ISLAMABAD: While the International Mountains Day passed largely unnoticed in the country, the day was celebrated in Gilgit-Baltistan by some mountaineers and those associated with the tourism industry.
As the global community observed International Mountain Day on Sunday to increase public awareness about the value of mountains to life and climate, domestic mountaineers in GB celebrated the day while organizing an awareness rally and launching a cleaning drive of mountains in Skardu.
A ceremony was organized by UNDP in Ghanche district in which the students of Baltistan University and members of civil society and locals had participated. During the ceremony, the experts of Rescue 1122 Ghanche gave different training to the children, including first aid, rock climbing and other rescue techniques. As per the UNDP in-charge Mr Rashid the purpose of celebrating this day was to improve the living conditions of the people living in the mountains and mountainous areas and to maintain their natural environment.
Meanwhile a group of mountaineers also organized a rally in Skardu city to create awareness about mountains and preservation of the ecosystem in the area.
Another group of civil society also organized a cleaning drive of mountains in the city to show the importance of a clean environment in the area.
Earlier on Saturday an institute to train budding mountaineers was inaugurated in Skardu’s Satpara village on the eve of World Mountains Day.
Commander Force Command Northern Areas Maj Gen Kashif Khalil performed the groundbreaking of Sadpara Mountaineering and Adventure Institute, named after famed mountaineer Ali Sadpara.
GB Tourism Minister Raja Nasir Ali Khan, Baltistan commissioner, Baltistan DIG and a large number of local mountaineers, porters, students and international tourists participated in the ceremony.
According to the minister the institute will be the best mountaineering and adventure school in Pakistan, the minister said. He said internationally renowned climbers will train local people voluntarily at the institute and added that three mountaineering schools were also being established in the region.
GB is a preferred destination of locals and foreign climbers as it was home to boasts five of the world’s 14 eight-thousanders, including the world’s second-highest peak K2 (8,611 meters), followed by Nanga Parbat (ranked ninth at 8,126 meters), Gasherbrum-I (11th at 8,080 meters), Broad Peak (12th at 8,051 meters), and Gasherbrum-II (13th at 8,035m).
As many as 1,400 mountaineers from around the globe arrived to scale different peaks in the region this year.
The United Nations General Assembly established International Mountain Day to recognise the importance of mountains. Every year, this Day is observed with a specific theme and the theme of this year is ‘Women Move Mountains.’
Most of the highest peaks in Pakistan lie in the Karakoram mountain range (which lies almost entirely in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan, and is considered to be a separate range from Himalayan range) but some peaks above 7,000 m are included in the Himalayan and Hindu Kush ranges. Moreover, Pakistan is home to over 7,000 glaciers, more than anywhere except the polar regions. According to the United Nations, the theme of this year’s International Mountain Day (IMD) on 11 December will be Women move mountains.
