Every climbing season, the porters in the Karakorum risk their lifes, endure hard work and harsh conditions to satisfy the ambitions of wealthy clients and their ambitious Expedition companies. They do that without proper equipment and for very low salary. A low porter, carrying stuff to basecamp earns around $55 a season. A High Altitude Porter (HAP) working at the 8000-meter mountains, climbing repeatedly up and down, earns around $800 per season. The Clients pay around $50,000. The porters are at the bottom of the 'line of command', they have no rights, no voice - just to follow orders.

This year, Murtaza, a Pakistani HAP was left high up on Broadpeak like disposable garbage. Luckily a climber bothered, gave up his own Summit attempt and safed Murtaza, who survived. 

Mohammad on K2 was not that lucky. He was inexperienced, had never been a HAP and had insufficient gear, yet he was put on the 'fixing team' and sent up towards the summit, where he died.

We knew Mohammad aka Mahsan from back in 2017, when he was our porter. We kept in touch with them through the years and they always were sending us updates from the climbing season in the Karakorum. Though they would tell a different story than the shiny and glorious blogs and articles in the media. On the contrary, their messages, videos and calls tell of exhaustion, fear, struggle and hopelessness, but also of friendship, pride and love for the beautiful mountains of the Karakorum. They dream of little - just of a better life for their children, so that they don't need to do the same shitty job like their fathers.

Help to give the porters a voice, a future and a life with dignity. We demand a reliable Fairtrade certification in the Expedition business, which guarantees the porters (or any other local workers in the business) safe, just and reliable working conditions. Let's make both clients and companies responsible so that the porters do not end up like disposable bodies on the mountains. 

Contact : juvato@proton.me

More information :

https://www.insider.com/death-k2-real-story-climbers-stepped-dying-man-kristin-harila-2023-8