Kriti Mehrotra
With Apple TV+’s ‘The Last First: Winter K2’ living up to its title in every way conceivable, we get a deep insight into the 2021 race to summit the K2 mountain that turned into tragedy. After all, while a team of 10 Nepalese climbers made it to the top to create history, a total of 5 individuals sadly lost their lives on its treacherous terrain within 3 weeks that season. One of them was a revered Pakistani climber named Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who was making the ascent alongside a couple of foreign friends and his young son, Sajid Ali Sadpara.
Sajid Sadpara Followed in His Father’s Footsteps to be a High-Altitude Guide and Mountaineer
A native of the wondrous Skardu Valley in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, Sajid Ali Sadpara has been surrounded by the beauty of mountains and nature for as long as he can remember. He admittedly grew up with a father who was more a friend than an authoritative figure, so there was always a sense of openness between them that left the youngster inspired and inquisitive. He knew his father’s job was his true passion—that Ali Sadpara not only loved being in the mountains and feeling their freedom but also enjoyed conquering challenging adventures.
Sajid was thus 17 years old when he first accompanied his father on one of his summits for the experience, only to fall head over heels in love with the lifestyle and profession, too. Therefore, he chose to begin learning all that he could from the man he considered his greatest idol and mentor through hands on expeditions, leading them to the second-highest peak on Earth in late 2020. The father-son duo were hired as guides by Icelandic mountaineer John Snorri Sigurjónsson in his quest to be the first person/team lead to ascent K2 in the winters, with his stragtegy being slow and steady. However, things took a turn once other teams also arrived at the K2 basecamp in hopes of securing the same historic record as it created a lot of competition and cold contention.
While a team of 10 Nepalese climbers led by high-profile mountaineer Nirmal “Nims” Purja accomplished the summit on January 16, 2021, John’s team decided to continue their push for the same anyway. They were definately not happy with being left behind since they were the ones who had set up ropes until Camp 2 and provided the Nepalese team with additional cable, but they still wanted the experience. According to the aforementioned documentary, the Sadparas likely also felt an external pressure to keep going since the mountain range is partly in their homeland of Pakistan. However, no one could have expected that a series of unfortunate events would unfold during their attempt, leading to the disappearance of John, Ali, and a friend on February 5.
Sajid Sadpara Was the One Who Found His Father’s Remains on K2
Sajid was with his father, John, and Juan Pablo Prieto, when they decided to make the final push to the summit in the early hours of February 5, 2021, only for Ali to tell his son to descent a short while later. The then-20-year-old did not want to do so, but the regulator on the tank of his supplemental oxygen had malfunctioned and his father did not want him to take any risks, no matter how determined he was. Unfortunately, they lost contact shortly after and then came a storm – Sajid was waiting at Camp 3 for them to make his return until those at the base camp told him the weather was too dangerous. By the time he made it back, he was certain something had gone terribly wrong because he knew the mountains and he knew his father, so he knew they wouldn’t be returning.
Sajid helped in the ensuing search and rescue till it was called off, and then made the trek up to K2 once again 4 and a half months later to find out the truth. He found Juan Pablo in a descening position 670 meters away from camp 3, whereas John was 311 meters from the summit and his father was 100 meters further along the line. They all had sadly gotten caught in the storm, leading to their unfortunate deaths. Sajid subsequently buried Ali right there on the mountain, with his only solace being the fact that he knows his father died doing what he loved.
Sajid Sadpara is Keeping His Father’s Legacy Alive By Continuing to Establish Himself as a Mountaineer
While many would assume the trauma of this entire experience would waiver Sajid’s resolve in wanting a career in the industry, but it didn’t. He had fallen in love with high-altitude mountaineering the same way his father had, so he decided to keep going to keep both his and his father’s dreams alive. Since then, he has not only established the Ali Sadpara foundation for the same but also launched his own business by the name of Sadpara Adventures. When he announced the latter in October 2025, he stated that the “mountains have been my home, my teacher, and my greatest challenge. Now, I want to make them yours. Sadpara Adventures is more than a company; it is an invitation. An invitation to experience the raw, untamed beauty of the Himalayas and Karakoram in Pakistan and beyond with a team you can trust with your life. We don’t just climb; we build resilience, forge bonds, and discover stories within ourselves.”
It’s also imperative to note that while Sajid did not climb anything from February 2021 until he found his buried his father on K2, he has since summitted 9 of the 14 8,000+ peaks in the world without supplimental oxygen. As if that’s not enough, he did so with a photo of his father in his pocket, which he proudly displayed at the summit every single time. Heclimbed the Manaslu in Nepal in September 2022, the Annapurna in Nepal in April 2023, Mount Everest in May 2023, Nanga Parbat in June 2023, and Makalu in May 2026. He has since also organized a clean-up of K2 in 2023, developed a passion for fishing, evolved into an instructor at Sadpara Mountaineering School. Honestly, his career is only just beginning because his love for mountains has remained unwavering. In fact, he recently told Hello Pakistan, “I feel happiest in the mountains. Being surrounded by snow-covered peaks makes me feel more connected to nature and more at peace mentally. Climbing gives me happiness and clarity, and as a professional mountaineer, I truly feel at home there.”
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