Scottish climbers in Afghanistan

5 Replies

Chistopher Philipson and Joel Fiddes are the first climbers to conquer a 5000m+ peak in the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. The climbers scaled the north-east ridge (facing you in photo below) after an aborted attempt the previous day. The peak has been named Koh-I-Beefy after Joel’s brother who has passed away.

A set of beautiful pictures giving a real sense of the Wakhan and its people, shot in 2008 by Vassi Koutsaftis, are available by clicking the image below.

© Vassi Koutsaftis, Arclight Pictures

Please also take a look at Mountain Unity, an organisation that are promoting the Wakhan Corridor as a destination for serious mountaineering. The Wakhan is extremely poor and suffers from high infant and maternal mortality, and tourism is one of the only ways of developing this remote, rugged area.

Share
  • tonyathomas

    Isn't climbing mountains in Afghanistan rather dangerous these days? I would think so.

  • owen_p

    Thanks for commenting Tonya. You would think it's dangerous, but the Wakhan Corridor is remote and miles away from any conflict zones. That is the message that Mountain Unity are trying to get across.

    The main dangers are the same as for any remote mountaineering I think- being a long way from the emergency services should an accident occur.

  • http://www.velocast.co.uk VeloCast

    Looks like a lovely hill with more than it's fair share of protectionless snow swimming. Congrats to your wee brother and his partner. A two man climbing team in a remote location deserves respect. That's commitment.

    JG

  • owen_p

    Many thanks John for commenting and for the congrats. They were pretty pleased with it I think. Definitely committed- had a sat-phone and emergency helicopter uplift plan in place and everything. Cheers, Owen

  • owen_p

    More details on the Afghan Hindu Kush mountain climb in this FB note: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=9739611&i…