Pakistan

[sanfairyanne]

I don't know if this is allowed within the rules of LL if it is a problem I'm sure it will be removed.

I am trying to put together my third trip to Pakistan with a group of 6-8 people to go to a remote area of Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan region. Many users to this site will know of the popular route to K2, I'm planning a trip of a similar intensity but to a far lesser known region. I cannot do this independently, therefore I am looking to bring along others to share the costs equally. This is NOT a workshop and I aim to make no profit from it. I'll be using a guiding company based in Pakistan who are extremely well organised. The company I intend to use deal regularly with professional climbing teams and as such come highly recommended.

We would be guided from the moment we arrive in Pakistan to the moment we leave, there will be a guide, porters and a cook. Our route will take us to the Kondus Valley, here we will discover some of the worlds most incredible and dramatic mountain scenery. Chris Wright the American climber who made the first summit of Link Sar told me "I can say that it would be spectacularly beautiful as there are about a million and one drop dead gorgeous peaks that would be visible from there, including a genuinely savage wall on K7".

The aim is to acclimatise slowly as we trek to the Kaberi Pass. Crossing this 5300m pass would bring us down to K6 basecamp on the Charakusa Valley whereupon we will have views of the north side of K6. We will linger from our exertions giving us plenty of time to photograph the unique peaks here. K6 is one of many! We drop down the valley to the isolated village of Hushe, from there we aim to enter the Nangmah Valley and later make an ascent of a ridge giving us a remarkable view of 8000m peaks including K2.

If anyone is interested drop me a message, I have hundreds of hours invested in this and can email you a pdf. I can also share the exact quote given to me by the trekking company. Their quote is based on 6 persons at a rate of $4000 per person. This price does not include international airfare, your visa to Pakistan or tips to porters.

Thanks Andrew Waddington

[nirpat89]

I would fix the spelling in subject line in case someone gets the wrong idea.

[sanfairyanne]

 :)Well spotted and thanks! That spelling would indeed have given the wrong impression.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

It sounds like a fantastic adventure. If I were fifty years younger, I would be very much tempted to join you.
I hope you and your team will post many photos when you return.
And have a great trip!

[sanfairyanne]

Thanks Eric,

Even pro climbers have asked me to do the same thing. The Kaberi Glacier has seen less visitation than the moon!

[francois]

You'll bring back some spectacular shots and I'm envious.
Good luck!

[sanfairyanne]

Thanks Francois,

Getting interest for this is proving exceptionally difficult. I'll figure a way forward.

[Rajan Parrikar]

Looks like a fantastic adventure. Good luck. For years a couple of Pakistani friends have been urging me to come to the Gilgit-Baltistan region. There are spectacular mountain vistas in the Peshawar area, too, that haven't gotten as much attention.

[sanfairyanne]

You should definitely go to Gilgit Baltisan. I think most government foreign office websites warn against travel in the Peshawar area. It's not like you can't do it (depending on nationality) it's just that travel insurance will not pay out if you do.

[nirpat89]

Sounds like a great expedition. Wish I could do it.  How many days will it be?  Do you have a plan to document the trip on a blog or website?   


:Niranjan.

[sanfairyanne]

It will be a minimum of 25 days, I have to say I'm not getting much interest in it yet. I think the trouble is that people assume Pakistan means terrorism and they assume whatever is happening with the Taliban in Afghanistan would also be happening in Pakistan. The truth is that worrying about this is like worrying about a protest in Washington DC when you live in Washington State.
I will probably create a video for my trip, I like doing this as a personal memory. If asked to do so I could write an article about the trip.

[nirpat89]

That's a quite a long trek.

Good luck!

[maddogmurph]

I went last summer (2022) and did the pass. It was about 21 total days. You can just join with a group that's already going. If you want to do some custom trip however, you need to find interested parties. I'm interested in a trip to a place further north now, called Shimshal. It's a lesser known place than the baltorro. The trip you are considering is epic, keep me in your list of people to contact when you take trips like this. Did you make it? Any other plans?

[sanfairyanne]

I went last summer (2022) and did the pass. It was about 21 total days. You can just join with a group that's already going. If you want to do some custom trip however, you need to find interested parties. I'm interested in a trip to a place further north now, called Shimshal. It's a lesser known place than the baltorro. The trip you are considering is epic, keep me in your list of people to contact when you take trips like this. Did you make it? Any other plans?

I was supposed to go there in 2022 but Pakistan now gives out e-visas. I applied for a 3 month one and only got a month, so I didn't go. I kept getting conflicting information, it became too irritating.
I've been to Shimshal before but only from the west and only as far as the village (just a few houses). I'm currently 4 months into a 10 month trip in Patagonia, wifi is very bad here so I hope this gets through.

[maddogmurph]

I'm currently 4 months into a 10 month trip in Patagonia, wifi is very bad here so I hope this gets through.

I just got back from Patagonia yesterday. I'm curious where you're wandering for 10-months. Winter is coming. We did estancia Cristina to Helsingfjors, Ushuaia, and the typical el calafate/torres circuit. Do you have some place I can follow your travels?