Little Karim
Muhammad Abdul Karim, or Little Karim, the seasoned mountain porter, will be recognized for his climbing abilities and dedication.
On April 4, the nation suffered a devastating loss when Abdul Karim, also known as Little Karim, died. Even while he assisted famous climbers in scaling the Karakorum peaks, Karim, 68, remained unnoticed, modest, and appreciative of the adventures life had in store for him. He leaves behind four boys, four daughters, and a wife.
Karim was an experienced mountain porter from Hushe in the Ghanche area of north Pakistan, whose climbing talents and dedication allowed him to reach some of the world’s highest peaks despite his diminutive size. As a youngster with limited access to schools in his valley, Karim acquired an early passion for climbing the hills that surrounded him on all sides. Karim came to Skardu city as a young guy in 1976, determined to find employment as a porter for the mountain climbing companies that had come into the region.
In 1978, famous British mountaineer Chris Bonington had a choice of roughly 200 porters for his team’s attempt to summit the K2. He kept telling Karim that he was “too small” to join the squad. Karim would not give up. He was dead set on making the team. Undaunted, Karim maneuvered himself around Bonington, slid his head between the British mountaineer’s knees, and pulled the two-meter-tall Bonington onto his shoulders. Then he dashed across the open pitch.
As the other porters laughed, Bonington was taken by Karim’s daring and granted his demand. Karim was a member of the expedition to K2. Tiny Karim became internationally known as the famed high-altitude porter from Skardu. Despite the fact that he had proven himself to several climbing teams, they appeared hesitant to bring him along, choosing better-built high-altitude porters instead. Yet, he was always able to disprove his detractors. Tiny Karim’s tenacity helped him ascend a 7,000-meter mountain on his first expedition with a climbing team.
Laurent Chevallier, a French documentary filmmaker, directed Little Karim in 1985. It was widely praised in France and throughout Europe. Chevallier revisited the porter for the second time in 1997 for the film Mister Karim, and then for the third time for another film on the same theme. Tiny Karim went on to become the head of the jury for a French film prize, which was a tremendous honor for Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Tiny Karim worked as a guide for Western tourists embarking on high-altitude adventures in the 1970s and 1980s, carrying up to 25kg of gear on his back as he fought the bitter weather of the north. In 1985, he set a world record by climbing the 8,035m-high Gasherbrum 2 without supplementary oxygen.
Jean-Marc Boivin’s mountaineering crew had also arrived for Boivin’s hang glide from the top of Gasherbrum 2. When a French videographer saw Karim carrying the hefty glider on his shoulders, he decided to film the incident. Everyone in France was surprised by Little Karim’s brilliance when he returned to France and aired the picture.
Added to his list of accomplishments are his numerous rescue exploits, in which he repeatedly put himself in danger to save other mountaineers. Karim was nothing less than a superman.
A young lady climber became unwell at Camp 3 on Broad Peak. Karim was sent from the base camp with medicine. He scaled Broad Peak in just three hours and saved her life. Another occasion, in 1986, a Spanish climber gave up while descending Broad Peak. At 7,700 metres, the climber ran out of energy and declared himself unable to move. He practically begged Little Karim to leave him behind and continue on his way.
Karim was lucky to escape many difficult situations, despite the fact that many of the ladies and men with whom he climbed died in climbing mishaps. He fell three times into crevasses, his closest brush with death. Karim also motivated his granddaughters to pursue careers as climbers. In 2018, they set a world record by ascending the 6,080-meter Manglesser summit in the Shimshal valley.
Tiny Karim, who had spent his whole life as a mountaineer, managed a modest shop in Hushe, his birthplace, in his early 60s. In 1999-2000, while travelling Canada for a K-2 film, he developed jaundice and was unable to climb peaks higher than 7,000 metres. Karim afterwards attempted to create a school for local children, educate them, and teach them to be mountain walkers as a tribute to the area. The community provided little to no assistance.
Numerous Skardu tour providers began utilising Little Karim’s name and photographs to attract visitors and mountaineers. Karim was unaware of this and was not compensated. In 2016, Karim was diagnosed with liver cancer. Towards the end of January, his health began to worsen dramatically.
Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan declared that the government will pay for his son’s medical care and provide employment to those who have been unable to find work since the outbreak. The announcement came after the mountaineer’s son attempted to sell a Cristiano Ronaldo-signed T-shirt, and social media users urged the government to intervene. The footballer gave the T-shirt to Little Karim on a visit to Spain in 2018.
Karim, sadly, has passed away. After a protracted fight with liver cancer, he died in the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi. Funeral prayers were said at Sofia Mosque. The mountains will never forget Tiny Karim, the brave lion.
Legend never die ,, little karim