GILGIT: A Japanese climber has died while descending Golden Peak, also known as Spantik, in the Hopar Valley of Nagar District. Nager Deputy Commissioner Attaur Rehman Kakar confirmed the incident on Wednesday.
In an interview, Kakar detailed that a group of four Japanese climbers, aged 60, 64, 26, and 21, accompanied by two local porters, embarked on an expedition to summit the 7,027-meter-high Golden Peak on June 10. After reaching the summit on July 1, 64-year-old Onishi Hiroshi slipped into a crevasse between Camp 2 and Camp 1, sustaining serious injuries on July 2.
The climbers immediately contacted Army Aviation authorities for a rescue mission scheduled for Wednesday. They had insurance in Japan coordinating with the aviation authorities for the rescue. “Today, when I talked to Army Aviation, they informed me that he has died,” Kakar said.
The insurance company in Japan is currently awaiting the family’s decision on whether to proceed with retrieving the body. Although no requisition for the body’s retrieval has been received yet, Kakar confirmed that Hiroshi’s body had been recovered from the crevasse and brought to Camp 1.
It is pertinent to mention that two Japanese climbers went missing during their attempt to summit the peak in Alpine style from the Shiger side. The body of Ryuseki Hiraoka, 55, was found 300 meters below Camp 3. Searchers were unable to find the second climber, 36-year-old Atsushi Taguchi, and eventually called off the search.
Spantik, located in Gilgit-Baltistan, is considered one of the more straightforward 7,000-meter peaks in the region. It is a relatively popular climb, serving either as a final goal or for acclimatization before summiting 8,000-meter peaks. Various routes lead to Golden Peak, including paths from Arandu village in the Shigar District and routes originating from the Hoper valleys in the Nagar District.
