The 2007 Shimshal Expedition consisted of five student climbers who travelled to northern Pakistan with the initial goal of climbing Sonia Peak (6340m) in the remote North Ghuzerav Mountains. After arriving in Islamabad on 10 July, the team travelled north to Gilgit, navigating unexpected logistical challenges, including a man‑made landslide blocking the Karakoram Highway, which required last‑minute flights instead of buses.
Upon reaching Shimshal, the group spent several days acclimatising and negotiating with porters. However, the cost and number of porters needed for the long approach to Sonia Peak proved beyond their budget, forcing the team to select an alternative objective: Yazghil Sar (6001m), a nearby but technically harder peak that required a shorter approach. The trek to base camp involved eight porters, two yaks, and a donkey, and took two days.
From base camp, the team spent over two weeks attempting various routes on Yazghil Sar. Progress was repeatedly hampered by poor weather, unstable scree slopes, rockfall, and illness within the team. Multiple reconnaissance trips were made, first along the North‑West ridge and later into the cirque, where Camp 1 was eventually established on the glacier. Several storm‑bound days forced extended stays in cramped, wet tents.
A final weather window allowed the team to ascend to high camp at roughly 5300m on the North‑West ridge. On 30 July, after a strenuous and exposed climb involving corniced ridges, serac‑threatened traverses, and deteriorating snow, all five members reached the South Summit of Yazghil Sar at around noon.