K2 isn’t just the Earth’s second-highest mountain, it is “more than a mountain” for Sajid Ali Sadpara. The young alpinist holds K2 highly as it is his father’s final resting place, but magnificent peak is slowly becoming a dense spot with litter — a situation highly unpleasant for Sajid.
For Sajid, cleanliness is crucial as he is on a mission to clean the mountain top. Despite K2’s unforgiving environment, Sajid and his five-strong teammates decided to scale the 8,611-metre (28,251-foot) peak clearing oxygen canisters, mangled tents, and snarled rope on their way.
The group spent a week clearing up some 200 kilograms (400 pounds) of litter.
But why would Sajid risk climbing such peaks just to clean up after others? As a high-altitude tribute to his father, the legendary climber Ali Sadpara, Sajid decided to honour the place where his beloved father remains.
“I’m doing it from my heart,” Sajid told an AFP team at K2 Basecamp, at 5,150 metres (m) of elevation.
“This is our mountain,” the 25-year-old said. “We are the custodians.”
“We love it more than life itself because there´s no place of such beauty on Earth,” said Central Karakoram National Park (CKNP) warden Muhammad Ishaq.
Abbas Sadpara added “K2 is no longer as beautiful as it once used to be. We have destroyed its beauty with our own hands.”
“Commercial companies, they take in more equipment,” CKNP ecologist Yasir Abbas chimed in. Abbas oversaw a campaign pulling 1,600kg of garbage off the mountain in 2022.
“If more people go to climb there will be more waste. What goes up must come down,” he said. “The people who are cleaning K2 are risking their life for the environment.”
“Here in K2 if there’s some mistake you fall down. If you fall down, all the way you come down,” added Mingma David Sherpa, 33, who led a Nepalese team with the Nimsdai Foundation also cleaning up 200 kilograms from K2.
“K2 is more than a mountain for me. We want to be on mountains just for mental peace,” Sajid said.
“If we see any rubbish the feeling is totally different.”
Pakistan pays tribute to legendary Ali Sadpara on first death anniversary
