Mountain Fund Aids All-Star Pakistani Women's Climb

April 24, 2007

Increasing numbers of all female expeditions are exploring the world's mountain ranges, achieving highly technical climbs in a sport traditionally dominated by men. Pakistani women are ready to join the world of climbing as well. Their country is home to three major mountain ranges - the Himalaya, Karakoram and Pamir - and K2, the second highest mountain in the world. Pakistani women have been unable to learn to climb as cultural norms do not allow contact between men and women who are not directly related and all the climbing instructors in Pakistan are men.

A group of American guides will travel to Pakistan in the summer of 2007 to facilitate a mountaineering course for up to 100 female Pakistani women. The goal of the project is to expose women to the world of climbing and mountaineering. Their experience may lead to careers not previously available to them in a growing tourism industry, in mountain rescue or guiding.

The course will take place on and around the Passu and Batura glaciers in Northern Hunza, followed by an attempt 19,619-foot Kusheikh Peak, near Khunjerab Pass. Training will be progressive, starting with the basics of mountain survival, travel, and safety. Technical rock and ice climbing as well as glacier travel and self-rescue will be taught throughout the course.

The All-Star Guides are: Charlotte Fox, Heidi Kloos, Janet Bergman, Danika Gilbert, Sallie Dean Shatz (photographer) and Cherie Silvera (filmmaker)

The Mountain Fund - www.mountainfund.org is providing equipment and funding to assist in this rare effort to bring Pakistani women into the domain of the climbing world. The climbing camp will be coordinated by the American Alpine Club and the Pakistan Alpine Club. Help make history ! Please visit www.mountainfund.org and make a donation to support this groundbreaking climbing camp for Pakistani women.


About The Mountain Fund:

A Global Community for Change.
What does it mean to be a Global Community For Change? Poverty, its causes and sypmtoms are complex. There is no one size fits cure-all. Education alone isn't enough, healthcare alone won't create postive and lasting change, neither will support of women's and children's programs. As the popular NPR program "The Bioneers" says, its all connected.. Healthcare can help create children who go off to school ready and able to learn. A quality education is needed to prepare young minds for the future. Following an education, job opportunies are needed as well as access to capital for business to create those jobs. A weak link in this chain and the child is forever locked in the poverty cycle. That's why The Mountain Fund supports efforts in all of these areas, it takes more than a village to raise a child. It takes healthy, literate families with access to support, employment and capital.

A totally unique approach:

The Mountain Fund, unlike many nonprofit organizations, does not create new programs and new services in communities where they already exist. A majority of our work is accomplished in partnership with existing community based programs. In many villages, in many countries around the world, good people with strong ties to the community have already identified the need to provide healthcare, build schools, empower women and start micro-finance programs. We build on the prescense and success of these community based organizations and help them to grow stronger and accomplish more. There is no need to re-invent the wheel where a perfectly good wheel exists. We do have a few direct programs that we have started where we were unable to find existing programs to partner with or where our programs add value to to community based parnters we already have.

The Mountain Fund
Scott MacLennan,
Executive Director