Climber Sirbaz Khan has summited Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at 8,849 meters, without using supplementary oxygen, becoming the first and only Pakistani to have conquered 11 eight thousand.
Born and raised in Ali Abad village in Pakistan’s mountainous Hunza district, Khan has previously summited 13 of the 14 peaks in the world above the height of 8,000 meters, including K2. He was part of the ‘Imagine Nepal 2024 Everest Expedition’ team, which included 14 international climbers and 18 sherpas who reached the 8,849-meter-high summit on Tuesday morning, according to the Imagine Nepal tour company and the Alpine Club of Pakistan.
In 2019, he became the first Pakistani to have summited Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest peak at 8,516m, in Nepal, without supplementary oxygen.
He summited Nanga Parbat (8,125m) in 2017, K-2 (8,611m) in 2018, Broad Peak (8,163m) in 2019, Gasherbrum-I (8,080m) in 2022, and Anapurna (8,091m), Everest (8,848m) with supplement oxygen, Gasherbrum-II (8,035m) and Cho Oyu (8,201m) in China’s Tibet in 2023. On four of these expeditions, he had been accompanied by late Mohammad Ali Sadpara. Sirbaz is aiming to become the first Pakistani to climb all 14 of the world’s highest peaks.
Sirbaz Khan planned to summit the 8,027-meter Shishapangma peak the last of the 14 peaks above 8,000 meters but had to delay the expedition as China did not open the mountain to international climbers, according to his brother. He also climbed Everest in 2021 and is the first Pakistani to climb 11 out of 14 ‘eight-thousands’ without oxygen support. Sirbaz had summitted only Annapurna and Kangchenjunga peaks using oxygen support.
Sirbaz is the second Pakistani after Sajid Ali Sadpara to climb Everest without Oxygen, who climbed it last year. Sirbaz is also the only Pakistani to climb Everest twice. Climbing Everest without oxygen is a true test of human grit.
Source:
https://www.arabnews.pk/node/2514391/pakistan