A historic mountaineering bid by Gregory Attard is turning out to be an expedition fraught with uncertainty and fear after he narrowly missed a massacre in north Pakistan.
If they decide to go ahead with the expedition, they will spend the next two months up on the mountains
Doctor and expert mountaineer Gregory Attard, 36, will attempt to become the first Maltese to scale two 8,000-metre high mountains consecutively, within a few weeks.
Both mountains, Gasherbrum I and Gahserbrum II, form part of the Himalayan range.
On Sunday, gunmen stormed the base camp of Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth highest mountain, also located in Pakistan, and shot dead nine foreign trekkers and a Pakistani guide.
Pakistan’s Taliban movement and a smaller militant group both claimed responsibility. The Taliban movement said it would continue to target foreigners.
A manhunt is underway involving both police and military, on the ground and in the air.
The 630km drive from Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad to Skardu (the last inhabited village prior to reaching the Pakistani Himalayas where Dr Attard plans to climb the mountains) takes three days.
Dr Attard left Islamabad on Friday accompanied by two other foreign climbers and two sherpas (guides). They were driven in four-wheel drives with an armed escort, as is stan-dard practice.
On Saturday, a day before the massacre, he passed by Nanga Parbat in transit.
Dr Attard’s friend, Marco Cremona, told Times of Malta that the Maltese climber is currently in Skardu, where he will wait for a couple of days.
The Pakistani government is assessing the situation and might decide to withdraw all climbing permits.
Dr Attard was shaken but still determined to scale the mountains. However, Mr Cremona explained that the climbers will delay the expedition for more than a few days.
“The Gasherbrum mountains have a very short summit window – a mountaineer can only reach the summit for a few days every year. They’re already late – if the Pakistani government takes any longer, their whole expedition will be compromised.
“Greg is committed to climbing the mountains if the government gives the go-ahead. He also has a financial commitment – the permit cost thousands of euros to obtain. Years would have to passbefore he would be able to save up and attempt to climb them again.
“But if it gets too dangerous, he might decide to abort the expedition.”
In case the situation worsens, Dr Attard would not need to drive through the dangerous roads to Islamabad since an airfield is located in Skardu.
“The terrible thing is that the terrorists’ attack was very well planned. The attackers must have been well trained and well acclimatised. You cannot just drive to the base camp of Nanga Parbat – it takes at least two days of trekking.
“The attack has a huge impact on the livelihood of the people living in these impoverished regions, who depend heavily on the mountain climbing season.
''The team at the moment should be fully focused on their expedition. As it is, they’re waiting in Skardu, not knowing what will happen.
“Even if they decide to go ahead with the expedition, they will spend the next two months up on the mountains. They can’t say when they’ll be completely safe.”