Hello Friends ..
I have been bit out of touch with Pakwheels , I don't know for what reason , I couldn't post & contribute much for last 1 years or so ...Might be One of the reason is my tough job routine , plus since last year extensive travelling in the northern Pakistan kept me busy ..
So coming back to the point , Last year in June ,lucky I got a chance to join the Climbing Expedition team to Mountain Falak ser 5918m ,But sadly in short we could't reach beyond 5325m.....Why ?? How ?? More details will be in the form of Pictures & Climbing report,though I liked one of the Saying of Winston Churchill a bit related to the result of this particular climb that ;
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Plus I would also like to thanks , Sir Hanif bhatti for pushing me a bit to post this topic ,when we met before Islamabad car show 14.
The Falak Ser Peak visible - Picture Taken While Climbing towards Camp 1 from Basecamp
A Story Of a Failed Attempt on Falak Ser 5918M
A six-person Pakistani team, who were assisted by 2 Shimshali HAP?s (High Altitude Porters), attempted Falak Ser - 5,918m in Swat on 23rd June 2014 from the north face of the peak. The official sponsor of the expedition was SNGPL. The team consisted of: Dr. Col. (r) Abdul Jabbar Bhatti (leader), Ahmed Mujtaba, Mehmood Rasheed, Sa`ad Mohamed, Syed Muhammad Jawad & M. Asif Bhatti. Total participants to the training expedition were 16 and the overall expedition team leader was Mr. Nasir Awan of SNGPL. The 5,918 meter high mountain is part of the Siri Dara Group of Hindu Raj Section of Swat.
Itinerary
1. arrival in Kalaam from Islamabad (hotel)
2. free day in Kalaam for sorting/repacking and porter arrangement
3. jeep ride to trail head; Chashma Shifa 2,750m and trek to Base Camp 3,950m
4. free day at Base Camp to reorganize and technical training
5. first sortie to Camp I and trail breaking up to 4,350m
6. second sortie to Camp I and trail breaking up to 4,630m
7. rest day at Base Camp and prep for summit push
8. push to Camp I and overnight at 4,630m
9. push (13 hours) to Camp II - 5,325m and overnight Camp II
10. summit push attempt / route finding Camp II
11. summit push attempt / Auwkha La? decsent Aabshar Point (bivouac)
12. 3 hour?s trek back to trail head; Chashma Shifa + jeep ride to Kalaam
13. chartered transport to Islamabad/Lahore
While the bulk of climbers and trekkers were heading for K2 this year a little known Pakistani expedition to FalakSer was making mountaineering history in Swat. The team left Islamabad on 15th June and arrived in Kalaam the same day. After spending a couple of nights in Kalaam, the SNGPL team left for Chashma Shifa (trail head) by jeep and trekked to the base camp 3,950m the same. It was a long and tiring day and the last of team members to arrive reached the base camp at 9:30pm. The scenic value of the trail, in mid June, was however out of this world and there were numerous waterfalls along the way. The whole river was frozen over and the trekking party took the easier route over the glaciated terrain.
After a rest day at the base camp, the whole team climbed up to 4,300m for acclimatization and load dumping. The second sortie was made the following day and the return route was slightly different this time around. After another rest day a team of 6 climbers and 2 high porters left for Camp I at 4,630m. Early next morning the team started out for Camp II from the north face of the peak but had to face unexpected technical difficulties. The ridge to follow up to Camp II was razor sharp and after Sa?ad?s initial trail breaking efforts, Ahmed Mujtaba took over the hard task of lead climbing. It took the team more than 13 hours to get to Camp II and it was well after sunset when the last team member made it to camp.
The next day was spent in finding a suitable route towards the final ridge for summit assault but no safe route was available. The team also discovered that the cornices on the route from Camp I had collapsed and going back the way we had come from was totally unsafe. The next morning the team descended about a 100m onto the south face of Flak ser and made last ditch efforts for the summit. In the process the team discovered a new pass; Auwkha La? 5,325m. The route was treacherous and full of wide open crevasses. With a heavy heart the team made it down the steep incline of the south face. The route had a significantly large hanging glacier which was in a constant state of breaking into small and large avalanches.
The team made it safely down near the base camp and spent the night out in the open. The next day all the team members made it to Kalaam from where on the team left for Lahore the same night.