![]() And no one knew where the line came from, until now. GWIN: And this whole thing started in part because of an error on a map: A tiny line in this remote mountain wilderness pushed two powerful nations to fight on the highest battlefield on Earth. ![]() Such an operation has never been planned in the history of mankind before. So Bilal explained that his forces had to be carried up one by one on ropes dangling beneath the struggling helicopters.īILAL: This is called a sling load operation. Four men had already died in an avalanche, attempting to reach it on foot. And Peak 22,158 was covered in heavy layers of unstable snow. The air is so thin that helicopters can stall if they get too high. And then there’s the matter of getting up there. Mountaineers know this altitude can be deadly because of the low level of oxygen and the subfreezing temperatures. GWIN: Four miles above sea level is not an ideal place to fight a battle. Nevertheless, it holds a significant if macabre distinction.īILAL: Never in the history of mankind has there been ground combat at the altitude of 21,158 feet. It’s referred to on maps only by its height in feet. But in the Karakoram, home to some of the world’s most colossal mountains, no one has bothered to even name it, or dozens of other similar peaks around it. ![]() It’s taller than the tallest mountains in North America, Africa, Europe, and Antarctica. In just about any other part of the world, this peak would be a major tourist destination, a place ambitious climbers would flock to. He’s wearing a traditional wool pakol cap, a thick parka, and spoke through a long grey beard about events in 1989 that have made him famous in Pakistan.īILAL: I was nominated to personally lead this operation of assault on the enemy position and to dislodge him from height 22,158. His son helped him set up a Skype call with me from his home in Rawalpindi, where I could hear small children and the Muslim call to prayer in the background. PETER GWIN (HOST): This is Brigadier Abdul Rahman Bilal, a retired Pakistani army officer. Once both of them cocked their weapons, I knew they meant business. At that time I heard the cocking of weapons. And for the sake of their wives and children, they should vacate the area and go back. ABDUL RAHMAN BILAL (PAKISTANI VETERAN): So I told them that they didn't have a chance.
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