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Hunting the Himalayan Ibex.
In the land of the Himalayas dwells an animal so majestic with its curved knotted horns,so fleet footed it can stand on a small rock on all four feet and so tough it can brave the cold of minus 30* C.that even sighting it let alone hunting it , is a rare pleasure.

About 3 years ago the Wild life Dept for the first time issued a few hunting permits at a cost of US$25000 for foreigners but much less for the local citizens.I managed to get hold of one permit and immediately started preparations for the hunt which was to take place during Dec.& Jan During the winters due to heavy snowfall the animal comes down the mountains in search of food and thats the time it can be hunted.

I started my journey from the port city of Karachi ,flew to Islamabad and drove down to Gilgit a town at a height of 5000 ft..a 15 hr. drive.Here one can get the latest gear related to mountain climbing and camping legacy of various climbing expeditions, members of which,on their way back,dump all their gear at throwaway prices.

The next step was a journey of about 3 hrs.to Hunza,a pictureous little town at 8000 ft.surrounded by the majestic peaks of Nangaparbat,Rakaposhi and the mighty K2 (three of the highest peaks in the world). A stopover of 24 hrs. mainly to get acclimatized and then onto the Kunjareb Pass connecting China to Pakistan.

Milestone showing height of Kunjerab Pass i.e. 15072 ft.

The pass reaches heights of 15000 ft. and at a place called Sust at 14000ft.we stopped at a small resthouse to plan the assault.

Cockskill at height of 15072 ft. near Kunjerab Pass.

Our party consisting of 3 local guides,a game warden and a police guard set out the next day to the place where the animals had been sighted , a trek of 2 hrs. by Jeep and a 3 hr. walk thru valleys and ravines.The next night was spent at a small village at about 16000ft. with no basic amenities and just a fire to keep us warm.Even with my warm Alpine ski suit,layers of thermals,gloves and what not I could not keep the cold out and endured several bouts of shivering.

Valley and ravine, where we searched for the Ibex.

The next morning we again started walking and climbing and around noon spotted the first herd of Ibex at a distance of about 800 yds.There were three good heads in the herd of 9 animals.We started the stalk trying to get downwind and creeping up to within 250 yds. any further and we would have spooked them.My guide advised me to take a shot at the largest animal which according to him had 40 inch plus horns,a definite trophy.My first shot hit the animal in the hip about a foot to the right of where I had aimed but somehow I managed to plug in two more while it was on the run and dropped it It was a fine animal with 44 inch horns and in its prime.

The ugly one is me and handsome one the ibex

Later on I came to know that since my scope was zeroed at sea level it had to be re-zeroed as at very high altitudes it goes off.After the celeberations and handshakes we started back towards the village.It was 4:30 p.m. and starting to get dark& suddenly the wind picked up,the windchill factor dropped and it became freezingly cold.My guides advised me not to stop moving in fact they told me to hop & jump to keep the circulation going or else I would get hypothermia. We were to forced to take refuge in a cave around a fire & stayed up the whole night as sleep was not possible. In the morning we started back once again & on the way came across some snow pheasants, a rare and beautiful bird, two of which I dropped as they are very good eating.

The return journey to Karachi was ofcourse an anticlimax except for the euphoria and satisfaction of having hunted a majestic animal.

K-2, Height 28250ft., second highest mountain in the world

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Iqbal - I have shifted your post to the new DVD "Hunting Story" competition from the Hunt Reports competition. Thanks for the interesting story. NitroX

Edited by NitroX (04/06/03 07:52 PM)

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