Climbers scale Afghanistan’s highest peak

KABUL, Afghanistan – Foreign and local climbers have recently scaled Afghanistan’s highest mountain, indicating that some areas of the war-torn country are ready for a revival of international tourism.

An expedition member said the summit of Mount Noshaq, located in the Wakhan Corridor of northeastern Afghanistan, was reached by a team on August 4.

Anthony Simms of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society said foreign tourists are already visiting the region — an oasis of peace but which suffers grinding poverty.

Simms said Sunday that the Noshaq expedition involved two Australians, including himself, two Afghan climbers and two Afghan support personnel. The 24,580-foot (7,492-meter) mountain was first climbed in 1960 by a Japanese team.