Pakistani Women Create History Scaling ‘Treacherous’ Mount K2
Not just on top of the world, but mountaineers Samina Baig and Naila Kiani created history by becoming the first and second Pakistani women to scale the world’s second-highest mountain, K2.
Baig, 31, who comes from a remote village in Gilgit-Baltistan, was the first to successfully climb the 8,611-meter peak, along with her seven-member team with a 7-member team that included Eid Muhammad, Bulbul Karim, Ahmed Baig, Rizwan Dad, Waqar Ali, and Akber Hussain Sadpara. Dubai-based climber Kiani reached the top of K2 with her fellow climbers less than three hours after Baig’s summit, becoming the second Pakistani woman to do so on the very same day.
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Baig had already summited the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, in Nepal in 2013. She is also the first and only Pakistani to climb the seven highest peaks of the world, known as the Seven Summits.
“We are extremely proud to announce that Samina Baig, with her strong Pakistani team, successfully summited the world’s most fascinating and dangerous mountain, known as Savage Mountain, the world’s second and Pakistan’s tallest mountain, K2, at 8611 meters this morning at 7:42 am,” a statement from Baig’s team released on July 22nd stated.
Kiani, a mountain enthusiast and a banker by profession in the United Arab Emirates, is called the “K2 Bride” after her marriage at the K2 base camp in 2018. She is also a trained boxer and rock climber. She began to think about mountaineering seriously following the K2 base camp trek. She was training to climb mountains and then she got pregnant. Following that, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed her expedition.
As reported by Gulf News the general secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Karrar Haidri said that it is a historic day and a really proud moment for Pakistan adding that the climbing fraternity is extremely proud of Pakistani women climbers.
For a country that is infamous for trying to keep its women shrouded, it is great to see such women who are sure to become inspirations for generations to come.
