LAHORE: Pakistan’s first female climber to summit Gasherbrum-I (8068 metres) – the 11th highest peak in the world – Naila Kiani disclosed her future plans as she targets Nanga Parbat for her next expedition after she had successfully climbed three mountains of over 8000 metres.
Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, Naila stated that her plan was to summit every 8000er mountain in Pakistan meanwhile climbing the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, was also on her bucket list.
“My future plan is to summit each one of Pakistan’s 8000m peaks. My next target is Nanga Parbat,” she revealed.
While expounding on her K2 expedition, Naila claimed leaving her children behind at home was the most challenging part of her journey.
“My family supported me enormously during K2 and other summits. I wanted to be a role model for my family. I didn’t have funds for the summit,” she said. “I started my journey in June and leaving the kids at home was the most difficult part of my journey”
She further went on to say that expediting the world’s second highest peak was not an easy task as debris used to fall from the top while ascending the mountain and the summit grew even more gruesome after reaching the death zone (Bottleneck of K2).
“I was not a professional climber but when I saw the K2 for the first time, I grew interested in mountaineering,” told Naila, who is a banker by profession.
Furthermore, she lamented the government for not supporting her and other mountaineers of the country.
“If the government offers assistance then we can also make mountaineering a professional field in our country like Nepal,” she concluded.
It is pertinent to mention here that Naila is the first Pakistani woman to summit three mountains above 8000m in a record time. She reached the summit of Gasherbrum II, K2 and Gasherbrum I.
READ: ‘Shahbaz senior would be handcuffed if I open inquiry against him’ Khokhar
