Good news from Nanga Parbat with reports that Pakistani climber Asif Bhatti who became snowblind and was stranded at 7300m at Camp 4, is now back to base camp. Karrar Haidri, Secretary Alpine Club of Pakistan issued this statement:
Asif Bhatti arrived at Base Camp safely. He will be taken to Skardu by an army chopper from Nanga Parbat Base Camp. He’ll return to Islamabad after obtaining first care.
He has been assisted by Azerbaijan climber Israfil Ashurli who without a doubt saved his life when he joined him at Camp 4 and helped him though the difficult rock faces to C2. Mohammed Younis and Fazal Ali met them between C2 and C3 and then helped Bhatti to base camp.
The Karakorum Club notes about Ashurly:
Israfil Ashurly, the guy who has stayed since yesterday with #AsifBhatti on #NangaParbat helping him to get to the lower camps. Born in 1969 in Baku, the 54 year old climber already has six 8000ers to his name. And has already completed the seven summits challenge.
For a full good end to this story, we need to see Ashurli reach base camp.
Updates to follow.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
The Podcast on alanarnette.com
You can listen to #everest2022 podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Anchor, and more. Just search for “alan arnette” on your favorite podcast platform.
Summit Coach
If you dream of climbing mountains but are not sure how to start or reach your next level, from a Colorado 14er to Rainier, Everest, or even K2, we can help. Summit Coach is a consulting service that helps aspiring climbers throughout the world achieve their goals through a personalized set of consulting services based on Alan Arnette’s 25 years of high-altitude mountain experience, including summits of Everest, K2, and Manaslu, and 30 years as a business executive.
