Islamabad: High-altitude mountaineer Mirza Ali became the first Pakistani man to achieve the milestone of scaling seven summits on seven continents, after successfully climbing Mount Everest on Wednesday.
“Ali achieved the feat after ascending world’s highest peak today at 2.16am. He is the first Pakistani man to climb seven summits in seven continents,” Karrar Haidri, secretary Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old Ali is brother to Samina Baig, the first Pakistani woman who climbed Mount Everest, in 2013, and then scaled all Seven Summits by 2014.
“It is a great achievement for the country as Mirza Ali and Samina are also the world’s first siblings to accomplish this feat,” Karrar said.
The Seven Summits comprise each of the tallest peaks on the world’s seven continents.
Ascending all these peaks is regarded as one of the toughest mountaineering challenges.
America’s Richard Bass was the first climber to achieve the feat on April 30, 1985.
Other Pakistanis who successfully scaled Mount Everest are Nazir Sabir, Hassan Sadpara and Retd. Col Abdul Jabbar Bhatti.
Barring Bhatti, who is from Punjab, all others climbers hail from Gilgit-Baltistan.
Sabir climbed Mount Everest in 2000 to become the first Pakistani to do so.
Sadapara, who died in 2016, was the second Pakistan to scale the highest peak in 2011.
Samina is the third Pakistani, while Retd. Col Abdul Jabbar is the fourth Pakistani to successfully achieve the feat in May 2017.
