Messner warns of glacier melting in Pakistan — Dawn
Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner said during a visit to Pakistan that the rapid melting of glaciers threatens the mountains of the Gilgit-Baltistan region. He said the region’s high-altitude areas are more valuable than the oil reservoirs of Arab countries and stressed the need for better environmental management.
As Dawn reports, 82-year-old Messner believes that some of the region’s snow-covered mountains may remain for only another 10–15 years without proper environmental management. The mountaineer also said that he and his team intend to help preserve the ice that remains.
Visit to Gilgit-Baltistan
Messner and his wife Diana visited the mountainous areas of Gilgit-Baltistan from September 6 to 16. After the 12-day trip ended, a celebration of his birthday was held at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, organized by Nanga Parbat Adventure Pakistan.
The event was attended by Italian Ambassador to Pakistan Ugo Charlatani, German Ambassador Ina Lepel, as well as Pakistani mountaineers, including Nazir Sabir and Lever Khan. According to Khan, Messner had maintained contact for decades with the communities that helped him during his dangerous descent from Nanga Parbat more than 50 years ago.
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Connection with Nanga Parbat
During this trip, Messner once again climbed a rock near Taliči on the Karakoram Highway, from where Nanga Parbat can be seen. In 1970, he and his younger brother Günther saw the mountain from the same spot before their expedition.
That year, the brothers reached the summit of Nanga Parbat via the Rupal Face, but Günther died in an avalanche during the descent on the Diamir side. Reinhold Messner survived, but lost seven toes due to severe frostbite. In 2005, Günther Messner’s remains were found on the Diamir slope. In 1978, Reinhold Messner made the first solo ascent of an eight-thousander without supplementary oxygen, climbing Nanga Parbat by a new route from the Diamir side.
Messner also helped establish several schools in the Diamir valleys, including a school named after his brother Günther.
