Greg Mortenson

Greg Mortenson first went to northern Pakistan’s Karakoram mountains in1993 to climb K2. After 78 arduous days, the expedition put two members on K2′s summit. The climb left Greg “physically emaciated and emotionally wasted.”. Fortunately, Greg and his climbing partner Scott Darsney were befriended by two porters who took them to a village to recuperate. They were plied with goat’s milk and hospitality, and soon their strength returned.

Greg’s eyes were also opened up to the harsh reality and unforgiving way of life the indigenous Balti villagers face. The Baltis, who first migrated to the Karakorams 800 years ago from Tibet, are no strangers to adversity. In winter, they crawl into tiny basement dugouts and spend six months huddled together, barely kept warm my smoky yak-dung fires.

Medical care is almost nonexistent. Broken bones go unattended, burns are left untreated, and diseased due to malnutrition are common parts of village life. Blindness and deafness prevail due to untreated chronic infections. Most staggering of all is the 35% infant mortality rate under age one, caused mostly by diarrhea-induced dehydration. Yet, despite all this adversity, the Baltis seem not only to accept their destiny, but to embrace it; the harshness alongside the beauty. They are also acutely aware of their land’s environmental constraints, which a recent influx of foreigners and the nearby India-Pakistan was has incisively changed.

Climbers and trekkers have also altered the socioeconomic status of the region over the last 20 years. Baltis provide the backbone for mountaineering expeditions, ferrying massive loads of gear to base camps. Men leave home during the most critical periods of planting and harvesting to seek out elusive jobs as porters. Now, labor-intensive jobs are the brunt of village women and children. Centuries-old self-sustainable methodologies that rely on local renewable resources have been lost by the way of expedition and trekking trails in pursuit of cash.

The villagers asked Greg and Scott to visit their school. On an open ill-side, they saw 80 children who sat in the dirt diligently doing their lessons without a teacher, as the village could not afford a teacher’s $1 daily pay.

Ironically, only miles away, Pakistan and India spend over $1,000,000 daily on the Siachen glacier war. The children asked for help to build a school, which Greg promised to do without knowing where to start.

Fundraising was first. His ardor did not immediately translate into dollars. He wrote 580 personal letters to climbers, celebrities, and influential people. Only one person, Tom Brokaw, responded. Several more appeals, grant proposals, and slide shows yielded only $2,500. To continue, Greg sold everything he owned, including his car and climbing gear.

Then Greg’s luck turned. Gr. Jean Hoerni, a climber and microchip pioneer, was impressed with Greg’s tenacity and offered to fund the entire project. High-altitude construction in such a inhospitable place is not an easy task. Fist a 282-foot suspension bridge had to be built to get supplies to Korphe. An enthusiastic community rallied to build the bridge in only eight weeks.

A successful first mission encouraged Greg’s enthusiasm and respect for the Baltis. He learned Balti, an archaic Tibetan tongue that has no script, which gave him voluble insight into their culture.

Unforeseen challenges ensued: For years, Pakistani intelligence agents followed Greg everywhere, until his altruistic motives where finally accepted. Greg also endured intense discourse with Shi-ite Muslim religious scholars under the direct auspices of Iranian Ayatollahs. Through candid debates and dialogue that lasted over three years, Greg patiently gained their trust and acceptance. In 1996, Greg received a letter from the Mullahs, endorsed by an Ayatollah that gave his projects their blessing and support. This was a milestone for girls’ education in the region.

Greg’s undaunted efforts paid off after three years when Korphe school was completed in 1996. Since then, Greg has dedicated his full-time efforts to assist underserved mountain communities, through the Central Asia Institute, a non-profit foundation he established in 1996.

By November 1998, Greg raised funds for and established a phenomenal track record of over 80 successful projects, including building nine schools and five potable water systems, planting thousands of trees, establishing two women’s vocational training centers, and setting up environmental education workshops for teachers. Greg attributes the success of projects to the Balti people themselves. “Over time, I’ve learned the only community grassroots-level projects work, initiated by the villagers themselves and run entirely by local communities.’

In 1997, Greg and Brent Bishop initiated Pakistan’s first porter training program emphasizing conservation, hygiene and sanitation, first aid, and crevasse rescue. They also provided support to remove 15,800 pounds of garbage from Karakoram base camps over two years through an incentive program modeled after Brent’s successful ongoing Everest clean-ups.

With Greg’s help, I began a comprehensive eye-care program for the Karakorams in 1997. We provided surgical training to Dr. Niaz Ali, Baltistan’s only eye doctor who serves over 300,000 people. Since then, Dr. Ali has independently performed over 260 successful sight-restoring cataract surgeries.

In 1998, most foreigners left Pakistan after the U.S. Afghanistan bombings and Ned Gillette’s tragic murder. However, Greg quietly remained in Pakistan to make peace with Mullahs, start three new girls’ schools, and build porter latrines on the Baltoro glacier with a grant from Bob McConnell and the Everest Environmental Project.

Louis Reichardt, the first American to summit K2 and an ACC past president, is a staunch supporter of Greg’s work, “I have the utmost respect for Greg and his projects. He has selflessly devoted his entire efforts to begin work where no one had tried before and reached a summit far more significant than any 8,000-meter peak.”

When I asked Greg why he keeps going back to the Karakorams, he replied, “The Balti inspire me. They are proud and happy people, despite all their hardships. Everest, Nepal, and Tibet receive the support of hundreds of organizations. The Baltis have none, yet many thousands of climbers and trekkers enjoy this region annually. It’s time they receive recognition and support for sharing their spectacular mountain home with us and providing the backbone for our adventures.”

If you want to help with a contribution or need more information, please contact: Central Asia Institute, PO Box, Bozeman, MT 59717; Phone 406-5857841; Email cai@ikat.org