Amir Mehdi (sometimes spelled Amir Mahdi, and also known as Hunza Mehdi) was a
Pakistani mountaineer and porter known for being part of the team which managed the first successful ascent of
Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...
in 1953, and of
K2 in 1954 with an Italian expedition. He, along with the Italian mountaineer
Walter Bonatti
Walter Bonatti (; 22 June 1930 – 13 September 2011) was an Italian mountain climber, explorer and journalist. He was noted for many climbing achievements, including a solo climb of a new route on the south-west pillar of the Aiguille du Dru i ...
, are also known for having survived a night at the highest open bivouac - - on K2 in 1954.
Nanga Parbat (1953)
![Ice Axe of Amir Mehdi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Ice_Axe_of_Amir_Mehdi.jpg)
In July 1953 a German-Austrian team went for expedition to Nanga Parbat. The expedition was organized by the half-brother of Willy Merkl, Karl Herrligkoffer from Munich, while the expedition leader was Peter Aschenbrenner from Innsbruck, who had participated in the 1932 and 1934 attempts.
Hermann Buhl
Hermann Buhl (21 September 1924 – 27 June 1957) was an Austrian mountaineer. He was innovative in applying Alpine style to Himalayan climbing. His accomplishments include the first ascents of Nanga Parbat in 1953 and Broad Peak in 1957.
Ear ...
, one of team member made it to the top and became first person to reach the summit. He was assisted by two high altitude porters from
Hunza Hunza may refer to:
* Hunza, Iran
* Hunza Valley, an area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan
** Hunza (princely state), a former principality
** Hunza District, a recently established district
** Hunza River, a waterway
** Hunza Peak, a mou ...
, Amir Mehdi and Haji Baig. They later helped Buhl during his descent, when he was caught by frostbite and lost his crampon.
K2 (1954)
During the
Italian expedition, he and
Walter Bonatti
Walter Bonatti (; 22 June 1930 – 13 September 2011) was an Italian mountain climber, explorer and journalist. He was noted for many climbing achievements, including a solo climb of a new route on the south-west pillar of the Aiguille du Dru i ...
were stranded by
Achille Compagnoni
Achille Compagnoni (26 September 1914 – 13 May 2009) was an Italian mountaineer and skier. Together with Lino Lacedelli on 31 July 1954 he was in the first party to reach the summit of K2.
Biography
Compagnoni was born in Santa Caterina d ...
and
Lino Lacedelli
Lino Lacedelli (4 December 1925 – 20 November 2009) was an Italian mountaineer. Together with Achille Compagnoni, on 31 July 1954 he was the first man to reach the summit of K2.
Early life
Lacedelli was born in Cortina d'Ampezzo. His climbi ...
, who wanted to prevent Bonatti from reaching the summit, and were forced to huddle on an ice ledge overnight at , the highest ever open bivouac at the time.
As Mehdi was wearing standard army boots, he lost all his toes to
frostbite
Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the han ...
and spent 8 months in hospital recovering from the ordeal.
It was later revealed that Compagnoni had deliberately moved the camp because he wanted to prevent Bonatti and Mehdi from joining the summit bid. Compagnoni apparently feared that Bonatti, who was younger and fitter, was going to steal the limelight, perhaps by climbing without supplemental oxygen. Compagnoni intended for Mehdi and Bonatti to see that the bivouac tent was out of reach, and return to a lower camp, but night fell, and Mehdi was in no condition to climb back down, so the two had to dig into snow for shelter.
Unlike his Italian colleagues, Mehdi hadn't been given proper high-altitude snow boots. He was wearing regular army boots - according to some reports, they were two sizes too small for him. He developed severe frostbite, and was unable to walk by the time he reached base camp. He had to be carried on a stretcher to a hospital in the town of Skardu, where he was given first aid, and transferred from there to a military hospital in Rawalpindi. Doctors had no choice but to amputate all his toes to prevent gangrene from spreading. He was not released from the hospital until eight months later.
When he finally returned home to his village in Hunza, Mehdi put away his ice axe and told his family he never wanted to see it again.
Life and career
Mehdi left mountaineering after the K2 attempt. The Italian government claimed it awarded him a pension, but his son denied this. Amir served briefly as a government servant of Pakistan, before living out the rest of his modest life in his hometown
Hassanabad
Hassanabad ( hi, हसनाबाद) is a Shia dominated area of Srinagar district, Kashmir, India. It is located on the western banks of the Dal Lake. The population is approximately 4000.
It has one of the oldest Shia mosque
A mosq ...
.
Mehdi died of old-age in 1999, in
Hunza Hunza may refer to:
* Hunza, Iran
* Hunza Valley, an area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan
** Hunza (princely state), a former principality
** Hunza District, a recently established district
** Hunza River, a waterway
** Hunza Peak, a mou ...
.
Awards and titles
* The Italian government awarded him the rank of
cavaliere
The Italian honours system is a means to reward achievements or service to the Italian Republic, formerly the Kingdom of Italy including the Italian Social Republic.
Orders of chivalry
Italian Republic
There are five orders of knighthood ...
.
* Mehdi also received Italian civilian medal, Al Valor Civile.
* Mehdi was given the title of 'Hunza Tiger' for the services rendered during the ascent of Nanga Parbat in 1953.
See also
Nazir Sabir
Nazir Sabir (Urdu: نذیر صابر ) is a Pakistani mountaineer. He was born in Hunza. He has climbed Mount Everest and four of the five 8000 m peaks in Pakistan, including the world's second highest mountain K2 in 1981, Gasherbrum II 8 ...
Ashraf Aman
Ashraf Aman ( ur, اشرف امان , born 15 January 1938) is a Pakistani mountaineer, adventurer, and engineer. In 1977, he became the first Pakistani to reach the summit of K2. He operates the travel and tourism-based company "Adventure T ...
Samina Baig Samina may refer to:
* MS Express Samina, a ferry, built in 1966, that collided with a rock in 2000
* Mesothen samina, a moth species
Places
* Samina (river), of Liechtenstein and Austria, tributary of the Ill
* Samina (Andoma), a tributary of the ...
Meherban Karim
Meherban Karim (21 January 1979 – 2 August 2008) was a Pakistani mountaineer. He lost his life, along with 10 other mountaineers, in the 2008 K2 disaster, following an avalanche in what was to be one of the deadliest accidents in the history ...
Hunza Valley
The Hunza Valley ( bsk, , Wakhi: '; ur, ) is a mountainous valley in the northern part of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, formed by the Hunza River, bordering Ishkoman to the northwest, Shigar to the southeast, Afghanistan's Wa ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehdi, Amir
Pakistani mountain climbers
1913 births
Place of birth missing
1999 deaths
People from Hunza
People from Gilgit-Baltistan
Ismailis
Pakistani amputees