Fri.14th Aug. Day 14. Concordia to Gore 1

We begin the long haul back down the 60+ km. of the Baltoro glacier.
Excellent crevasse with Baltoro Kangri (Golden Throne) 7312 m., 23990 ft behind.
A pack train of horses passing in front of Mustagh Tower. These animals are used to supply the many army camps in the area - the Kashmir issue with India still going on.
Our Camp at Gore 1 with it's great view of Masherbrum.
Avalanche coming down the Biarchedi Group.

Thu.13th Aug. Day 13. Concordia

Up at 3.00 am for a 3.30 start playing on the ice. We were meant to try and get across a river towards K2 but it was a bit more tricky than anticipated so we backed off and did a different walk later in the day.

Karim guided 4 of us up the Baltoro towards the Vigne Glacier. Spectacular views.

Karim, K2 and me.

Wed.12th Aug. Day 12. Gore 2 to Concordia ( 4600 m. - 15091 ft.)

The glacier was becoming less chaotic but more icy.
We got the best views of Mustagh Tower - 7273 m., 23862 ft. - first climbed in 1956 by Joe Brown et al.
As we approached Concordia, K2 slowly came into view past Marble Peak. At last we could see the whole Abruzzi Ridge.
Time for the tourist photos.
First of a series of fine sunsets and sunrises.

Tue.11th Aug. Day 11. Urdokas to Gore 2 ( 4500 m. - 14764 ft.)

First view in the morning was of the Gasherbrum Group with 2 mountains over 8000 m. This was our only glimpse of G1 or Hidden Peak ( 8068 m., 26470 ft.)
We got better and better views of Masherbrum, originally K1 and 22nd highest in the world at 7821 m., 25660 ft.
Porters and Gasherbrums.
Masherbrum from our camp at Gore 2.
Sunset on Gasherbrum IV.

Mon.10th Aug. Day 10. Liligo to Urdokas ( 4011 m. - 13160 ft.)

A beautiful morning. Greeted by views of the Cathedral Group and Lobsang Spires beyond.
As we moved up the valley we got this view of Broad Peak - originally K3 - 12th highest at 8051 m., 26414 ft.
At Urdokas looking back down the Baltoro with Mt. Paiju, Uli Biafo Towers and Trango Towers.
The camp site at Urdokas, several hundred feet above the glacier on terraces laid out by the Duke of Abruzzi in 1909.
Our porters. Trango group behind.
Evening light.

Sun.9th Aug. Day 9. Paiju to Liligo (3715 m. - 12188 ft.)

An hour's walk brought us to the Baltoro Glacier, a massive torrent pouring out of a cave at the base of it's snout.
The ice is covered by a layer of rubble and the whole place is chaotic and hard going.
Superb view of the Trango Towers group - Nameless Tower on the left and Great Trango in the middle.
Looking back at Paiju Peak - 6600 m., 21653 ft.
Ibrahim, Karim, myself, Iqbal (Karim's brother), Pakoor behind. Ibrahim & Iqbal were High Altitude Porters and had summited Gasherbrum 1 (Hidden Peak - 11th highest at 8068 m., 26470 ft.) a few days before.
Carlos Soria. 72 year old Spanish climber had also summited G1 - his 9th 8000er.

Sat.8th Aug. Day 8. Paiju - acclimatization day

A climb 1000 ft straight up the hillside to gain a bit of height, then back down to rest. All part of the build up.
The rock was crumbly and unstable scree.
We got our first view of the snout of the Baltoro Glacier - and an idea of how far we had to go.
In the afternoon I was able to meet Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner. She is an Austrian mountaineer who has climbed 12 of the 14 8,000ers. She has 'only' K2 and Everest to go but sadly had just failed on this, her 2nd attempt, on K2. It's 8611 m. and she got to 8300 before chest high loose snow stopped her.
The goat today was presented as liver and kidneys on a bed of chips. Superb !

Fri.7th Aug. Day 7. Panmah River to Paiju ( 3368 m. - 11050 ft.)

A good day's walk in early rain reaching Paiju Camp. Here there were proper toilets with a sensational view of Trango Towers.
- the view from the throne.
The pink tents blended in nicely.
Then it was 'Goodbye little goat' and 'Hello goat curry'.(Photos with spurting blood deliberately omitted)

Thu.6th Aug. Day 6. Korophon to Panmah River campsite.

Another easy day of about 3 hours. The track had in places been blasted out of the cliff face.
Zafar, Karim & Iqbal
Myself & Carl. Bakhor Das - 5810 m., 19061 ft. - behind.

Wed.5th Aug. Day 5. Askole to Korophon ( 3109 m. - 10200 ft.)

We begin walking - only about 3 hours today.
First glimpse of higher mountains - these are the lower Uli Biafo group from the west.
We camp in a shady spot just below the terminal moraine of the Biafo glacier.The river emerging from the glacier is fearsome at this tail-end of summer. The tiny bridge is fun to bounce across.

Tue.4th Aug. Day 4. Skardu to Askole ( 3048 m. - 10000 ft.)

We were loaded into 3 Mark 1 Toyota Landcruisers of early 70s vintage and set off for the mortifyingly scary track through the Braldu Gorge. Many suspension bridges and 1000 foot drops a mere inches from the car tyres.
Nigel, John & myself.

We arrived in Askole to be greeted by our bright pink tents for our first night under canvas.

Cricket game with the porters and local kids.(Carl in to bat)

Mon.3rd Aug. Day 3. Islamabad to Skardu (2316 m. - 7600 ft)

The 45 minute flight from Benazir Bhutto International Airport to Skardu ends on a desert landing strip with no terminal building visible. The 8 of us plus Carl were met and taken to the very pretty 'K2 Motel, Skardu' with it's gardens overlooking the River Indus.
Most of us walked into Skardu town - 'Welcome to Beautiful Baltistan' and past the Polo Ground.



Myself, Mohammed & Paul.

A few of us reached the Indus Motel where we met Mohammed Nazir, representative of The Central Asia Institute.
This is the organisation begun by Greg Mortensen and featured in his book '3 Cups of Tea'. They have now built 94 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Sun. 2nd Aug. Day 2. Rawalpindi

Spent the day in Saddr Bazar in my newly aquired shalwar khameez. The rest of the trekkers arrived from England.
Our Trek Leader is Carl from Hartlepool - excellent 'Geordie' accent.
First of many superb curries in the evening.

Glorious Pakistan

Have now been in Pakistan for over 24 hours. Already have had a couple of excellent curries and bought a Shalwar Khameez to complete my disguise.
Will be away for the next 3 weeks then I'll be posting many splendid photos of Baltistan and K2.

Such is the wonder of modern technology that I've been able to post this using my iPhone. BFN