Muhammad Ali Sadpara

**Muhammad Ali Sadpara (1976–2021)**

Muhammad Ali Sadpara was a celebrated Pakistani mountaineer, born on February 2, 1976, in the village of Sadpara near Skardu, northern Pakistan. He passed away on February 5, 2021. Starting his journey as a porter, his love for the mountains soon led him to join international expeditions.

Sadpara made history as part of the team that completed the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat. His teammates Alex Txikon and Simone Moro credited his brilliance as essential to their success. He remains the only Pakistani to have summited four 8,000-meter peaks within one calendar year. In 2015, his team's winter attempt on Nanga Parbat fell short, but they returned in 2016 to reach the top—a landmark first. He summited Nanga Parbat four times in total. In January 2018, he joined Alex Txikon and six Sherpas for a winter Everest attempt without supplemental oxygen, but fierce winds forced them to turn back at Camp 4 the next month. That June, Marc Batard enlisted him for the five-year "Beyond Mount Everest" program, targeting Nanga Parbat, K2, and Everest in 2019, 2021, and 2022.

His remarkable record includes eight of the fourteen 8,000-meter peaks: Gasherbrum II (2006), Spantik (2006), Nanga Parbat (2008), Muztagh Ata (2008), Nanga Parbat (2009), Gasherbrum I (2010), Nanga Parbat (2016), the first winter ascent of Broad Peak (2017), Nanga Parbat (2017), the first autumn ascent of Pumori (2017), the first winter ascent of K2 (2018), Lhotse linked with Makalu (2019