peshawer air port under attack

[Irfan Baloch]

@American Eagle thanks for the detailed post
I would print and read it

 

[krash]

I used the Peshawar Airport many times during my tour of duty inside then West Pakistan 1963-65. It is a beautiful site, set in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains, with a scenic perpetual view of K-2, the second tallest mountain in the world.

I was a lay member of the old Karotorum Mountain Climbing Club while at my posting at the old US Embassy then in Karachi I was a Member of the Karachi Yacht Club, where I first learned to sail as a young USAF First Lieutenant.

It helps to remember some of the better scenes and way life was there before radical terrorists abusing the good name of one of the world's major religions came into the picture.

Wait what? Himalayas? You meant the Hindukush. And a scenic perpetual view of K2!?! No offence but where in God's world were you stationed? The Abruzzi camp? Sure wasn't Peshawar.... You can't even see Tirich Mir from there.

 

[American Eagle]

Wait what? Himalayas? You meant the Hindukush. And a scenic perpetual view of K2!?! No offence but where in God's world were you stationed? The Abruzzi camp? Sure wasn't Peshawar.... You can't even see Tirich Mir from there.

Pardner, you are full of it! My higher hq was at Badabur, 18 miles outside of Peshawar. And, yes, you can see K2 all year around, sometimes in season with swirling snow storms at the top of K-2.

We had a large picture window behind the Officers Club Bar at our Badabur base, where you can and could see K-2 day or night, all year long. That base at Badabur today is a PAF military base for one of the PAF advanced officer training courses.

Unless you are standing next to a "tree" or a building in Peshawar that touches the end of your nose you can see K-2. When we landed routinely in our USAF C-130s we had to do a steep climb and drop down to land at the military end/side of the Peshawar Airport, which in my day (1963-65) was the Headquarters of the Pakistani Air Force. I flew in and out of Peshawar on both our USAF C-130s and on PIA twin turbo prop civilian aircraft.

WE did encounter the occasional mountain goat when taking off from Peshawar in a USAF C-130. A field PAF Military Policeman fired a flare pistol at the goat, which he missed. The flare hit our C0130 windshield on the pilot's side. That was a starting experience.

My routine station was at the old US Embassy in Karachi, across the street from the Gymkanna Club. I was Commander, Det. 2, 6937th Comm Gp, My Badabur (Peshawar) higher HQ was the 6937th Communications Group.

Here is the exact information on K-2. Note that I "misspelled" Karatorum, which is correctly spelled KARAKORAM.

"K2 lies in the northwestern Karakoram Range. It is located in the Baltistan region of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang, China.[a]The Tarim sedimentary basin borders the range on the north and the Lesser Himalayas on the south. Melt waters from vast glaciers, such as those south and east of K2, feed agriculture in the valleys and contribute significantly to the regional fresh-water supply. The Karakoram Range lies along the southern edge of the Eurasian tectonic plate and is made up of ancient sedimentary rocks (more than 390 million years old). Those strata were folded and thrust-faulted, and granite masses were intruded, when the Indian platecollided with Eurasia, beginning more than 100 million years ago.[14]

K2 is only ranked 22nd by topographic prominence, a measure of a mountain's independent stature, because it is part of the same extended area of uplift (including the Karakoram, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Himalaya) as Mount Everest, in that it is possible to follow a path from K2 to Everest that goes no lower than 4,594 metres (15,072 ft), at Mustang Lo. Many other peaks which are far lower than K2 are more independent in this sense.

K2 is notable for its local relief as well as its total height. It stands over 3,000 metres (9,840 ft) above much of the glacial valley bottoms at its base. It is a consistently steep pyramid, dropping quickly in almost all directions. The north side is the steepest: there it rises over 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) above the K2 (Qogir) Glacier in only 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) of horizontal distance. In most directions, it achieves over 2,800 metres (9,200 ft) of vertical relief in less than 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).[15]"

You obviously are young, and a know it all. I was there for 18 months, during which time the 1965 India-Pakistan War broke out and I was wounded in a early "scrap" in the Rann of Kutch. This is east of Karachi, the poorly delineated border of then West Pakistan with India down near the Arabian Sea coast.

If you couldn't figure out what I wrote, which was correct but for my sloppy spelling of Karatorum instead of KARAKORAM then just get off the site as you clearly don't know up from down.

 

[krash]

Pardner, you are full of it! My higher hq was at Badabur, 18 miles outside of Peshawar. And, yes, you can see K2 all year around, sometimes in season with swirling snow storms at the top of K-2.

We had a large picture window behind the Officers Club Bar at our Badabur base, where you can and could see K-2 day or night, all year long. That base at Badabur today is a PAF military base for one of the PAF advanced officer training courses.

Unless you are standing next to a "tree" or a building in Peshawar that touches the end of your nose you can see K-2. When we landed routinely in our USAF C-130s we had to do a steep climb and drop down to land at the military end/side of the Peshawar Airport, which in my day (1963-65) was the Headquarters of the Pakistani Air Force. I flew in and out of Peshawar on both our USAF C-130s and on PIA twin turbo prop civilian aircraft.

WE did encounter the occasional mountain goat when taking off from Peshawar in a USAF C-130. A field PAF Military Policeman fired a flare pistol at the goat, which he missed. The flare hit our C0130 windshield on the pilot's side. That was a starting experience.

My routine station was at the old US Embassy in Karachi, across the street from the Gymkanna Club. I was Commander, Det. 2, 6937th Comm Gp, My Badabur (Peshawar) higher HQ was the 6937th Communications Group.

Here is the exact information on K-2. Note that I "misspelled" Karatorum, which is correctly spelled KARAKORAM.

"K2 lies in the northwestern Karakoram Range. It is located in the Baltistan region of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang, China.[a]The Tarim sedimentary basin borders the range on the north and the Lesser Himalayas on the south. Melt waters from vast glaciers, such as those south and east of K2, feed agriculture in the valleys and contribute significantly to the regional fresh-water supply. The Karakoram Range lies along the southern edge of the Eurasian tectonic plate and is made up of ancient sedimentary rocks (more than 390 million years old). Those strata were folded and thrust-faulted, and granite masses were intruded, when the Indian platecollided with Eurasia, beginning more than 100 million years ago.[14]

K2 is only ranked 22nd by topographic prominence, a measure of a mountain's independent stature, because it is part of the same extended area of uplift (including the Karakoram, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Himalaya) as Mount Everest, in that it is possible to follow a path from K2 to Everest that goes no lower than 4,594 metres (15,072 ft), at Mustang Lo. Many other peaks which are far lower than K2 are more independent in this sense.

K2 is notable for its local relief as well as its total height. It stands over 3,000 metres (9,840 ft) above much of the glacial valley bottoms at its base. It is a consistently steep pyramid, dropping quickly in almost all directions. The north side is the steepest: there it rises over 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) above the K2 (Qogir) Glacier in only 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) of horizontal distance. In most directions, it achieves over 2,800 metres (9,200 ft) of vertical relief in less than 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).[15]"

You obviously are young, and a know it all. I was there for 18 months, during which time the 1965 India-Pakistan War broke out and I was wounded in a early "scrap" in the Rann of Kutch. This is east of Karachi, the poorly delineated border of then West Pakistan with India down near the Arabian Sea coast.

If you couldn't figure out what I wrote, which was correct but for my sloppy spelling of Karatorum instead of KARAKORAM then just get off the site as you clearly don't know up from down.

Firstly I meant no disrespect nor did I mean to make fun of you, it was a light comment hinting that someone probably lied to you or you just didn't remember anything at all from your stint here. Your sloppy spellings had very little to do with it.

Now, I've virtually lived half my life up North. Due to, luckily, being born to my parents I became an amateur mountaineer and a Mountain nerd. I have explained on multiple occasions here how and how much I know of Pakistan's north. So trust me when I say that you can't see anything even close to K2 from Peshawar, and I've spent a summer in Badaber, my uncle's a retired air commodore. You can't even see it from Hushe, which is the nearest settlement to K2. From Badaber you only see the lower steps of the Hindu Kush, the Himalayas and, even more so, the Karakoram are long loooong way away.

Seeing K2 is a pretty daunting task. The true, classic and surest way is to trek 7-9 days on the Baltoro Glacier from Askoli to Concordia. The second and the shortest/fastest route is to climb up to Iqbal top or Vertical Top (Discovered around 2010, 6000 something meters high) north east of the Hushe valley. The third and the easiest would be to grab a flight from Skardu. For the latter two you need to pray really really hard that the weather is perfectly clear, which it almost never is. There are myths that you can see K2 from Hombroq and Barahbroq peaks but I've been there, tried it, didn't see jack.

I've made this thread on Concordia with some spectacular pictures of K2 and other peaks, got some of my own in there too. I also explain why K2 is so hard to see and try to give a description of what the area is like. Enjoy,

The Throne Room of Mountain Gods.


ps: The mountain in my avatar is K2, I'm kinda obsessed with it. And if you ever visit Pakistan again do check out the North, bloody spectacular!

On topic:

Glad there were no losses. An areal dog hunt is in demand?

 

[BATMAN]

Unfortunately this what happens, when you have traitors giving terrorists too much time and space.

since all traitors are supported by Imran Khan, i suggest to take him down first.

 

[American Eagle]

June 28, 2009

Here is the exact information on K-2. Note that I "misspelled" Karatorum, which is correctly spelled KARAKORAM.

"K2 lies in the northwestern Karakoram Range. It is located in the Baltistan region of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang, China.[a]The Tarim sedimentary basin borders the range on the north and the Lesser Himalayas on the south. Melt waters from vast glaciers, such as those south and east of K2, feed agriculture in the valleys and contribute significantly to the regional fresh-water supply. The Karakoram Range lies along the southern edge of the Eurasian tectonic plate and is made up of ancient sedimentary rocks (more than 390 million years old). Those strata were folded and thrust-faulted, and granite masses were intruded, when the Indian platecollided with Eurasia, beginning more than 100 million years ago.[14]

K2 is only ranked 22nd by topographic prominence, a measure of a mountain's independent stature, because it is part of the same extended area of uplift (including the Karakoram, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Himalaya) as Mount Everest, in that it is possible to follow a path from K2 to Everest that goes no lower than 4,594 metres (15,072 ft), at Mustang Lo. Many other peaks which are far lower than K2 are more independent in this sense.

K2 is notable for its local relief as well as its total height. It stands over 3,000 metres (9,840 ft) above much of the glacial valley bottoms at its base. It is a consistently steep pyramid, dropping quickly in almost all directions. The north side is the steepest: there it rises over 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) above the K2 (Qogir) Glacier in only 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) of horizontal distance. In most directions, it achieves over 2,800 metres (9,200 ft) of vertical relief in less than 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).[15]"

This map shows a great distance between Peshawar and K2. I was a member of the Karakoram (correct spelling) Mountain Climbing Club. I never climbed any mountains, however. I only sailed competitively as a Member of the Karachi Yacht Club.

Since I and our whole 6937th Comm Group Base at Babadabur, a few miles outside of Peshawar, saw every day, all year around, a very tall, snow peaked mountain to the NE of our base, far off, not nearby, would you know from your life there what the name of "that" mountain peak is?

It can be that we were all misinformed as to "which by name" mountain we saw ever day from both Peshawar and Badabur, then you should be able to name the mountain for me and us...some 51 years since I first saw it both from Peshawar and Badabur?