Renowned Pakistani climber Sajid Ali Sadpara has successfully reached the top of Dhaulagiri, the world’s seventh highest mountain at 8,167 metres, without supplemental oxygen or porter support.
On May 4, four Pakistani climbers started their expedition to climb Dhaulagiri, located in Nepal. Sajid had reached the base camp on April 6, completed his rotations up to Camp 3, and returned to base to prepare for the summit.
The achievement was confirmed by the Alpine Club of Pakistan and marks Sajid’s ninth 8,000m peak, all climbed without bottled oxygen and without any external support.
According to Seven Summit Treks, the team reached the Dhaulagiri summit at 9:35 am on Saturday, making it the first confirmed ascent of Spring 2025.
Before this, the team had fixed ropes up to 8,050 metres. They began their final summit push from Camp IV at 6:15 pm on Friday, working non-stop and fixing over 350 metres of rope to reach the top safely.
This season, Kangchenjunga has also seen a large number of climbers, with around 70 international climbers and an equal number of Sherpas attempting it.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan praised Sajid, saying: “At just 29 years old, Sajid has shown incredible endurance, resilience, and commitment to high-altitude mountaineering.”
Sajid’s climb was organised by Seven Summit Treks Nepal and Sabroso Pakistan, with climbing gear sponsored by Kailas.
He is the son of the late Muhammad Ali Sadpara, a legendary Pakistani mountaineer who died during a winter climb on K2 in 2021. Sajid continues to carry his father’s legacy and has become a strong symbol of mountaineering in Pakistan.
Karrar Haidri, secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, called it “a historic milestone that shows the strength and bravery of Pakistani climbers around the world.”
Before the climb, Sajid told Dawn.com that he would attempt the summit without supplemental oxygen or porter support.
He has already climbed Everest, K2, Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum-I, and Gasherbrum-II, all above 8,000 metres, making him one of the leading names in Pakistani mountaineering.
Sajid has also helped with rescue missions on dangerous mountains like K2 and aims to summit all 14 eight-thousanders in the world — all without using supplemental oxygen.
He is known in the global climbing community for his achievements at such a young age. He climbed K2 twice, once without oxygen, and also made a record by summiting Gasherbrum-I and Gasherbrum-II in just 3 days and 18 hours, also without oxygen.
In February 2021, Sajid’s father, along with John Snorri from Iceland and Juan Pablo Mohr from Chile, went missing during their winter climb on K2. Their bodies were found five months later, in July.
Sajid said that searching for his father and the other climbers was “the most difficult and emotional mission” of his life.
“Climbing K2 was already dangerous, but burying my father over 8,000 metres was heartbreaking,” he said. “We couldn’t bring the bodies down, so we buried them on the mountain.”
Now, Sajid is continuing the journey to complete the 14 eight-thousand metre peaks, fulfilling the dream of his father.
He believes mountaineering is in his blood. “When you’re raised in an environment where all you hear, see, and practise is mountaineering, you naturally become a climber,” he shared.
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