Sajid Ali Sadpara: The Mountain’s Chosen Son
On November 5, 2000, Sajid Ali Sapdara was born in the beautiful Sadpara valley of Pakistan’s Baltistan area, where huge peaks reach the sky and old glaciers carve their tracks through the mountains.
Sajid Ali Sadpara would carry on not only his father’s name, but also a legacy that would permanently connect him to the world’s highest summits.
A Childhood Among Giants
Growing up in the shadow of some of the world’s most formidable mountains, young Sajid’s playground was unlike any other. As he recalls,
Every child in our Sadpara Valley grows up climbing mountains and it becomes our second nature. Our lives revolve around mountains and we earn our livelihoods from these mountains.
The village, situated fifteen kilometers from Skardu, was a place where most men either worked as livestock farmers, porters, or guides to mountaineers.
For Sajid, climbing mountains came as naturally as walking does to most toddlers. By the age of eight or nine, he was already taking his family’s cattle up the mountain slopes. These early experiences would lay the foundation for what would become not just a career, but a calling that would define his life.
The Father’s Shadow
Muhammad Ali Sadpara, Sajid’s father, cast a long shadow in the world of mountaineering. He was first Pakistani to have climbed eight of the world’s fourteen highest mountains, including the first-ever winter summit of Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth-highest peak. The elder Sadpara had won many laurels for his country and was the only climber in the world who had summited Nanga Parbat four times, including the first winter and autumn ascent.
The relationship between father and son was one forged not just by blood, but by their shared love for the mountains. Sajid joined his father as a mountain climber from a young age, after completing his graduation. “I’ve known from a very young age, that this is my life’s true calling,” Sajid reflects. “When I was 19 or 20 years old, I began learning the dynamics of the sport and knew I had to commit to it professionally.”
The Tragic Turn
February 2021 marked a devastating turning point in Sajid’s life. At the age of 21, he joined his father and two other climbers – Iceland’s John Snorri Sigurjónsson and Chilean mountaineer Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto on an expedition to summit K2 in winter.
The goal was ambitious: father and son would attempt to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen, a feat never accomplished in winter.
However, fate had other plans. Near the infamous Bottleneck, just 300 meters from the summit, Sajid was forced to turn back due to an oxygen regulator malfunction. His father’s last words to him were encouraging: “Don’t worry, keep climbing, you’ll feel better.” These would be the last words Sajid would hear from his father.
The disappearance of the three climbers became one of the biggest accidents in Pakistan’s mountaineering history. “My father’s disappearance affected me and my family very deeply,” Sajid remembers. “Personally, I faced a lot of mental and emotional anguish. I was greatly disturbed, and my younger sister kept asking where Papa had gone.”
A Son’s Final Mission
Five months after the disappearance, Sajid began what he calls “the most important mission of my life” the search for his father’s body. With the help of a Canadian filmmaker and others, he located and buried his father on K2, at an altitude of more than 7,700 meters.
“When I saw my father’s body, I didn’t scream, I didn’t cry. I controlled my emotions,” Sajid recalls of that powerful moment. “We had found his body in one of the toughest climbing sections of K2. I made a grave of snow, offered fateha and buried him in accordance with the Islamic rules of burial, to the best of my knowledge.”
Carrying Forward the Legacy
Rather than being deterred by tragedy, Sajid has took his father’s legacy with renewed determination. His achievements are remarkable for someone so young:
- At 19, he became one of the youngest to summit K2
- In 2023, he became the first Pakistani to climb Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen and assistance from Sherpas
- He successfully summited the 8,091-metre Annapurna mountain without supplemental oxygen
- He conquered Manaslu, the world’s 8th highest peak, without supplemental oxygen
- He reached Gasherbrum-II, the world’s 13th highest mountain
His approach to climbing reflects both his father’s influence and his own philosophy. “The most important thing when climbing a mountain is that you have to enjoy the moment,” he says.
We, mountaineers, are particularly connected to nature. In snow, on unknown paths, there is so much excitement for us. You are never bored.
Beyond Personal Achievement
Sajid’s vision extends beyond personal accomplishments. In 2023, he organized a cleaning campaign on K2, removing over 200 kilograms of spent oxygen canisters, mangled tents, and snarled ropes – a tribute to both his father and the mountains they both loved.
His perspective on mountaineering in Pakistan is both practical and visionary: “I hope that one day mountain climbing is offered the kind of support and appreciation in Pakistan that it deserves. Our country has a lot of mountains that can draw international climbers to come here. They can be a steady source of income for the youth of our region, most of whom work as guides, porters and translators for international climbers.”
Looking to the Future
At 25, Sajid Ali Sadpara stands as a bridge between Pakistan’s mountaineering past and its future. He continues to climb without supplemental oxygen whenever possible, explaining, “We are born climbers, so we are used to climbing without oxygen. We can face the high altitudes. I prefer to climb without oxygen.”
Also read story of Naila Kiani: How One Woman Changed the Face of Pakistani Mountaineering
His ultimate goal is to scale all fourteen of the world’s highest peaks, continuing the journey his father began. “I will keep my father’s mission alive and fulfil his dream,” he declared after his father’s passing, a promise he continues to honor with every summit he reaches.
In the end, Sajid Ali Sadpara’s story is more than just a tale of mountaineering achievements. It’s a narrative of legacy and the unbreakable bond between father and son, played out against the backdrop of the world’s highest peaks. As he continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in mountaineering, he carries with him not just his father’s name, but the hopes and dreams of a nation looking to make its mark on the world’s highest stages.
“Every child in our Sadpara Valley grows up climbing mountains,” he once said. For Sajid Ali Sadpara, those childhood climbs were just the beginning of a journey that continues to inspire and challenge, as he writes his own chapter in the storied history of high-altitude mountaineering.
