Bodies of Muhammad Ali Sadpara, Snorri and Mohr found on K2

The bodies of climbers Muhammad Ali Sadpara, Iceland’s John Snorri and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr were found on K2 on Monday, over five months after they went missing, Alpine Club of Pakistan Secretary Karrar Haideri said in a statement.

He said that it was “very difficult” to bring the bodies down from the mountain because of the high altitude, adding that the Army Aviation was helping in this regard. Haideri said Snorri’s body would be shifted to Iceland at the request of his wife, Lina. Mohr’s sister and mother had also decided previously that his body would be brought back to Chile, the ACP secretary said. Talking to Dawn.com, Mushtaq Mett, the base camp manager of Mashabrum Expeditions, Treks and Tours Pakistan and the Madison Mountaineering K2 Expedition 2021, said that around 11am today, the METT Nepalese Sherpa rope-fixing team found the first body 400 metres above Camp 4 which was Mohr’s.

“Th “The team found the second body when they were 300m away from the Bottleneck. They were able to identify it as Sadpara’s. Another 10 100m away, they found Snorri’s body.”

H He further said that Ali Sadpara’s son, Sajid Sa Sadpara, is currently at Camp 4 and will be gu guided by the rope-fixing team to his father’s bo body tomorrow morning. Sajid had earlier la launched an expedition to retrieve the bodies of the three climbers. He was accompanied by Canadian filmmaker Elia Saikaly and Pasang Kaji Sherpa. Ali Sadpara had gone missing along with his two climbing partners — Snorri and Mohr — while attempting to climb K2, the world’s secondhighest peak at 8,611 metres.

They were last seen on Feb 5 near the bottleneck on K2 as they attempted to reach the summit of the Savage Mountain. Sajid Sadpara, who was accompanying the three, had to abandon his summit bid after his oxygen regulator malfunctioned and he returned to camp 3.After days of search efforts that included the use of Pakistan Army helicopters, satellite imagery and SAR technology, the three climbers were officially declared dead on February 18. Until 2021, K2 was the only peak above 8,000 metres that had never been summited in winter and was on the radar of many mountaineers.

Ali Sadpara was the only Pakistani mountaineer to have summited eight of the 14 highest peaks in the world above 8,000 metres and made the first-ever winter ascent on Nanga Parbat. Apart from Sadpara, Snorri and Mohr, mountaineers Atanas Skatov and Sergi Mingote Moreno were also attempting the K2 winter summit this year and lost their lives on the mountain. Following Sadpara’s death, the Gilgit-Baltistan government had announced Rs3 million for his family and a suitable job for his son. It also approved the establishment of Muhammad Ali Sadpara Institute of Adventure Sports Mountaineering and Rock Climbing in recognition of his services. The government also decided to nominate Ali Sadpara for the highest national civil award.