Abdul Karim
22 September 2016
It sounded a right peculiar name as it slipped off the tongue of a French mountaineer: Little Cream. The girl pronounced it ‘Cream’ and at first it seemed it was a segue from the tale of a past ascent to some food item. But soon it became clear that Little Cream was a Balti High Altitude Porter (HAP) of good standing.
The year was 1988 and the place in Gilgit was a hotel where tourists and mountaineers congregated at a communal table for meals. I had met the girl earlier at a store stocking mountaineering equipment and was invited to join her for dinner. I forget her name, but she had great things to say about this man, making this creamy little fellow seem almost a superman.
The year was 1988 and the place in Gilgit was a hotel where tourists and mountaineers congregated at a communal table for meals. I had met the girl earlier at a store stocking mountaineering equipment and was invited to join her for dinner. I forget her name, but she had great things to say about this man, making this creamy little fellow seem almost a superman.
posted by Salman Rashid @ 00:00,
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Travelling through Kaghan
04 November 2015
If I thought I had perfected the art of travelling like a tramp, my friend Bashir from Naran has given it finesse. Trekking in the outback whenever we came across a shepherd he would quiz the man in great detail about the nearest Gujjar camp and the leader, or Chaudhri, there. Then as we would go our way he would chuckle, ‘Should misfortune befall us now and we have no food or shelter I will tell the Chaudhri all the good things that people say about him as far away as Abbottabad.’
Bashir maintained that it was every human being’s egotistical desire to hear complimentary things and this was exactly what he gave them. Having not only survived an encounter with Chilasi brigands in the Rutti Gali connecting Kaghan Valley with Azad Kashmir, but through subterfuge having deprived them of a quarter of good lamb was elated. As we crested the broad saddle of Jalkhad Gali back into Kaghan we ran into Yusuf, the strapping Gujjar youth from the encampment at the foot of the pass.
Labels: Gilgit–Baltistan, Kaghan, Nomads, Northern Pakistan, Porters, Prisoner on a Bus: Travels Through Pakistan
posted by Salman Rashid @ 00:00,
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Moving the mountains
05 December 2014
The great mountaineers of the world stand on the summits of the highest places on the planet and win laurels. Their respective countries laud and sing them, shower them with awards, flash them around the world on television and cherish them as national heroes.
Nasser, Hasan Jan and Naeem dance to the accompaniment of Ghulam Hussain’s ‘drum’ and Balti singing
On that long upward grind over five-six days from base camp for a typical 8000-metre peak there struggles with the renown bound mountaineer a lonely figure shoulder to shoulder and in step, never lagging, sometimes leading and always there to lend a hand when needed. Unknown and unsung, this is the High Altitude Porter (HAP) whose labour, always harder than the mountaineer’s for he ferries heavy loads, remains forever unrequited.
posted by Salman Rashid @ 00:00,
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My travel companions
09 May 2013
Bashir who features in the Kaghan trek of Between Two Burrs on the Map: Travels in Northern Pakistan and I are still friends 23 years after the expedition. He is fine person with a great sense of humour, very fit (still) and has good temperament. Azizullah (from the same book) I met in 1995 in Gilgit that was five years after the expedition. I had written about him as I found him: he was grasping one moment and incredibly kind and generous the second and I thought he would not like what was said. Someone had read the relevant parts of the book to him and when we met and I acted sheepish, he was so large-hearted as to say, 'don't worry. Whatever you wrote was just the truth.' Now, there are few people like Azizullah in Pakistan. I met him again in 2010 when I was walking to Shuwert to photograph for the PPL book of days titled Roads Less Travelled.
I have great regard for my friend Hasil Chandio from the Khirthar Mountains. He is so tied to the good earth that has been his home for hundreds of years. He is proud of his heritage, he holds the stories of the elders dear to his heart and he has roamed the mountain more than many others. He is kind and hospitable. He is very, very funny and he is the kind who never forgets a friend. In Balochistan have met men like the dandy Ghulam Jan: tall, good-looking and dignified who with his friend Lal Gul led me to the peak of Takht e Suleman (Prisoner on a Bus: Travel Through Pakistan) in 1994. I can never stop being thankful to Hasan Jan of Hushe (Baltistan) who was with the team on the Muztagh Pass expedition in 2006 and again with me in 2012 on the trek to Thalle La between Shigar and Shyok Valley. He is the most considerate person I have ever met.
Read more »Labels: People, Porters, Prisoner on a Bus: Travels Through Pakistan, Travel
posted by Salman Rashid @ 00:30,
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Moving the mountains
29 March 2013
Our porters are of singular courage, strength and resolve. This is true wherever they be they from: Baltistan, Shimshal, Chitral or Kaghan. The Shimshalis are great fun-loving ranksters, they sing, joke and laugh with abandon. The Baltis may be generally quieter, but they have a sharp sense of humour. The Chitralis are the most generous and kind. The people of Kaghan concentrate on the work at hand.
I have never yet come across a mountain guide or porter who lacked courage or strength. In loyalty too they are remarkable, going to great lengths to help their wards. They will help you across difficult stretches or through streams and be always ready with a word of encouragement when you begin to flag. Their understanding of topography is remarkable which, I suppose, comes from a lifetime living among the mountains. Similarly their knowledge of weather conditions is surprising. In lightly falling snow, my Shimshali friend Yahya Beg felt the snowflakes between his fingers and declared that before nightfall, the sky would be clear. He said he knew from the quality of the flakes. And sure enough, we had a beautiful starlit night!
Read more »Labels: Pakistan, People, Porters
posted by Salman Rashid @ 13:06,
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