‘The mountains don’t care about anyone’
Muhammad Ali Sadpara's legacy looms large over the landscape surrounding Skardu, from where he braved the harsh conditions of the Baltoro glacier with only second-hand kit. As I imagine the daring paths he must have conquered, I am constantly alert to the risk of slipping and, during the start of this difficult trek, I resist the urge to even look up or around.
Locally known as Khari Nangsoq, the organic village we are trekking towards, is devoted to the preservation of the region’s traditional lifestyle.
As research from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) highlights, glacial melting here has been occurring since the early 1900s, largely, it says as a result of “human activities” such as industrial farming and burning fossil fuels which release carbon dioxide and other global warming gases into the atmosphere.
The organic and traditional farming practices employed by this village are part of an approach aimed at reversing the rise in greenhouse gases.
In 2006, the village gained some attention when the United Kingdom's then-Prince Charles, now king, and Prince Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, as well as a notable philanthropist and business magnate, visited.
Our guide escorting us to the village, Abbas, is dressed casually in blue jeans and a white shirt. Alongside him is his 16-year-old son, Yasir Abbas, with a cap playfully turned backwards atop his head and a blue backpack. Together, they carry forward their family’s tour-guiding business here.
As father and son lead the way with confident strides, I and my trekking partner, Afzaal Hussain, 34, a digital marketing expert, sport professional and, like me, a curious traveller from Lahore, find ourselves taking baby steps.
"The mountains don't care about anyone. Respect them, and they will respect you back. Indeed, each step needs to be soft and cautious," says Afzaal.
Along the way, we learn more about the melting glaciers. Abbas says he has witnessed firsthand the dramatic changes taking place here. Soon, he worries, there could be a sharp reduction in the amount of water here as a result of the shrinking glaciers. “Without them, without water, our very existence would be at stake. The glaciers are the backbone of our region," he adds.
This looming crisis in the Hindu Kush Himalayas region, which the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) last year described as a pivotal "global asset" and the "water tower of Asia" in its own report (PDF), is already becoming apparent.
In the summer of 2023, Skardu suffered a rare water shortage when the Satpara Dam, which stores and releases water run-off from the glaciers, ran low. "Last summer was the first time in my life that I witnessed such a significant water shortage in the Satpara Dam,” Sadpara says. “It's a direct consequence of the melting glaciers and reduced water flow.”
Ten years before, in 2013, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Zahid Hamid, had addressed the inaugural ceremony of the International Conference on Plants, People, and Climate, and warned: "By the year 2035, the country will no longer have water reserves in the form of glaciers."
And, even before that, a 2008 report from the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PDF), warned that the Siachen Glacier, located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayan mountains and stretching for more than 70km (43 miles), "has lost about 2km of its length and 17 percent of its ice mass since 1989".
Our guide, Abbas, who is intimately familiar with the Siachen and Baltoro glaciers, seems sorrowful when he says, "I've seen glaciers retreat by at least one kilometre in just a few years."
As well as guiding visitors to this area, he also actively participates in research initiatives and projects and aims to educate visitors about the fragile ecosystems and environmental challenges facing these majestic landscapes.
In July 2018, the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched a five-year, $37m project to invest in early warning systems, training on glacial lake outburst flooding (GLOF), preparedness and response, and the construction of new protective infrastructure. "This project operated under my supervision in Skardu," Abbas explains. "I served as their guide for two years, during which they worked directly on these glaciers."
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