With foreign climber arrivals falling by almost 90% this year, Gilgit Baltistan’s (GB) mountaineering season—once a pillar of Pakistan’s adventure sports and tourism—has experienced an unprecedented collapse.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan said in a statement on Tuesday that the mountainous region’s livelihoods have been decimated by erratic climate disasters, international conflicts, and domestic difficulties.
Only 270 foreign climbers, according to official estimates, traveled to Great Britain this season to attempt some of the most famous peaks in the world, including K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum-I, Gasherbrum-II, and Nanga Parbat. Compared to over 2,000 foreign climbers and hikers last year, this is a sharp decline.
