Afghan mountaineer's pride at scaling highest peakAn Afghan mountaineer who planted his national flag atop the war-torn nation's highest peak spoke Monday of his pride and hope that the feat will bring development to his impoverished homeland. Malang Daria and Amruddin Sanjar in July became the first Afghans to reach the summit of 7,492-metre (24,580-foot) Mount Noshaq, part of the legendary Hindu Kush Hindu Kush (hĭn`d  k sh), a high mountain system, extending c. in the far northeast Wakhan Corridor The Wakhan Corridor or Wakhan Salient (also spelt as Vakhan; Persian: واخان) is a narrow (in some places less than 10 mi. wide) corridor in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. that connects the country to China.
"This is not only for us -- this is for all Afghans that we have climbed to the top of the highest mountain, and we are so happy. This is a very proud moment for Afghanistan," Daria told AFP (1) (AppleTalk Filing Protocol) The file sharing protocol used in an AppleTalk network. In order for non-Apple networks to access data in an AppleShare server, their protocols must translate into the AFP language. See file sharing protocol. . "When we were small, tourists came to our village and we asked our father why they were coming, and he said they came to plant their country's flag at the top of the mountain," the 35-year-old said. "As we grew up, we had a feeling that one day -- if we became mountain climbers This list of climbers includes both mountaineers and rock climbers, since many (though not all) climbers engage in both types of activities. The list also includes boulderers and ice climbers. , we could also fly our country's flag." Before starting on their expedition on June 26, the Afghans spent nearly a month training in the French Alps The French Alps are those parts of the Alps mountain range which lie in France. They are within the regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur and Rhône-Alpes. The specific subranges of the Alps that are at least partly in France include (from south to north): The expedition made use of 50 porters to bring provisions to a base camp in this remote corner of the country. Their epic climb comes as Afghanistan is in the grip of a worsening insurgency in·sur·gen·cy n. pl. in·sur·gen·cies 1. The quality or circumstance of being rebellious. 2. An instance of rebellion; an insurgence. insurgency, insurgence 1. by Taliban militants, who are waging a bloody battle to regain power after their ouster ouster n. 1) the wrongful dispossession (putting out) of a rightful owner or tenant of real property, forcing the party pushed out of the premises to bring a lawsuit to regain possession. in a US-led invasion in late 2001. The unrest has kept tourists away from the country once popular for its mountain ranges and scenic landscapes, but Daria said he hoped their climb would put his region back on the tourist radar. "This will have a significant impact on the development of our village. In future tourists will know that from this village an Afghan climbed to the top of the mountain," he said. One of the French climbers, Louis Meunier, said the mountaineers braved ice and considerable danger to scale the peak, and their success was a "great, great, achievement" for Afghanistan. "This project has two purposes... to send a symbol of hope and to develop tourism in Wakhan," he said. 
|
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion