GILGIT: A team of five climbers from Shimshal Valley in Gilgit-Baltistan successfully climbed Trich Mir (7,708m), the highest peak in the Hindu Kush, via a new and technically challenging route.

Vice President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan Karrar Haidri, in a statement, said the expedition was led by renowned mountaineer Abdul Joshi, widely known as ‘The Pathfinder’ as part of his Summit for Climate Change campaign, which seeks to draw global attention to the environmental impacts of climate change in high-altitude regions.

The summit marks a historic achievement, as it is the first time a Pakistani team has reached Trich Mir’s summit via a new route.

The climbers, including Abdul Joshi, Hameed Ullah, Faryad Karim, Mansoor Karim and Nisar Ahmed, hail from the village of Shimshal in Gojal.

The local expedition team summited the peak on August 1 and returned to base camp safely. The climbers had started their mission in the second week of July.

In addition to their climbing feat, the team collected climate data from this remote and fragile region to contribute to scientific research and inform policy decisions.

Trich Mir, situated in the Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is the highest mountain in the Hindu Kush range. The peak was first climbed in 1950 by a Norwegian expedition led by Arne Næss.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of that historic ascent, being observed as the Platinum Jubilee of Trich Mir’s mountaineering legacy. The team was sponsored by HBL.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2025