Pakistani mountaineer Muhammad Karim, popularly known as Little Karim, has died in Rawalpindi at the age of 71. Little Karim, who breathed his last at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), was diagnosed with liver cancer. Born in the Houshe Valley of Ghanche District in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), the renowned climber set a world record in 1988 by climbing the 8,035-meter-high Gasherbaram 2 without extra oxygen.
Pakistani mountaineer Muhammad Karim died at the age of 71
Little Karim, who reached Skardu in 1976 to fulfill his dream of becoming a porter at high altitudes, climbed the 8,003-meter-high Gasherbrum-1 in 1985 and the 8,048-meter-high peak Broad Pack in 1986. Kareem worked as a guide and porter for Western tourists who embarked on high-altitude expeditions in the ’70s and 80s. His life and career were documented in 3 French films. The Gilgit-Baltistan government has announced funding for medical treatment after Little Karim’s ailing Pran’s son tried to sell footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s signed jersey.
