Lahore (Nut-Desk)
Samar Khan made history after becoming the first female cyclist to reach the K2 basecamp on a mountain bike. Khan announced the feat about five days ago on her Instagram, where she had been regularly updating her followers with pictures and lengthy posts about her journey. Terming the final leg of her quest as ‘Journey to Chogori’, Khan said, “The stage where prayers are answered or sometimes delayed, where I got to see the clear face of majestic Choghori, standing with grace.”
Chogori is the unofficial local name for K2, the second-highest peak in the world.
Khan started her journey towards the end of July, taking off on a mountain bike from Skardu on July 31. “This ride will be bumpy, rough and heavy but I have trained myself enough mentally and physically,” she had said.
She also shared why she wanted to cycle her way on a mountain bike through treacherous terrain, explaining, “Because, bicycling should be the way to commute around mountains, to cut our carbon footprint and to preserve our natural assets like glaciers and peaks.”
Updating her followers through her journey with ‘stage updates’, Khan offered insight into her cycling route, which included crossing the Baltoro glacier at 4000+meters at Urdukus, and battling extreme weather sickness at the height of 4319 meters at Ghoro 2.
“The path towards Urdukus brings the magnificent Baltoro Glacier, with its endless ups & downs covered with rocks and deep crevices… many water streams along the way with the flow and pressure of a huge river, waist-deep or sometimes more. And the water comes straight from glaciers, freezes ur feet in seconds,” she shared.
The last stage update ‘Doorway to Chogori’, as mentioned above, includes pictures of Samar standing tall with her mountain bike with the mighty K2 in the background. “After a long night of chasing oxygen and silent prayers, the morning brought me face to face with K2, with a lot of injuries and shivering cold but with a magnificent sight.”
