Support Sibiri Students in Memory of Kyle and Scott

In August 2016, world renowned alpinists Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson attempted to climb the north face of Baintha Braak II in the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan. While they were high on the peak and nearing the summit, a storm arrived and stayed for several days. When they became overdue, their friends and family initiated a search and rescue, and a massive effort ensued in hopes of bringing Kyle and Scott home safely. Many people in Pakistan, some of whom knew Kyle and Scott but many of whom had never heard of them, went to great lengths to extend aid to the alpinists.

When weather finally allowed Askari Aviation search and rescue helicopters to fly in early September, no trace of the climbers could be found– no boot prints, no ropes, no tents. To this day, the climbers haven’t been found.

In support of the search and rescue efforts, friends of Scott and Kyle launched a GoFundMe campaign that elicited support from thousands of friends, family, and members of the climbing community. At the close of the search and rescue, much of the remaining funds were donated to the Iqra Fund. These funds were subsequently used to build a schoolhouse and support teachers and students in the Sibiri Village up the Basha Valley in the mountainous areas of Pakistan. Classrooms there are dedicated to the memory of Kyle and Scott.

It has been a great gift for me to visit the Sibiri Village and school a couple of times– once the year after Kyle and Scott went missing, when I trekked to their basecamp with Scott’s partner Angela and a couple of close friends, and again the next year when I was in the region doing fieldwork related to mountain snow and glacier hydrology for my PhD. I’ve been brought to tears upon walking into the village and being greeted by community members, students, and leaders. The warmth of the people of Sibiri is overwhelming, and it brings me deep peace and joy to feel that Kyle’s and Scott’s memories, and the love from their community members, is touching the lives of the young students there. I feel that Kyle would be deeply happy to see this connection between so many members of the climbing community and these local students.

This September, Kyle’s mother will be visiting the Sibiri Village and school for the first time, her first time in the country since Kyle passed. This seems like a beautiful opportunity for friends and family of Kyle and Scott to show their warmth and support for the students of Sibiri, and for that reason we are opening a GoFundMe to raise money to donate to the Iqra Fund for Sibiri students, to close on September 17, 2024.

A few facts about what donations to the Iqra Fund can do:

Please share this GoFundMe with your communities, and thank you in advance for your care and generosity in support of students in Sibiri and in memory of Kyle and Scott.