Rozi Ali is a mountain guide from Hushe in the Karakoram of Pakistan and the founder of Discover Karakoram Treks and Tours. For about 40 years he has worked on expeditions to K2, Masherbrum and the peaks of the Hushe valley, alongside climbers such as Reinhold Messner.
The American Alpine Journal calls him a “Karakoram mountaineering legend”. Spanish and Italian mountain media describe him as a well known figure of the Pakistani Karakoram who has shared expeditions with Reinhold Messner, Chris Bonington and Dougal Haston. This page tells his story, from the 1979 K2 expedition to the company he runs in Hushe today.
| Name | Rozi Ali |
| Home | Hushe village, Hushe valley, Ghanche district, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan |
| Profession | Mountain guide, expedition organiser, tour operator |
| Years in the mountains | About 40 years of Karakoram expeditions |
| Known for | 1979 K2 expedition with Reinhold Messner; 1988 Italian first ascent of Masherbrum II (Mandu Kangri) |
| Company | Discover Karakoram Treks and Tours, founder and CEO (Govt DTS Licence No. 2369) |
| Climbers he has worked with | Reinhold Messner, Chris Bonington, Dougal Haston and many others |
Early years in Hushe
Rozi Ali grew up in Hushe, the last village of the Hushe valley in Baltistan, below Masherbrum (K1, 7,821 m). For the families of Hushe, mountaineering expeditions were the main source of work. Young men from the village joined teams as porters, cooks and guides, carrying loads up the Baltoro and the glaciers of the Hushe valley. Rozi Ali started the same way, and he learned the Karakoram on foot, one expedition at a time.
That local knowledge is what made him valuable to foreign climbers: he knew the routes, the weather, the river crossings and the people of every village on the way to the big mountains. Read more about his home valley in ourKarakoram Ranges guide.
1979: K2 with Reinhold Messner
In 1979 Reinhold Messner came to Pakistan with a small team to climb K2 (8,611 m). Rozi Ali was part of the team that walked in through Askole and up the Baltoro Glacier. The expedition was a success: Messner and Michl Dacher reached the summit of K2 by the Abruzzi Spur. For Rozi Ali it was the start of a friendship with Messner that has lasted more than four decades.
Want to see the mountain for yourself? OurK2 Base Camp and Gondogoro La trek follows the same Baltoro route, and ourK2 Abruzzi Spur guide explains the climb.
1984: in Werner Herzog’s film Gasherbrum
In the summer of 1984 Reinhold Messner and Hans Kammerlander set out to climb two eight thousanders, Gasherbrum II and Gasherbrum I, in a single push without returning to Base Camp. The German director Werner Herzog filmed the expedition for his documentaryGasherbrum: Der leuchtende Berg, released in English asThe Dark Glow of the Mountains. The mountain film databaseMNTNFILM lists Rozi Ali in the filmography of this film, five years after he first joined Messner on K2.
The Gasherbrum peaks rise above the upper Baltoro Glacier, on the same route ourK2 Base Camp and Gondogoro La trek follows to Concordia.
1988: first ascent of Masherbrum II
In the summer of 1988 a ten member Italian expedition led by Augusto Zanotti arrived in Hushe to try the unclimbed westernmost summit of the Masherbrum group, then called Masherbrum Far West and known today as Masherbrum II or Mandu Kangri. Rozi Ali worked with the team on the mountain above his own village. On 8 September 1988 the Italians reached the summit, a first ascent recorded in the American Alpine Journal.
This climb is the root of Discover Karakoram. It showed what local guides from Hushe could do on big mountains, and it started Rozi Ali’s career of about 40 years in expedition work. Read the full story:Masherbrum II first ascent, 1988.
Working with the great climbers
Over the following decades Rozi Ali worked on expedition after expedition in the Karakoram. Visiting climbers who meet him in Hushe still hear his stories of the mountains and of the people he climbed with.
A legend of the Pakistani Karakoram, who livened up many evenings of the trip with stories of expeditions with famous climbers such as Messner, Bonington and Haston.
Translated fromDesnivel, February 2024
In the American Alpine Journal, Spanish climber Rafa Vadillo wrote that Rozi Ali met the team every evening after their climbs and talked about his climbs with Reinhold Messner, Chris Bonington, Doug Scott and others.
Founding Discover Karakoram
From that experience Rozi Ali built Discover Karakoram Treks and Tours, a government licensed tour operator (Directorate of Tourist Services, Gilgit Baltistan, Licence No. 2369) based in his home valley. The company is a member of the Alpine Club of Pakistan and the Pakistan Association of Tour Operators. His son Karim Hushevi runs operations with him, and the guides, cooks and porters come from Hushe and the villages around it.
Today the company runs treks and expeditions across the Karakoram: theK2 Base Camp trek,Laila Peak,Masherbrum,K2 expeditions,ice climbing in Hushe andsnow leopard tracking.
2023: Yermanendu Kangri first ascent
In 2023 Discover Karakoram organised the logistics for the first ascent of Yermanendu Kangri, the western neighbour of Masherbrum II, by Simon Messner and Martin Sieberer. Rozi Ali was in the Base Camp team. Simon is the son of Reinhold Messner, so the friendship that began on K2 in 1979 continued into a new generation. Read the story:Yermanendu Kangri first ascent, 2023.
2024: winter ice climbing in Hushe
In the winter of 2024 a Spanish and French team led by Rafa Vadillo came to Hushe to explore frozen waterfalls. Rozi Ali and Karim hosted them in the village, and the climbers trained local guides from Discover Karakoram. The trip was reported by the American Alpine Journal, Desnivel, Cumbres Mountain Magazine and GognaBlog, and it led to guidedice climbing in the Hushe valley every winter since.
2025: Reinhold Messner visits Rozi Ali
In 2025 Reinhold Messner returned to Baltistan with his wife and visited Rozi Ali at his home. Forty six years after K2, the two old friends sat together over the expedition photos and talked about the climbs they shared.
Rozi Ali timeline
| 1979 | Team member on Reinhold Messner’s K2 expedition; Messner and Michl Dacher reach the summit by the Abruzzi Spur |
| 1984 | Appears in Werner Herzog’s film Gasherbrum: The Dark Glow of the Mountains, about Messner and Kammerlander on Gasherbrum I and II |
| 1988 | Works with the Italian expedition that makes the first ascent of Masherbrum II (Mandu Kangri) on 8 September |
| 1980s to today | About 40 years of expeditions in the Karakoram with climbers including Messner, Bonington and Haston |
| Founder | Starts Discover Karakoram Treks and Tours in Hushe (DTS Licence No. 2369) |
| 2023 | Base Camp team for the first ascent of Yermanendu Kangri by Simon Messner and Martin Sieberer |
| 2024 | Hosts the Spanish and French team that opens winter ice climbing in Hushe |
| 2025 | Reinhold Messner visits him at home, 46 years after K2 |
From the archive
Travel with Rozi Ali’s team
When you book with Discover Karakoram, your trip is planned by the family and village that have supported Karakoram expeditions since the 1970s. Start with theKarakoram Ranges guide, browse ourtreks, orcontact us to plan your trip.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Rozi Ali?
Rozi Ali is a mountain guide from Hushe in the Karakoram of Pakistan and the founder of Discover Karakoram Treks and Tours. He has worked on Karakoram expeditions for about 40 years, including the 1979 K2 expedition of Reinhold Messner and the 1988 Italian first ascent of Masherbrum II.
Where is Rozi Ali from?
He is from Hushe village in the Hushe valley, Ghanche district, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan, below Masherbrum (K1).
Did Rozi Ali climb with Reinhold Messner?
Yes. Rozi Ali was part of the team of Reinhold Messner’s 1979 K2 expedition, when Messner and Michl Dacher reached the summit by the Abruzzi Spur. Messner visited Rozi Ali at his home in 2025.
What is Rozi Ali known for?
He is known for his work on the 1988 Italian first ascent of Masherbrum II (Mandu Kangri), his expeditions with climbers such as Reinhold Messner, Chris Bonington and Dougal Haston, and for founding Discover Karakoram in Hushe.
Which company does Rozi Ali run?
Rozi Ali is the founder and CEO of Discover Karakoram Treks and Tours, a government licensed tour operator (DTS Licence No. 2369) that runs treks and expeditions in the Karakoram.
Was Rozi Ali in a film?
Yes. MNTNFILM lists Rozi Ali in the filmography of Werner Herzog’s 1984 documentary Gasherbrum: The Dark Glow of the Mountains, which follows Reinhold Messner and Hans Kammerlander on Gasherbrum II and Gasherbrum I.
Can I trek or climb with Rozi Ali’s team?
Yes. Discover Karakoram runs the K2 Base Camp trek, Laila Peak, Masherbrum, K2 expeditions, ice climbing and snow leopard trips with guides from Hushe. Contact the team through the contact page or WhatsApp +92 355 5733499.
In the press
- Rozi Ali filmography, MNTNFILM: Gasherbrum, Der leuchtende Berg (Werner Herzog, 1984)
- Ice Climbing in Gilgit-Baltistan, American Alpine Journal, 2025
- Alpinistas hispano-franceses abren las primeras cascadas de hielo en el Karakórum pakistaní, Desnivel, 2024
- Españoles y franceses exploraron cascadas de hielo en el Karakorum pakistaní, Cumbres Mountain Magazine, 2024
- Cascate di ghiaccio in Karakorum, GognaBlog, 2025
- Rafa Vadillo lidera un grupo hispano-francés, Barrabes, 2024
