Page 40 - 2009 AMA Summer

“Perfect,” that’s how Everest legend Doug Scott describes climbing conditions in Afghanistan. In 1967 he chose it as the destination for his first high altitude expedition because of the consistent good weather, great climbing conditions and the lure of unclimbed peaks. Members of his expedition made seven first ascents and established new routes on Koh-e Bandaka (6,843m) and Mir Samir (6,059m), the mountain made famous by Eric Newby in his book ‘A short
Walk in the Hindu Kush’.
Lindsay Griffin, the Chair of the BMC International Committee, climbed in Afghanistan in 1977 and thinks that Afghanistan’s highest mountain Noshaq (7,492m) could become the most commer-
Stephen Venables, the first Brit to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen also chose Afghanistan for his first high alti- tude expedition. In his 1977 expedition report he wrote: “The traverse of Koh-i- Sahkt was a delight from beginning to end—three days of continuously absorbing climbing, up buttresses, along crests, over pinnacles, always on perfect solid granite. There was the satisfaction of finding a route where no-one had ever been before and the selfish pleasure of having a whole mountain range to ourselves.”
In the 1960’s and 70’s Afghanistan was becoming an extremely popular destination for mountaineers. They were attracted by the almost guaranteed good weather, excellent climbing, short approaches and the prospect
extensively in the Afghan Hindu Kush, organised an expedition he called Oxus: Mountains for Peace. The objective was to climb Noshaq (7,492m), Afghanistan's highest mountain and let the Afghan's know that they hadn't been forgotten by the climbers who had benefited from their generous hospitality. This successful expe- dition effectively marked the beginning of a new era for climbing in the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountains of Afghanistan.
Since 2003 a small cadre of Afghans select- ed from across the country have undergone training as mountain guides under the instruction of predominantly Italian moun- taineers. They have since led treks and par- ticipated in climbing expeditions in the Wakhan Corridor which is the thin finger of land that points towards China in the far northeast of the country. In support of these activities the Aga Khan Foundation has established a series of guest houses and campsites along the valley floor, as well as training cooks and establishing rates for porters and pack animals.
As the security situation in the rest of the country has deteriorated, mountaineers have still been travelling to the Wakhan Corridor. They have been able to do this safely by flying into Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan and driving to the Wakhan, crossing the border at Ishkashim, a small frontier town at the mouth (west) of the val- ley. The Wakhan Corridor itself has remained completely free of the violence that has marred the rest of the country. Even during the Taliban era the local peo- ple peacefully went about their lives pro- tected by the remote, mountainous terrain and the fact that the Northern Alliance dominated all possible approaches.
The hope now is that the trickle of moun- taineers will increase to a sustainable num- ber that will provide the desperately poor local people with a chance to better their lives. The province of Badakhshan where
MOUNTAIN UNITY CLIMBERS RETURN TO AFGHANISTAN
cially successful mountain in the world. Why? It is a non-technical seven and a half thousand metre peak with almost no risk of storms in the climbing season, a very short approach and surrounded by numerous other objectives accessible from the same base camp. An ideal introduction to very high altitude mountaineering.
of numerous first ascents in a single trip. The Soviet invasion of 1979, the subsequent civil war and ensuing Taliban era sadly put an end to it all and the mountains have remained undisturbed for quarter of a century.
In 2003 Carlo Alberto Pinelli, an Italian mountaineer who in the 1960’s climbed
the Wakhan Corridor is located, suffers the highest recorded maternal mortality rate in the world. One in three children die before the age of five. Extreme poverty is perhaps the biggest cause of both these shocking statistics. Tourism has been recognised as the only viable option for sustainable devel- opment in this harsh mountain terrain. As
38 ARMY MOUNTAINEER