On the morning of 17 May, Nazir Sabir became the first Pakistani to stand on top of the world. In the bargain, the Hunza native also clinched for himself a lifetime of complimentary cuisine at Rum Doodle Restaurant and Bar, the unofficial hangout of the international climbing community in Kathmandu. Back in the Nepali capital after the climb, a sun- and snow-burned Nazirsaab, as his Sherpa friends also call him, is enjoying his conquest and his Rum Doodle Everest Summitter's ID.ra
"The highest point on earth and I think the highest moment in my life, too, for which I have been planning for many years," he is recorded speaking into the camera, breathing heavily in summit footage captured on a digital videocam. He then does what most mountaineers do up there on top of Everest/Chomolongma/Sagarmatha — poses with his country's flag. There's a sparkling suspicion of tears. After the frustration of a failed attempt at Everest from the north side in 1997 and the barrage of press flak that followed in the Pakistani press, success for Sabir, a former advisor on sports and tourism to the Pakistani government, couldn't have tasted better.
In a country where the growth of the mountaineering sport has been slow, owing to a lack of patronage unlike the case in neighbouring India, Sabir's conquest has aroused unexpected enthusiasm. Even before arriving back in Kathmandu from the mountain, he had been feted by Pakistan's president, hailed by the local press, and a hero's welcome awaited him at home. The response and the flood of congratulatory emails arriving at the Everest Base Camp in Upper Khumbu had left the climber happily bemused. "Surprisingly enough, it has become much bigger news than I ever imagined."
Wary of criticism that accompanied the Pakistani 1997 Golden Jubilee Everest Expedition, when Sabir and five colleagues had made three attempts before abandoning their climb at 8560m due to unmanageable blizzards, this time the climber came quietly: "No press, no sponsors, no fanfare." It was more of a personal pilgrimage. Says Sabir, "After my emotional attachment with Everest since a very close Japanese friend died in 1980, I've been thinking about this mountain, to come and pay my homage and offer prayers for all those souls who are sleeping here, nearly a dozen…"