Mortenson

"Little Karim," along with Rose Ali of Hushe Village, are the two most accomplished and legendary Balti high altitude porters. While Rose Ali is of rather large stature compared to most Baltis, Little Karim stands only 5'2" tall and might top 110 pounds after a large meal. But underneath that tiny physique is a powerful and spirited alpinist who even Messner says is one of the world's strongest climbers above 8,000 meters.

"No climber in the world deserves more respect than Little Karim. He brings the highest ethics and honor to the sport called mountaineering...."

I asked Little Karim to briefly outline his career for MountainZone.com When he was done, I was speechless. This simple, modest man humbled me. In contrast to most Western alpinists, Karim has absolutely no ego. He has selflessly devoted his 20-year career to work for foreign climbers and, despite my objections, always addresses me and all foreigners as "Sir."

Karim's career began when he was befriended by the late Dick Emerson, an American climber on the successful 1960 first ascent of Masherbrum I (7,821 meters). Emerson returned three times to Pakistan after the Masherbrum climb to spend several months in Hushe Village, living in Karim's home. He learned the local Balti language, joined Islamic villagers at their local mosque in evening prayers and transcribed and recorded over 60 hours of Balti folk stories.

When Emerson asked for a climbing partner in Hushe, Karim jumped out first. He picked Emerson up on his shoulders and paraded through the village. Karim was only 16 years old and probably looked like an American fifth grader, but Emerson was convinced. Together, they spent a glorious summer, climbing the granite spires of northern Hushe Valley, probably all first ascents. When Karim told me that Emerson had died a few years ago, he wept and could not talk for 10 minutes.

Karim's courage led the way for a 1976 Swiss expedition of Yaholla Peak (7,000+ meters), one of the Urdukas towers. On their approach to Yaholla, a female climber slipped into the roaring muddy river of Chapko Canyon. Karim did not think twice. With one "Mismillah" (in the name of Allah Almighty), he jumped in and saved her.

"Bonington...pushed him aside and said, 'You are too small.' Karim then ...grabbed Bonington's tall frame by the thighs and paraded him in front of the cheering porters..."

The Swiss leader, in Karim's words, then said, "Thank you. Me give you double pay. You no more carry load. You go first." Karim led the Swiss climbers for the next 12 days to their objective. Whenever they crossed a river, Karim went first. He would plunge into the icy water with a huge grin, carrying the rope for the team to follow, lunging forward without hesitation.

In 1978, Karim had to compete against 1,800 porters for a job with Chris Bonington and Doug Scott's K2 West Ridge expedition. Karim fought his way to the front of the porters, but Bonington only laughed at Karim, pushed him aside and said, "You are too small." Karim then repeated his Emerson carry and grabbed Bonington's tall frame by the thighs and paraded him in front of the cheering porters. He was hired. Karim carried loads up to the West Ridge camps, but unfortunately the expedition ended early, when an avalanche severed the rope between Scott and Nick Escourt above Camp I and Escourt plunged to his death.

In 1978, Bonington and Emerson's recommendations landed Karim a job on Jim Whittaker's American K2 West Ridge expedition. Karim recalls, "Jim, he BIG man, but if he no want me, I carry him also." Whittaker made a good move and hired Karim, avoiding the now famous Karim "carry" in front of 1,000 cheering porters.

In 1979, Karim joined French alpinists, LeRoy and Monaci on the extremely technical and difficult 'Magic Line' of K2's southeast ridge and south-southwest buttress. Again, like the 1978 Americans, a dispute arose and the climb was aborted. Karim had carried several heavy loads to their high camps, including 30 kgs. to 8,200 meters.

In 1981, Karim was chosen as the leader of 13 high altitude porters to join the Japanese K2 West Ridge expedition. A couple months into the climb, Karim was at Camp III (7,150 meters) when he overheard a Base Camp radio call from leader Ohtani and Pakistani Nazir Sabir at 8,100 meters. They were out of oxygen, epigas, and food and were coming down the next day.

Karim did not think twice and packed his backpack with epigas and food. He then plowed up to their 8,100 meter High Camp in six hours. The next day, Karim overheard another radio call from Sabir to K2 Base Camp, "Allah Almighty brought us epigas and food, we will go to the summit." Ohtani and Sabir went on to make an outstanding first ascent of K2's West Ridge thanks to Karim's help. Karim was chosen for the second assault team, but the climb was cancelled by a storm when they arrived at 8,200 meters.

Later that year, a German asked Karim to guide him up Masherbrum (7,821 meters). Karim replied to the elderly German, "I too tired from K2, next year better." But the German insisted, "Next year, I might be dead, we go now. If you don't go with me, I go alone."

"Karim then went on to haul the elderly German climber, who developed HACE, down the mountain tied up in a sleeping bag..."

Since the German had waited a month in Pakistan for Karim and Karim feared for the German's safety, he obliged. When he heard about a missing Polish climber, Karim went up to 7,600 meters in only single leather boots and one pair of socks to find the climber. He searched for two days, but did not find the Polish climber. Karim then went on to haul the elderly German climber, who developed HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema), down the mountain tied up in a sleeping bag.

In 1982, Karim contributed significantly to Reinhold Messner, Sher Khan, and Nazir Sabir's successful climbs of Broad Peak (8,047 meters) and Gasherbrum II (8,035 meters), by hauling several huge loads to the lower camp.

Karim joined a Spanish K2 West Ridge expedition in 1983. He carried loads to Camp IV at 7,600 meters. Two weeks of bad weather made most of the team decide to leave K2. The leader, Antonio Trabado, was without a partner and asked Karim for help, "You go to summit with me, no problem. We go alpine style."

At 8,350 meters on their summit bid, Trabado became psychotic. Karim recalls the day, "He make crazy, he talk everything, his eyes look like yak. I carry him to Base Camp and he no die."

The next year, in 1984, Karim helped Messner and Klinehander successfully complete their five day alpine-style traverse of Gasherbrum I (8,068 meters) and Gasherbrum II (8,035 meters).

"'He make crazy, he talk everything, his eyes look like yak. I carry him to Base Camp and he no die.'..."

In 1985, Karim returned to Gasherbrum II and carried a 25 kg. hang glider with a four meter wingspan to GII's summit. Jean Marque, the glider, offered Karim a 3,000 Rps. ($60) bonus to carry the hang glider above 7,000 meters. High winds cancelled the flight. Marque then asked Karim to carry the glider down GII. Karim said, "My duty finished, you fly down." The glider remained on GII's summit until Marque returned later. Karim was never paid his 3,000 Rps. bonus.

A French team filming Jean Marque spent most of their time following Karim, whom they thought was more interesting than Marques. Later, they changed the focus of the documentary film and called it "Little Karim." It went on to win the French Mountain Film Festival a few years later.

In K2's tragic year of 1986, 13 climbers perished. Karim was with Polish climber Jerzy Kukuczka on perhaps K2's most difficult route, the direct Southeast Face. He made three 25 kg. carries from Base Camp to 7,100 meters, each in one day roundtrip. After the third time, Kukuczka said, "Enough now. I go summit. You wait for me in Base Camp."

After a one-day rest in K2 Base Camp, Karim decided to hike over and see his Spanish friends, Ramon Portilla and Juan San Sabastian, on Broad Peak. They were at 7,500 meters on the mountain. Karim drank a cup of tea in Broad Peak Base Camp and within eight hours reached 7,500 meters. After a few hours rest, after many requests from the Spaniards, he led them to the summit.

"Karim climbed 50 meters down the crevasse to hook up Cassarato to a rope and haul him out..."

On the way down, at 7,700 meters, Karim found a shivering German climber, Manfred Heinrich, huddled in a fetal position without food, sleeping bag or tent. Heinrich asked Karim to leave, "Go down, I am finished. I die tonight," Karim said, "No. No. We go together down." He attached a five meter rope to Heinrich's harness and dragged him to safety and life in Camp III.

Once Heinrich was safe, Karim walked down Broad Peak and back to K2. He had been gone from K2 Base Camp only two days. A stunned Pakistani Army liaison officer did not believe Karim. He used his walkie-talkie to call Broad Peak and confirm Karim's successful ascent.

Karim's Broad Peak outing was not celebrated as 13 "Angrezi" (white foreigners) were soon to perish on K2 that year. While Karim waited for Kukuczka to return, he helped find a missing Renato Cassarato in a crevasse. Then, with a heroic effort, Karim climbed 50 meters down the crevasse to hook up Cassarato to a rope and haul him out. Cassarato died in his wife Gretto's arms one hour later.

In 1987, Karim joined his 1986 Spanish Broad Peak friends on K2's SE Face. With a 20 kg. load, Karim and leader Juan San Sabastian made it 50 meters short of K2's summit, forced back by 60 to 80 mph winds. They turned back at 1pm and descended for 12 hours to ABC. A day later, Karim went up K2 again, to participate in an unsuccessful rescue of Japanese climber, Akiro Suzuki.

"...main danger was a hungry bear that obsessed over the expedition food barrels day and night for a week. 'I no sleep, bear looking me everytime,'..."

In 1988, a French climber asked Karim to carry his boots and monoski up Gasherbrum II. At the summit, Karim asked the French climber not to ski down through deep snow. The Frenchman replied, "I must ski. I have many sponsors...No, Karim, I ski down. If I no die, I take you to France afterwards. Take this letter with you to Base Camp." Karim watched as the skier plunged 1,000 meters down the mountain to his death.

In Base Camp, Karim asked the expedition leader to translate the climber's letter. The letter instructed to give Karim 10,000 Rupees in the event of his death. This time, Karim was paid.

The same year, Karim broke his right leg at 7,500 meters on a Korean Broad Peak expedition. He crawled back to Base Camp in two days unassisted. Unlike injured foreigners, who are whisked away from trouble by a Pakistani army helicopter, Karim was not evacuated. He walked a torturous 58 kms down the Baltoro Glacier to a jeep in Askole Village.

In 1989, Karim managed Base Camp for two US climbers on Baintha Brakk, a rock climb above 7,000 meters on the Biafo Glacier. His main danger was a hungry bear that obsessed over the expedition food barrels day and night for a week. "I no sleep, bear looking me every time," says Karim.

Karim did not climb in 1990, but joined 10 Baltis on Mt. Waddington, in Canada, to participate in the filming of K2. The movie portrayed the successful 1978 American K2 expedition. Karim's comments on K2, "I much laugh. We no trek, only eight helicopters. We no climb, only film. Main problem are bears. They make 200 woman look like Balti porter with beard. I think this is too much funny. But everyone too much nice to me."

The next year, in 1991, Karim summited Broad Peak and Gasherbrum II. The stories go on, but it seems that a point can be made here. In a humble way, this small man from a tiny village has touched the lives and hearts of thousands of climbers and trekkers worldwide. Although he has been above 8,000 meters perhaps more than 20 times in his own backyard, his favorite moments are not summit days. What he enjoys and gives him the greatest joy are the smiles and happy faces of satisfied "clients."

Ironically, Karim has little to show for his career in the mountains. Often, he says he is not paid or underpaid by his clients or travel agencies. Indeed, $8 to $10 per day seems absurd for a chance to walk or climb with this King of the Karakoram.

In the winter, his children sometimes go hungry, for lack of rupees and food. He sells off precious land every year to pay for his subsistence lifestyle. His youngest daughter, Zakhiria, is three years old. She is paralyzed in the right arm and never received treatment or therapy for lack of funds. Yet, Zakhira does not seem to mind and her huge smile echoes the spirit of famed father.

No climber in the world deserves more respect than Little Karim. He brings the highest ethics and honor to the sport called mountaineering. But my heart is pained to see what he has received in return for his efforts. Certainly, when Little Karim's time comes, his Allah Almighty will reward him a throne more worthy and a summit higher than any mountain he has climbed.

Until next time, this is Greg Mortenson signing off from Little Karim's kitchen, where paiyu cha (Balti salt tea) is now being served.

— Greg Mortenson, MountainZone.com Correspondent