Trip Reports

K2 Base Camp & Ghondokoro La - 4 to 24 Aug '07

Trekking south from Concordia down the Vigne Glacier
Trip Report

Written by Leader Mungo Ross, September 2007

Skardu 23rd August, 5.00am and the second K2 B.C. Trek group are getting up to see if the flight to Islamabad happens today. If it does they wait to see if their flight goes tomorrow; if it doesn't they set off on the Karakoram Highway by bus for the flight home on Sunday. So the expedition is not quite (maybe not nearly!) over yet, but I am writing this because I am staying in Skardu, waiting for the Cathedral Peak group to arrive sometime early next week.

Our journey out from the U.K., like clockwork, had us having lunch together at the K2 Motel in Skardu less than 24 hours after meeting at Heathrow. Jeeps delivered us in Askole for dinner the next day, so we set off ‘on trek’ on Tuesday 7th, a day ahead of schedule. Fifteen nights in tents have provided the accommodation for one of the great walks of the world: up the Baltoro Glacier to Concordia, with the Trango Towers, Cathedral, Masherbrum, Broad Peak, the Gasherbrums, and eventually K2 itself providing the backdrop. The weather went from hot to hotter, then (unfortunately at Concordia) from claggy to dreich (I am Scottish!).

But the crack was good. A drole, sly humour permeated the group – who had met in London wondering if anyone was going to give much away! – and we formed a very comfortable, companionable team. We were looked after by our guide Sharif, sirdar Musa, two cooks Ibrahim and Hussein and two cook boys Ali and Ali. They did a great job of giving us too much really good food too eat and keeping us (more or less) healthy. Sanitation and hygiene are a constant issue on these popular treks and although toilets and water supplies and education and awareness are being developed, it is still very easy to get sick. Regular hand washing and popping Cipro prevented anyone becoming a miserable casualty of the dreaded D & V.

The rather grotty weather at Concordia was disappointing, but we did get to see K2 – albeit bits at a time. The bigger disappointment was that since the previous JG had been the first over the Gondogoro La with David Hamilton a few weeks ago, the locals from Hushe who maintain the fixed ropes had closed the pass again. So we had to follow all the other groups who had meant to do the circuit and retrace out route down the Baltoro to Askole. This wasn’t such a big problem though, affording us the different perspectives on the way back and we are safe in Skardu with many memories and photographs of a great trip together.

Mungo Ross 23/8/07 « | Next report »

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