The young Pakistani mountaineer Shehroze Kashif has already faced many dangers on the highest mountains on the planet, but it was while spending this summer on the walls of K2 near the body of his deceased hero that he lived his worst moment.
He was only 19 years and 138 days old when in July he became the youngest person to climb the two highest peaks in the world, Everest (8,849 m) and K2 (8,611 m).
He was then on the vertiginous slopes of K2, below the dreaded “
Bottleneck
” - a narrow passage strongly inclined and overhung by a serac, place of the worst tragedy that this mountain has known in 2008 (11 deaths) -, when he passed the newly discovered bodies of Icelandic John Snorri, Chilean Juan Pablo Mohr and Pakistani mountaineering legend Muhammad Ali Sadpara.
"
The moment when I experienced the strongest emotion was when I passed these climbers, saw the body of the Pakistani national hero
," said Sherohze Kashif in an interview with AFP.
The three climbers, who were attempting the winter ascent of K2, first successful three weeks earlier by ten Nepalese, had disappeared on February 5.
Their plight had captivated media and social networks in Pakistan, where Muhammad Ali Sadpara was the most renowned local mountaineer.
Their bodies were discovered on July 26.
The next day, Shehroze Kashif rushed to the top and passed them.
“
It was touching that they had come here with the same passion as me,
” he adds.
"
But I thought to myself, why not make their dream come true?
And I took their dream with me.
"
Two worlds apart
This month, the Guinness Book of Records officially recognized him as the youngest climber to climb K2, and the youngest to climb the two highest mountains on the planet.
He had successfully climbed Everest in May.
Located in the Karakoram massif, in northeastern Pakistan, on the border with China, and nicknamed "
the wild mountain
", K2 is lower but more formidable than Everest.
It is renowned as one of the most dangerous mountains in the world.
In winter, conditions are terrible, with winds reaching 200 km / h and temperatures sometimes dropping to -60 ° Celsius.
Even if he did not have to face such difficult weather in July, Shehroze Kashif believes that Everest and K2 are "
two worlds apart
" and that the latter is "
brutal
".
There, he suffered from snow blindness and frostbite, and narrowly escaped a toe amputation.
"
I had no more strength, it was a difficult moment (...) A bad step and you belong to the past
", he says from his house in Lahore (east), the capital of the province of Punjab, located at a much lower altitude.
A blessing from God
The young Pakistani was introduced to the mountains when he discovered Makra Peak (3,885 m) at the age of 11, while on vacation with his father in northern Pakistan.
“It
all started there,
” he says.
On top of those mountains he felt "
privileged
", a feeling he left there "
so that others who come after you can feel it too
."
Everest and K2 are not enough for him.
He aims to become the youngest mountaineer to climb the 14 peaks over 8,000 m.
All are in Asia, in the Himalayas or the Karakoram, including five in Pakistan.
Only about 40 people have climbed these 14 peaks.
But experts have disputed the exact position of several high points, and the actual number of those who actually climbed all of these mountains may be much lower.
The Nepalese Mingma Gyabu "
David
" Sherpa is so far the youngest to have achieved this feat, at the age of 30 years and 166 days in October 2019, according to the Guinness Book of Records.
Shehroze Kashif, who also has Manaslu (8,163 m, Nepal) and Broad Peak (8,047 m, Pakistan), the 8th and 12th highest mountains on the planet, has ten more ahead of him.
He hopes to achieve this by 2024.
He is well aware of the risk, but cannot be satisfied with a city life at sea level. “
The mountains are a blessing from God,
” he thinks.
"
I just go where I feel most alive, and the mountains are the best place for me
."
