Pakistan's Kashif reclimbs Manaslu peak to become youngest alpinist to ascend 12 peaks above 8,000 meters

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan's Shehroze Kashif on Tuesday reclimbed the 8,163-meter (26,781-foot) Manaslu peak in Nepal to officially become the world's youngest mountaineer to climb 12 peaks above 8,000 meters, country's official mountaineering body said.

Kashif, 21, reached the top of Manaslu peak in Nepal – the eighth tallest mountain peak in the world, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said in a statement.

He, along with other climbers, had earlier scaled Manaslu in September 2021, however, the record was not recognized as they developed an alternative route to reach the summit, according to Karrar Haidri, secretary general of Alpine Club of Pakistan.

The opening of the new route, “Rolwaling Diversion,” had grabbed the headlines, raising questions about the mountain’s true summit.

The climbers’ technique to open a new way to reach the true summit, however, was praised by alpinists worldwide.

Kashif has already scaled the world's two tallest mountains, the Mount Everest and K2, becoming the world's youngest mountaineer to make to the top of the world, and Pakistan's youngest climber to climb the world's second-tallest peak respectively.

- Broad Boy

Hailing from the northeastern city of Lahore, Kashif started climbing at the age of 11, gradually scaling peaks ranging from 3,000 meters (9,842 feet) to 8,000 meters (26,246 feet) before ascending Mount Everest and K2.

In 2013, he scaled the 3,885-meter (12,746-foot) Makra Peak, situated in Pakistan's northwestern Mansehra district, while just 11 years old.

His 2019 expedition to the 8,047-meter (26,401-foot) Broad Peak, located in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, earned him the title "The Broad Boy."