Imran Junaidi

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Imran Junaidi
Personal information
NationalityPakistani
BornIslamabad, Pakistan
Websitewww.pakistanalpine.com/home/our-team/imranjunaid/
Climbing career
Type of climberRock climbing, mixed climbing, mountaineering
Known forFirst Pakistani sscent of Little Trango

Imran Junaidi (Urdu-عمران جنیدی) was a rock climber and mountaineer from Islamabad, Pakistan. He is best known for first Pakistani ascent of Malika Parbat (5,290 m (17,360 ft)),[1] and a new route on little Trango (5,455 m (17,897 ft))[2] in the Trango group. In 2015 Junaidi along with two other teammates went missing[3] while on an expedition in the Himalayan mountains in Kashmir. A search operation was initiated which ended after about three weeks without any success. Junaidi was 33.

Climbing[edit]

Imran Junaidi was a passionate climber. He had been engaged in outdoor pursuits since 1998. Junaidi was the winner of several national level rock climbing competitions, and he had an exceptional record in mix and rock climbing expeditions.

Competition records
  • 3rd place at All Pakistan Rock Climbing Competition - 2010 (18+), Jasmine Center Maragalla Hills, 2010[4]
  • 1st place at IMD 2010 Climbing Competition ( 19 + / Open ), Ibex club Islamabad, 2010[5]
  • 2nd place at IMD 2010 Climbing Competition ( Open – Pro/Tech ), Ibex club Islamabad, 2010[6]
  • 1st Place at 5th Pakistan Open Rock Climbing Competition on IWD - 2011 (Professional Difficulty), Jasmine Center Maragalla Hills, 2011[7]
  • 1st Place at Pakistan Day Rock Climbing Competition - 2011 (Speed climbing), Islamabad, 2011[8]
  • 2nd Place at IMD Pakistan Open Climbing Competition - 2011 (18+), Ibex club Islamabad, 2011[9]

In 2014 he took part in an exploratory expedition to find out possibilities of frozen waterfall climbing in the Kaghan valley of Pakistani Himalayas.[10]

Mountaineering[edit]

In 2012 he climbed Malika Parbat(5,290 m (17,360 ft)) in Kaghan Valley of Pakistan.[11] It is the highest peak of Hazara division and considered to be very technical. Malika parbat is reported to be first climbed by British army officers in 1940.[1] Junaidi attempted it with a Danish climber Jens J. Simonsen(Deputy head of mission at the Danish Embassy in Islamabad[12]). On 27 July 2012 they followed the north ridge to gain the summit.[13][14]

In July 2014 he successfully climbed "Little Trango", a 5,445 m (17,864 ft) granite tower in the Trango group in the Karakoram mountains. On reaching the base camp, he along with his two climbing partners Usman Tariq and Owais Khattak spent three days transporting gear to the high camp at 4,800 m (15,700 ft) at the base of the tower. He and Usman started on the southwest side of the formation but reached a dead end and had to traverse right to join the American route[15] on the south face. In total, the duo climbed 250 m (820 ft) at 5.10d A0 in two days. Imran Junaidi lead all the nine pitches and they decided to name the route "Eid Mubarak".[2][16]

Other activities[edit]

Imran Junaidi was one of the founding members of Pakistan Alpine Institute.[17] He also engaged in route setting. He is responsible for some new challenging routes in the Margalla hills near Islamabad which he bolted with John Arran.[18] He also took part in exploration and setting up routes at Chenab Rocks in central Punjab in October 2012.[19] He has also engaged in climbing/rescue training,[20] social work[21] and motivational speaking.[22] He is nationwide famous for taking initiatives. He is the pioneer of big wall climbing in Pakistan[16]

Death[edit]

Imran Junaidi was on an expedition in August 2015 with two other climbers Usman Tariq and Khurram Shehzad. They were attempting the 6,326-metre (20,755 ft) Sarwali peak (also called Toshe Ri) in Neelum valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan which is a neighbor of the notorious Nanga Parbat massif. On 30 August they established a high camp at 5,000 m (16,000 ft). The next day they were last seen at around 5,500 m (18,000 ft) after which communication was lost with the base camp. After continued radio silence base camp manager Awais descended to the nearest town Kel and requested search and rescue on 4 September. A search and rescue was started on 7 September.[3][23] After about 2–3 weeks the search operation was called off. Judging by the region of the highest camp reached and terrain, falling into a crevice was decided to be the most probable cause of the accident.[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Malika Parbat North (5,222 m), north ridge ascents". American Alpine Journal. 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Little Trango, Eid Mubarak - AAC Publications - Search The American Alpine Journal and Accidents In North American Mountaineering". publications.americanalpineclub.org. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Three Pakistani Climbers Missing on Toshe Ri (6,325 m (20,751 ft)); Search and Rescue Efforts Continue". Altitude Pakistan blog. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  4. ^ "All Pakistan Rock Climbing Competition - 2010 (5-8 March, 2010) - Report" (PDF). rockclimbing.pk. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  5. ^ "IMD - 2010 CLimbing competition (10-11 Dec, 2010) - Report" (PDF). rockclimbing.pk. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  6. ^ "IMD - 2010 CLimbing competition (10-11 Dec, 2010) - Report" (PDF). rockclimbing.pk. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Pakistan Open Rock Climbing Competition on IWD - 2011 (5th March, 2011) - Report" (PDF). rockclimbing.pk. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Pakistan Day 2011 OPEN ROCK CLIMBING COMPETITION (23rd March, 2011) - Report" (PDF). rockclimbing.pk. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  9. ^ "IMD 2011 – Pakistan Open Climbing Competition (9-11 December, 2011) - Report" (PDF). rockclimbing.pk. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Frozen Waterfall Climbing – Kaghan Valley - Report". pakistanalpine.com. January 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  11. ^ "The Adventure Club Pakistan news Issue no. 51" (PDF). The Adventure Club Pakistan. adventureclub.com.pk. September 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  12. ^ Akhtar, Tazeen. "Pakistani-Danish Friendship Takes on New Heights.Malika Parbat (North Peak) at 5290 meter reached". pakistanintheworld.com. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  13. ^ "The great ascent: Danish diplomat, local climber scale Malika Parbat". The Express Tribune. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Dansk diplomat kravler til tops i Pakistan". AVISEN DK. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Josh Wharton: The Alpinist". www.rockandice.com. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  16. ^ a b "Capital's climbers scale Trango Braak in G-B". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Imran Junaidi, Vice President (Expedition)". Pakistan Alpine Institute. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  18. ^ Arran, John (June 2011). "Islamabad Cragging". www.ukclimbing.com. ukclimbing.com. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  19. ^ "The Adventure Club Pakistan issue no. 49" (PDF). The Adventure Club Pakistan. adventureclub.com.pk. March 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  20. ^ "Photos: The other Pakistan". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  21. ^ "The Adventure Club Pakistan news issue no. 43" (PDF). The Adventure Club Pakistan. adventureclub.com.pk. September 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  22. ^ "The Adventure Club Pakistan news issue no. 52" (PDF). The Adventure Club Pakistan. adventureclub.com.pk. December 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  23. ^ "Nine days on, still no clue about missing climbers". Dawn News. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  24. ^ "Hope fades for missing climbers". Dawn News. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.

External links[edit]

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