Tirich Mir
At 7,708 meters Tirich Mir is the highest mountain in the Hindu Kush range, the highest mountain outside the Himalayan-Karakoram range and the 33rd highest mountain in the world. In my previous post I explained how our wool is made at its feet.
Independent of its height Tirich Mir is remarkable for lots of different reasons. Firstly it dominates the Chitral valley in the most awe-inspiring way. As you fly into the tiny Chitral airport Tirch Mir floats high above the aircraft, a blinding-white chunk of land, which seems out of place so deep into the sky. Once on the ground the mountain is inescapable, a constant presence, far to the West, but appearing deceptively close due to its scale and brilliance.
The human story of Tirich Mir is beguiling too: first climbed in 1950 by the Norwegian mountaineer turned eco-philosopher Arne Naess, the mountain has played its part in the environmental movement of the twentieth century. Before Naess people in Chitral had imagined presences on summit of Tirich Mir, djinns (demons) were said to haunt its slopes. More profoundly though, the summit was understood to be the meeting place of mountain top fairies. These fairies played and still play an important role in the pre-Islamic religions of the region, guarding the purest places, beyond the polluting reach of man.
At 7,708 meters Tirich Mir is the highest mountain in the Hindu Kush range, the highest mountain outside the Himalayan-Karakoram range and the 33rd highest mountain in the world. In my previous post I explained how our wool is made at its feet.
Independent of its height Tirich Mir is remarkable for lots of different reasons. Firstly it dominates the Chitral valley in the most awe-inspiring way. As you fly into the tiny Chitral airport Tirch Mir floats high above the aircraft, a blinding-white chunk of land, which seems out of place so deep into the sky. Once on the ground the mountain is inescapable, a constant presence, far to the West, but appearing deceptively close due to its scale and brilliance.
The human story of Tirich Mir is beguiling too: first climbed in 1950 by the Norwegian mountaineer turned eco-philosopher Arne Naess, the mountain has played its part in the environmental movement of the twentieth century. Before Naess people in Chitral had imagined presences on summit of Tirich Mir, djinns (demons) were said to haunt its slopes. More profoundly though, the summit was understood to be the meeting place of mountain top fairies. These fairies played and still play an important role in the pre-Islamic religions of the region, guarding the purest places, beyond the polluting reach of man.
Tirich Mir from theworldmountain.blogspot.co.uk
Tirich Mir looming over Chitral valley. From Zerega at www.panoramio.com.
Tirich Mir from Shahi Masjid in Chitral town.
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