Shehroze Kashif pessimistic about future of mountaineering in Pakistan

Pakistan’s 20-year-old alpine hero Shehroze Kashif expressed pessimism about the future of climbing in Pakistan while still aiming for the world record.

Kashif claimed he received no help from the Pakistani government despite earning international acclaim for the country.

In an exclusive interview with Geo News on Sunday, Kashif said, “I’m terribly unhappy and forced to declare that sportsmen get no respect in Pakistan.”

Despite Ehsan-ur-Rehman Mazari’s (the Minister of Inter Provincial Coordination) repeated assurances of assistance, he has failed to provide any.

To quote the mountaineer, “I have seen practically everyone so far, even the President [Arif Alvi], but these meetings don’t matter to me anymore as nobody is interested in helping mountaineering in Pakistan.”

The child climber’s goal is to break the record for youngest person to reach the top of each of the 14 mountains in the world that are above 8,000 feet high.

Mingma Gyabu “David” Sherpa, at the ripe old age of 30 years and 166 days, became the youngest person to reach the top of all 14 summits that stand above 8,000 metres. He climbed Everest for the first time on May 23, 2010, and he climbed Shisha Pangma for the last time on October 29, 2019.

Kashif climbed Mount Gasherbrum I (8,080 m) in August of last year, making him the youngest mountaineer in history to reach the summit of 10 mountains with elevations in excess of 8,000 m.

When Kashif was 17, he became known as “The Broad Boy” after he ascended Mount Broad Peak (8,051m). He was only 19 when he became the youngest person to reach the summit of K2 (8,511 m). He is also the youngest person to ever reach the summit of both Everest (8,848m) and K2 (8611m) in the same calendar year.

Last year, Kashif also had spinal surgery for a torn L5-S1 disc (a disc that cushions the spine and prevents injury) caused by frequent bending and twisting.

Kashif summed up his experience with surgery by saying, “I’m fully fit today, and will begin climbing in March this year.”