Heavy snow halts Spantik mission to recover Dr Asma

GILGIT: A rescue mission to recover the body of Pakistani climber Dr Asma Mushtaq from Spantik Peak was halted on Sunday as heavy snowfall made the treacherous mountain too dangerous for the recovery team.

Dr Asma Mushtaq, 34, died on Thursday while descending from the 7,027-metre Spantik, also known as Golden Peak, in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Shigar district. She reportedly suffered from high-altitude sickness after reaching the summit. Her body remains at an altitude of around 6,400 metres near Camp 3.

According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), a recovery team that left on Saturday reached Camp 2 but was forced to suspend the operation because of worsening weather. The team was advised to return to base camp and wait for a safer weather window.

Efforts are also under way to obtain approval for a humanitarian helicopter mission with the support of the Pakistan Army. However, officials said helicopters cannot operate at altitudes above 6,000 metres to retrieve the body. The body must therefore first be brought down by a ground rescue team.

ACP General Secretary Ayaz Shigri said a six-member local team was working to transport Dr Asma Mushtaq’s body to base camp, from where an army helicopter could potentially airlift it to Skardu.

The recovery operation has also raised questions about the responsibilities of the expedition operator. Baltistan Division Commissioner Kamal Khan said the tour operator had violated mountaineering regulations by failing to arrange the required recovery team and helicopter arrangements.

He said operators are responsible for arranging ground rescue and helicopter insurance when required. The official also alleged that mandatory briefing and debriefing procedures under the Mountaineering Rules 1999 had not been followed.

However, Mr Khan rejected suggestions that negligence had caused the delay, saying local authorities arranged a recovery team soon after the incident on humanitarian grounds.

The ACP stressed that it is Pakistan’s national federation for mountaineering and sport climbing, rather than a dedicated rescue organisation. It said Pakistan still lacks a properly established high-altitude rescue system and called for stronger mountaineering infrastructure.

Dr Asma Mushtaq, originally from Lahore, was a UK-based obstetrics and gynaecology doctor and an avid traveller, vlogger and mountaineer. She had documented several expeditions online and had completed the winter ascent of Musa ka Musallah.

Meanwhile, bad weather has also halted the recovery of US climber Sarah Mallory Geis from Broad Peak. Her body was recovered by three local porters after she went missing in a deadly avalanche on July 30. It remains at Broad Peak base camp awaiting an army helicopter flight to Skardu.

The incidents have once again highlighted the extreme dangers of high-altitude mountaineering — and the urgent need for a reliable rescue system in Pakistan’s towering Karakoram.