MOUNTAINEERING: THE LAST DESCENT

Austrian Markus Kronthaler’s remains being brought down from Broad Peak. Six Pakistani and two Austrian mountaineers collaborated in the 2007 recovery mission | Photo courtesy Georg Kronthaler In the past few decades, Pakistan’s mountains have become more and more accessible. A better-equipped airport at Skardu, improved road networks and social media exposure have transformed Pakistan’s adventure tourism industry from being engaged by a select few into one that is attracting hundreds of climbers and trekkers each season, to climb some of the world’s most difficult peaks and cross the highest passes. By any metric, Pakistan’s mountain tourism industry and its local mountaineering culture…