Work > Monuments and other Follies

Amir Mehdi, one of the unacknowledged Sherpas (porters) who accompany mountaineers but become silent witnesses of events, never to be named in the expedition team.

Mehdi, from Hunza was on the first expedition of Italian mountaineers to climb the summit of K2. Unfortunately, on the last day him and another younger Italian were duped, not having found their moved encampment, they spent the night without any covering. Ill-equipped for the climb, Mehdi lost his toes to frostbite. He was never compensated or given credit, while the experienced Italians climbers were celebrated for decades. Mehdi's injuries become a diplomatic row for a short while but was soon forgotten forever.