Canadian filmmaker Elia Saikaly, who recently followed Sajid Sadpara on his second summit of K2 in search of the bodies of fallen climbers Ali Sadpara and his companions, shared a picture of the Pakistani flag marking the place of Ali Sadpara’s burial, at Camp-4 on K2.
Elia Saikaly, taking to his Instagram penned a heartfelt note for the legendary mountaineer Ali Sadpara, whose dead body was found five months after he went missing during his K2 winter expedition.
The filmmaker recalled the fatal car accident which took his father, back on July 25, 2018, which according to him, was a motivation to accompany Sajid to find his father and the answers to what had happened to the fallen climbers.
He said that Sajid’s spirit and determination was as high as it could be for a son who lost his father to a mystery.
“Sajid was unstoppable, fueled by a determination only a son can have for his fallen and missing father,” the post added.
Saikaly narrated his experience on the high altitude, terming it as a “death zone”, while also thanking the K2 for being “kind” to them.
“The strength, bravery, courage and commitment to his father was one of the powerful forces I’ve ever witnessed. He is his father’s son,” he wrote alongside the post.
The post follows with Saikaly’s narration of how Sajid first buried Juan Pablo under the snow, collecting some of his belongings to give to the family, and then lay his father to rest.
The entire journey would surely have been a heartbreaking one, as Saikaly wrote:
“I hung by my ascender on a 75-degree slope of blue ice and recorded that moment, and all others, as our parallel mission was to honour our missing friends by finishing what we started in winter. We retraced their footsteps, found answers, many which are devastatingly heartbreaking, and we continue to gain insight into exactly what happened.”
He put his belief into words that nothing is impossible if done wholeheartedly, saying, “Lead with your heart, not your ego. One can never go wrong.”
The post reflects Saikaly’s comfort in the end that Ali Sadpara, who he called a snow leopard, rests in peace now.
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