Terrorism and Mountaineering: The dangerous truth

Appalachia, June 2003

Mountaineering in Afghanistan was essentially destroyed by the Russian invasion in the 1980s, the subsequent disorder, the Taliban excesses, and of course, by the recent war following the events of Sept. 11, 2001. To what extent the destruction of mountaineering was due to fear of terrorism, as opposed to an eminently reasonable disinclination by mountaineers to climb in a war zone heavily pocked with unmarked minefields, is uncertain.

The present situation in Nepal and Pakistan differs from earlier examples in several ways. First is the premier importance of the two countries in mountaineering. As only one example of this primacy, thirteen of the famous 8,000-m peaks lie at least in part in either Nepal or Pakistan, and the fourteenth, Shishapangma, can be easily climbed in an illegal but economical foray from Nepalese territory. Second, both countries have (or had) an elaborate system of permits and controls which requires long planning and some financial commitment from mountaineers hoping to attempt major peaks. Thus, minor terrorist incidents may cause a trekking group to modify the location of their vacation, but a climbing expedition is more hesitant to make last-minute changes. Lastly, particularly in Pakistan, the terrorist groups may now have a specific animus toward Americans and other Westerners, which might cause violent encounters not resolvable by the modern equivalent of “a few kopeks.”