Abdul Joshi

Abdul Joshi
Abdul Joshi at the base camp of Mt Annapurna
Born	3 December 1984 (1984-12-03) (age 40) Shimshal, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan
Other names	Path Finder
Occupation	Mountaineer

Abdul Joshi (born 3 December 1984) from Shimsal is a Pakistani mountaineer who became the first climber in the world to summit the main 6,076-metre (19,934 ft) Passu Cones peak in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan on 14 August 2021.^[1] Abdul is known as the "Path Finder" amongst the local mountaineering fraternity for his talent for finding new, unclimbed routes.^[2] He is also the first person in the world to cross the F.N./Joshi Pass and Verjerav Pass.^[3] On 16 April 2021, Abdul became the first Pakistani to summit Annapurna, the tenth-highest peak in the world at 8,091 m (26,545 ft), along with his climbing partner, Sirbaz Khan.^[4] On 16 May 2022, he became the 8th Pakistani to summit Mount Everest.^[5]

Abdul started his mountaineering career as a high-altitude porter on 8,000 m (26,000 ft) mountain expeditions in Pakistan. He climbed his first peak, Manglik Sar (6,050 m [19,850 ft]), at the age of 18.^[6]

Joshi once went up to Camp 3 (7,400m) of K2 (8,611m) when an avalanche swept their tents away and crushed their summit dreams. He has also been on a G2 (8,034m) expedition.^[1]

Abdul has also been involved in multiple high-altitude rescue operations. In June 2019, Abdul, who was at Camp 3 of Passu Cones, only 500 m (1,600 ft) from the summit, received news of an avalanche that had hit an Italian-Pakistani expedition on Melvin Jones Peak (5,809 m [19,058 ft]).^[6] Abdul abandoned his expedition and joined a four-member team to rescue the stranded climbers. On 12 September 2021, Abdul led a successful rescue operation on Rakaposhi to retrieve three stranded climbers, two of whom were Czech citizens climbing without permits.^[7][8][9]

Mountaineering expeditions

• Passu Cones 14 August 2021
• Annapurna 16 April 2021
• Mount Everest 16 May 2022

References

1. "Shimshal Valley climbers make history by summitting Karakoram's Passu Cones". Geo TV. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
2. "Abdul Joshi Path Finder, Mountaineer from Hunza, Gilgit Baltistan". Baltistan Times. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
3. "Abdul Joshi, Shehroze Kashif conquer two highest peaks". Dawn. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
4. "Pakistani climbers Sirbaz Khan, Abdul Joshi dedicate Annapurna summit to Ali Sadpara". Geo TV. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
5. "Pakistani mountaineer Abdul Joshi summits Mount Everest". The News International. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
6. Abdul Joshi - Tougher the Mountain, the Better the Story Retrieved 2022-08-09
7. "High drama on Rakaposhi ends with rescue of 3 stranded climbers". The High Asia. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
8. "Operation to rescue climbers resumes on Rakaposhi today". Dawn. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
9. "Rakaposhi Drama Sparks Debate". Alpine International Magazine. Retrieved 2022-08-09.