ISLAMABAD: The family of John Snorri, an Iceland’s mountaineer, who lost life along with Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara, and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr during a winter K-2 summit in February 2021, has informed that an attempt recover the body of John remained unsuccessful as the family wished to move the body to a safer place.
Addressing a press conference Ms Lina, wife of John Snorri along with two sisters (Ms Karen and Ms Kristine) and daughter Ms Halla of the mountaineer, who visited Pakistan with a hope to move or shift the body of John, said that the attempt unfortunately remained unsuccessful on Friday.
“Today we got the news that a team of four mountaineers led by Mingma G was unsuccessful in their attempt, after spending two hours on the summit of K2. Based on the information we came to know that there was some new snow on the mountain creating an avalanche risk,” she said, adding that keeping the development in view the expedition was suspended.
“The new information about the conditions in the mountain from Mingma G and other expeditions will help us evaluate our options going forward,” she added. According to her, the family had decided to move the mountaineer’s body to a safer place after it got information about the body on the killer mountain.
“We traveled here in the hope of being present if an opportunity had been for John being moved away from the path towards the summit of K2 to a resting place close to his friend and climbing partner Ali and their climbing partner Juan Pablo,” Ms Lina said adding that the safety of those participating in such an action has always been of the utmost importance to her.
It may be recalled here that last year, Sajid Sadpara, son of Ali Sadpara, had informed that he with the help of some other mountaineer had moved the body of his father to a safer place and buried it in the ice on the mountain. The bodies of the three mountaineers were reportedly visible in various places (distances) for those summiting K2 in summer.
“We as a family would like to highlight that John should only be moved in a manner which is safe for those involved and other climbers on the mountain,” the lady said.
Regarding new attempts to find the body of John, she said as of now it is too early to go through these options since new information is still coming in. According to her, the information and experiences from this year’s expeditions have illustrated well how much safety needs to be part of such a mission. Also, it is clear from the information coming from the expeditions that John’s current location is probably one of the most challenging in the mountain and moving him could have created serious safety hazards for the 150 plus mountaineers summiting K2 this summer.
The events which took place in February 2021 were difficult for the family and for the families of Ali Sadpara and Juan Pablo. The friendship between John Snorri and the mountaineering hero and legend of Pakistan Mr. Ali Sadpara was so sincere and strong that we as a family have felt a strong commitment for visiting Pakistan to personally thank those who supported us in a professional & personal manner and to visit the parts of Pakistan John was in love with just as much as his special places in Iceland. John’s and Ali’s team was a strong team built on friendship. Their lives and achievements as mountaineers are unique and such that both nations, Pakistan & Iceland will remember them through the mountaineering & pioneering history of both nations.
“I truly believe and I know it in my heart that John and Ali summited K2 on 5th February 2021,” she added.
“We as a family are grateful for the great support and warmth expressed by many people. We would like to thank the Government of Pakistan, army, and the local government of Gilgit Baltistan,” she concluded.
