SWAT: Three young mountaineers successfully climbed the 6,050-meter-high Thalo Zom peak on the Swat-Chitral border, marking the first time the local climbers having accomplished the feat.

Thalo Zom in the Pamir Hindukush region was first climbed on August 12, 1971, by a team from Graz, Austria, led by Herbert Zeffer.

It was then climbed in 2019 by a team comprising Koki Gassiot (Catalonia-Spain), Massimo Marconi and Andrea Bollati (both Italian), and Samiullah Ghaznavi, Sadam Hussain and Abrar Saeed, three young local mountaineers under Mountain Wilderness International’s Asian Desk.

The three-member Swati mountaineers’ team led by Zeeshan Umar and comprising Seth Noman and Mian Syed Ali successfully summited the peak using their own resources and guidance. They said they grew up amid snow-covered high mountains in Swat and wanted to climb them since childhood.

Zeeshan Umar said it was their second expedition, which the team organised on their own. “Last year we scaled Falak Sar, the highest peak of Swat, and this year we summited Thalo Zom, the 6,050-meter-high peak, which was our dream. The mountain is tough and mysterious, and when we reached the top, we yelled with excitement,” he said.

The mountaineers also showed concern that the 16-kilometre-long glacier had developed big cracks at several locations. “The climate change effects have surfaced on the glaciers in the upper Swat and Chitral mountains, which is alarming. We saw huge crevasses and cracks develop in the Thalo glacier,” Umar said.

The mountaineers said they came across several challenges, including harsh weather and the danger of a heavy storm. “Halfway up the huge glacier, we faced a heavy snowstorm, which was 120km/h fast, against which we had to resist.

At one point, we almost lost courage when the storm lasted more than an hour. It caused an avalanche from above, but luckily, we survived,“ said Syed Ali, another group member of the team.

Another group member, Noman Khalil, said the peak was technically tough and required professional skills. “Luckily, we scaled the peak without any support and sponsor.

We will attempt other peaks in the country, but we need sponsors to climb other high peaks,“ he said.

The mountaineers said there were many high and tough peaks on the Swat-Chitral border, and mountaineers from around the world should come and try them.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2024