Team in Pakistan this weekend, outside a Chinese restaurant in Islamabad. Image courtesy of Karrar Haidri (click to enlarge).
Team in Iran (standing right to left): Kazem Faridian (K2 summiter), Leyla Esfandirari (leader), Saman Nemati. (Sitting right to left): Sahand Aghdaei, Mohamad Nourozi, Hossin Abolhassani, Ehsan Partooi. Image courtesy of Damavand club (click to enlarge).
K2 summiteer Kazem Faridyan with General manager of ATP Nek Nam. Image courtesy of Karrar Haidri (click to enlarge).
Sahand (left) and Hossein (right) in Islamabad. Image courtesy of Karrar Haidri (click to enlarge).
Expedition leader Leyla Esfandirari. Image courtesy of Karrar Haidri (click to enlarge).
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First Iranian lady expedition leader to climb Nanga Parbat in a call for Karun river
Posted: Jun 17, 2008 11:18 am EDT
(K2Climb.net) Last year, Kazem Faridian was one of the climbers when in a United Nations high-altitude summit push of sorts 6 unlikely bedmates - Russia, Korea, Portugal, Iran, America and Italy - moved together sharing the few tents still standing in storm-ravaged high camps on K2.
The collaboration went very well - most climbers topped out and so did Kazem, bagging the first K2 summit for Iran.
The first Iranian lady expedition leader
Between the peaks and across all borders, webmasters and friends exchanged worries, latest news and finally triumphs in Babel Fish translated emails between each other and ExWeb. It was very cool.
Blogging for Damavand club, the oldest and biggest skiing and climbing Alpine club in Iran, Minoo Zabetian reported on Kazem and also the Iranian Broad Peak attempts that year: Mahdi Etemadfar with a Swiss team; Hossin Nazar who tried a solo, and an Iranian national team.
Well it's that time again. Iranian climbers are back in Pakistan this year with 2 expeditions to Broad Peak and one to Nanga Parbat.
Kazem is headed to Nanga Parbat as technical manager with an Iranian team led by lady climber Leyla Esfandirari. This is in fact the first time an Iranian lady leads a Himalayan expedition.
ExWeb's correspondent in Islamabad Karrar Haidri reports that Leyla is a big caver in Iran and climbed all Iranian peaks including the Damavand. "I know that Nanga Parbat is dubbed the 'Killer Mountain,' but I fear not," Leyla told Karrar this weekend.
A call for Karun
According to Minoo, another landmark is that this is the first Iranian expedition to actually have a sponsor. The sponsoring Narvan Arra association and its partner the Bosch Rexroth Group hopes the expedition will raise global awareness about the disaster of Karun; one of Iran's mighty rivers. The river stretches about 960 km out of which about 400 km have been polluted.
A Narvan Arra representative accompanying the expedition told Karrar that the company owner is a mountaineer himself who climbed all peaks in Iran and Narvan Arra thus plans to sponsor more expeditions to Pakistan 8000ers in the future.
We have you covered!
Minoo shot over a picture from the team's departure in Iran and this weekend ExWeb's correspondent Karrar Haidri was waiting with his camera in Pakistan.
Joining Kazem and Leyla in this the first Iranian attempt on Nanga Parbat are Hosein Abolhasani, Sahand Aghdai, Saman Nemati, Mohammad Norouzi and Ehsan Partoee.
While Kazem is back in Pakistan for his third time (except for K2 he also climbed Broad Peak's fore summit); Nanga will mark the first 8000+ experience for the other mountaineers in this team. The expedition is outfitted by ATP; a favorite of Kazem, and will climb the normal route.
Expedition members: Ms Leila Esfandiary Kajoryrad (L), Kazem Zabihifaridyan, Hossein Abolhassani, Amirhossein Partovinia, Saman Nemati, Seyed Mohammad Noroozi, Sahand Aghdaie, Reze Vojouhi.
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