GILGIT : Local climber Wajidullah Nagri along with Peter and Jakub of Czech Republic scaled Rakaposhi (7,788m) on Thursday.

They had begun the ascent of the peak, one of the world’s most challenging, on Sept 1 from the South Ridge.

Wajidullah, 41, is the second Pakistani to climb Rakaposhi. Colonel Sher Khan was the first Pakistani to scale it in 1979.

Karrar Haidri of the Alpine Club of Pakistan confirmed the development.

Wajidullah’s brother, Khairullah Nagri, told Dawn that he received a text message from his brother at around 5pm that he and other climbers had begun the descent after reaching the summit of the mountain.

Mountaineer Karim Shah Nizari said Rakaposhi stood in Nagar district and could be seen in Gilgit, Hunza and Ghizer areas.

He said climbing Rakaposhi was a technical yet challenging job, so very few managed to scale it.

Mr Nizari said the mountain had a steep incline, so climbing it was difficult, while avalanches were also common.

“Many climbers have lost life during the Rakaposhi expedition,” he told Dawn.

He said Rakaposhi was the only mountain in the world with over 5,000 meter height from the base camp to the peak.

Rakaposhi is the world’s 27th and Pakistan’s 12th highest peak.

The mountaineer said the reason for the mountain’s fame was its beauty and not height and that it was considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world.

For the first time, it was scaled by Mike Bank Tom Patey of the UK in 1958.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2021