It all started over a cup of tea, as things do in Afghanistan. Malang, a cook in the Aga Khan office had a simple question: “Why not go up Noshaq?” And there it was. A straightforward question. The question ‘why not’ probably had many logical and sensible answers: because Afghanistan was a country in conflict; because Afghans had no tradition of mountaineering in the last three decades; because there was no money to back such an impossible dream. In the end, the answer to the question lay in the question itself: “Why not?” And four ordinary Afghans from the Wakhi community in the remote Wakhan corridor set off to climb their country’s highest mountain, Noshaq. On July 19, they became the first Afghan team to reach the top, and Noshaq now proudly flies the Afghan colours, planted there by Malang the cook and Amruddin, a Wakhi farmer.

The Wakhan corridor, which lies in the northeastern province of Badakshan, is no stranger to mountaineers. Through 
the 60s and 70s it drew adventure tourists, lured by its breathtaking beauty, 
its virgin peaks and what Italian mountaineer Carlo Alberto Pinelli called, ‘ideal climbing conditions’.

In earlier times, the Wakhan had fascinated travellers from far-off continents, drawn by the mysticism of the ancient Oxus river which runs through the corridor, the gentle inhabitants of the land and its central location on the silk route, surrounded by the Hindukush, the Karakoram and the Pamir mountain ranges. More recent history made it a battlefield when the Wakhan became the buffer between Tsarist Russia and the British Empire. Today, it forms the boundary that India would have with Afghanistan, if it could claim the disputed territory.

But the conflict which began in Afghanistan in the late 70s ended Wakhan’s links with the outside world abruptly, condemning the area to increasing isolation, made even worse by the crippling economic block imposed by the Taleban on the only province in the country they could not occupy. Even today, the area suffers from its remoteness. Its arid climate supports little more than subsistence level agriculture, making it dependent on the flow of goods along the solitary road through the corridor, which remains blocked during much of the long winter.

For Malang, Amruddin the farmer, Afiyat Khan the mason and Gurg Ali, the teacher, climbing Noshaq was much more than an indulgence. They hoped their achievement would put Noshaq and Wakhan back on the map as a place to be visited by international travellers, encouraging much needed revenue into the community.

There is no reason why it should not. The area is one of the safest in Afghanistan, its gentle Wakhi and Kyrghyz communities are welcoming, and a small but growing trickle of international visitors have been making their way there each year. An eco-tourism project, initiated by the Aga Khan Foundation, has helped provide facilities for travellers to the area.

Afiyat and Gurg Ali did not make it to the top of the mountain this year, though they made it to the third base camp. But already the tide is turning in their favour. In early August, they are scheduled to work as guides for an international group visiting the Wakhan. If the steady work continues, Afiyat Khan may well realise his ultimate dream, launching a career as a guide. It is a long cherished dream for him. When I met Afiyat in 2007 in the Wakhan, he had a trowel in his hand, working as a master mason on the visitors’ centre for the proposed Pamir National Park. He had become a daily wage labourer after his father died when he was young. During the war, he fought with the Mujahideen, a young soldier who helped keep the Taleban out of the area. But fighting was not in his blood, instead he was drawn to his father’s stories of working with international tourists. When I met him, he had already enrolled into several mountaineering courses, conducted by Pinelli to revive mountaineering with local community involvement, and had been to the Alps for further training.

It is a group of three young Frenchmen who finally made his dream possible: Louis Meunier, Jerome Veyret and Nicolas Fasquell. All three have lived and worked in Afghanistan and, believing that the country was ready for such an attempt, decided to go against the odds to organise this expedition. They were supported by the Aga Khan Foundation, USAID, the French Embassy and the mountaineering company Millet, but when they fell short of meeting the expenses, they put in their own money. Before they set off, Meunier explained the rationale of the expedition. “It is a symbolic expedition, to plant an Afghan flag as a symbol of hope and achievement for Afghanistan.”

This year, Meunier took the team of four training in Chamonix, France, before their Noshaq attempt. The Alps prepared them, but Noshaq is harder. Mont Blanc, which tops the Alps, stands at 4,810 metres, while Noshaq, the second highest in the Hindukush, towers at 7,492 metres and even the third base camp stands at 6,902 metres.

The expedition calls itself ‘Afghans to the Top’ and its mission statement is to send a message of peace through this attempt and to illustrate “the determination of Afghans to overcome difficulties and bring peace and success to a country torn apart by 30 years of war”.

By demonstrating their will, determination and ability to dream against the odds, the four ordinary Wakhis have demonstrated that, despite ongoing conflict, life and living does not have to stop.