Hassan Sadpara

Hassan Sadpara (born 3 April 1963 - 21 November 2016) whose real name is Hassan Asad (Urdu language: ﺣﺴﻦ ﺳﺪﭘﺎرہ ) was a Pakistani mountaineer and an adventurer from the small village of Sadpara, 7 kilometres from Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan. He is the first Pakistani to have climbed six eight-thousanders including the world's highest peak Everest (8848m) besides K2 (8611m), Gasherbrum I (8080m), Gasherbrum II (8034m), Nanga Parbat (8126 m), Broad Peak (8051m). He is also credited for summiting five of the eight-thousanders without using supplemental oxygen. Contrary to initial reports, Hassan Sadpara clarified that he used supplemental oxygen during his Everest ascent due to bad weather. He died due to cancer on 21 November 2016 in Rawalpindi.

He came from "Sadpara" a small village in remote area of Baltistan, some 7 miles away from Skardu city. He was born into a poor family. There was no school during his childhood. Soon Hassan was busy helping his family as a farmer and a shepherd. His biggest regret in life was that he never went to school; he was proud of providing education to his children. He had four children (3 sons and a daughter). His eldest son Arif studies for a degree in Master of Business Administration

He began his mountaineering career as a high altitude porter in 1993 and became a celebrated climber after conquering Mount Everest. He owned a small shop of used mountaineering equipment in Skardu city. It was his dedication and self-confidence that led him to the summits of the world's highest peaks.

He was the second Baltistani to have summited all five of the 8000m peaks of Pakistan, after Nisar Hussain of Sadpara village. Unlike most climbers from the West, who are equipped with state-of-the-art climbing gear (and sometimes sponsored by multinational corporations), Hassan Sadpara started his career from scratch, with very few resources, and climbed with whatever gear he could manage. He had worked as a porter for expeditions, including ones led by Koreans and Poles. He ran a shop for used and new mountaineering equipment in the Skardu bazaar.

After his successful summit of Mount Everest, he said in an interview that he can summit all the Top 14 mountain peaks if he is sponsored and had requested the Pakistan government or international corporations in his regard. His other dream was to open a mountaineering school in his city so that he and others like him can transfer their knowledge to the youth from around the world.

Award

In 2008, Government of Pakistan awarded him the President’s Pride of Performance

Mountaineering consultant

Hassan Sadpara was a free consultant for new climbers. He provided guidance to the team of Pakistan’s "First Big Wall Climbing Expedition".

Unlike other climbers well equipped and sometimes sponsored by multinational companies specially from Western countries He was the only Pakistani who climbed:

• K2, 8611 m 27 July 2004
• Nanga Parbat (8126m) on 2 July 1999
• Gasherbrum I (G-1) (8080m) in 2006
• Broad Peak (8051m) in 2007
• Gasherbrum II (G-2) (8034m), in 2006
• Mount Everest (8848m) on 11 May 2011

On October 8, 2016, he was diagnosed with blood cancer. After a short stay at a private hospital in Rawalpindi, he was admitted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) where he died.

Hassan Sadpara died on November 21, 2016, at Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, where he was being treated for multiple diseases including blood cancer. He was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Hargisa Shqthang Skardu