THE TEN · #07

03 AUG 2026

Sohail Sakhi:
The Mathematician of Hunza Who Read Mountains in Numbers

A mathematician who read the mountain in numbers, a photographer who loved its lines, and a son of Hunza who planned this as his final expedition.

In the valley of Hunza, at the head of the Karakoram, children grow up with 7,000-metre peaks for neighbours. Sohail Sakhi grew up there, and unlike most, he learned to read the mountains twice — once with his eyes as a climber and photographer, and once with numbers as a mathematician.

A Guide, an Artist, a Thinker

Sakhi worked as a high-altitude guide and mountain photographer for Moving Mountains, one of Pakistan's most respected guiding outfits. His photographs of the Karakoram captured the range's brutal geometry with the eye of a man who understood both the beauty and the danger. Colleagues described him as gentle, meticulous and fiercely proud of his Hunza heritage.

The Final Expedition

In 2026, Sakhi joined the Broad Peak expedition planning what he had quietly said would be his last big season. On 30 July, he was on the west ridge when the avalanche struck. He was among the ten who fell, and among the seven sons of Pakistan and Nepal who gave their lives guiding others toward the summit. Meet the ten →

“A mathematician who read the mountain in numbers, and stayed beneath it for a love of the lines.” — from the memorial

Pakistan lost not just a guide in Sohail Sakhi, but a chronicler — someone who documented the Karakoram for those who would come after. His photographs remain, and in them, the North is still alive.