Staff Reporter
Chitral, July 22, 2026: A group of climbers, including two sisters from Chitral, successfully crossed the 5,100-metre Phargam Pass in Laspur valley of Upper Chitral to Golen for the first time in 27 years.
The expedition included Chitral’s three sisters—Mehrosh Akhtar, Ismail Roz, and Madhu Shala Akhtar—who became the first women to complete the crossing, alongside climbers Kamran Khan, Samar Khan, Nauman Khan, Noor ur Rehman, Zohaib Khan, Umar Khattab Sherani, Sohniya Babar, Amna Shabbir and Madiha Syed.
Supported by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority, the team navigated glaciers, steep snow slopes, rocky terrain and avalanche-prone sections. During the expedition, they also rediscovered the memorial of Austrian climber Georg Kronberger, who died in the area in 1975.
Guide Zamrud Khan said climate change had significantly altered the Phargam Pass route, making the crossing more challenging than in the past.
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