GILGIT: Two Pakistani climbers are attempting to summit the world’s third highest 8,586-metre Kangchenjunga peak in Nepal.

Sirbaz Khan from Hunza district of Gilgit-Baltistan and Shehroze Kashif from Lahore, who is the youngest climber to have scaled K2, are separately attempting the peak in a bid to become the first Pakistanis to have done the feast.

Both the climbers have entered the decisive stage, targeting to reach the summit before end of this month.

Saad Munawar, the organiser of Pakistani Expedition Kangchenjunga 2022, said Mr Sirbaz had established the base camp at 5,500 metres on April 5. He added Sirbaz had reached the camp 2 on Saturday and was trying to summit the peak by end of the current month.

Sirbaz updated on his Facebook page that the last few weeks had been absolutely challenging for him as the mountain had tested his limits. He said that he looked forward to the final summit push as he felt strong, confident and hoped for the best.

Meanwhile, climber Shehroze Kashif had reached the base camp of Kangchenjunga on April 15.

Through a social media post, Mr Kashif updated that he had spent the night at Camp 2 on Saturday amid extreme weather conditions and temperatures touching minus 30 degree Celsius.

He said that he had gone halfway up the camp 3 and then returned back to the base camp on Sunday.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2022