was built in Sadpara’s memory.
  • Sadpara has a monument at MP Chowk in Somikot, Gilgit. They also renamed the roundabout as Sadpara Chowk.
  • Muhammad Ali Sadpara Institute of Adventure Sports Mountaineering and Rock Climbing exists in recognition of his services.
  • The government honoured Ali Sadpara with the prestigious highest national civil award, Pride of Performance.
  • The Gilgit-Baltistan government has announced 3 million/Rs. for ali sadpara family and a suitable job for his son.

Documentary and Media

After his death, many documentaries and media features his life to remember him and inspire future generations of climbers. These books explore his incredible journey from humble origins to world-renowned status as a world-class mountaineer.

There have been documentaries about his personal life, his obsessive love of the mountains and the struggles he confronted throughout his professional life. They have highlighted his astonishing climbing prowess and relentless ambition to test the limits of human endurance.

His life and accomplishments have been extensively cover in the media, including news articles, magazine features, television interviews and online tributes. These social platforms have helped to spread his story even further, giving him a larger audience that has touched people from all corners of life.

Conclusion

Muhammad Ali Sadpara was more than a great climber. He was a source of inspiration, a mountain for his multitudes to look up to. He climbed the most impassable peaks and inspired a generation of climbers in Pakistan and beyond.

His legacy serves as a reminder to chase our passions, conquer challenges, and aspire to greatness. Thus, his story is urging us to strive for extraordinary achievements and to leave an indelible mark on our world.

Muhammad Ali Sadpara’s legacy lives on, as a testament to the indomitable human spirit and the timeless desire to conquer the heights of the earth.

Zaib un Nisa Khalid

Zaib un Nisa, a Chief Editor, Writer and Clinical Psychology post-grad, specializes in school and adult mental health. Her consultations aid countless individuals. Collaborating with non-profits, she champions mental health awareness. She blends her passion for travel, lifestyle, and fitness into mental strength, psychology, and healthy living.

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