December 11, 2006	Monday	Ziqa'ad 19, 1427

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SKARDU, Dec 10: The Felix Inurretegi Climbing School in the Machulu village of Baltistan district has been promoting adventure tourism and producing skilled climbers in the Northern Areas for several years.

Talking to Dawn on Sunday, the coordinator of the organisation, Shamsher Ali, said that the mountaineering school was being supervised by Spanish instructor Tasio Alwaro.

Experts and renowned hikers were teaching climbing techniques. Climbers from the school have scaled several high peaks in Pakistan and China.

He said 50 climbers had already graduated from the school and most of them belonged to Baltistan.

Ten of them have succeeded in scaling 8,000-meter high peaks including K2, Broad Peak, Nanga Parbat and G-II.

Mohammad Khan and Mohammad Hussain, of Machulu village, and Nisar Hussain, of Sadpara in Skardu, in 2004 became the first Balti summiteers of the world's second highest peak — K2. Ibrahim Rustam, of Machulu village, has scaled the G-II for the second time and Mushtagh Ata Peak in China.

Shamsher Ali said that his school would arrange rock and snow climbing courses in Skardu and Shigar in the next month.