K2 via Concordia: Trekking through the valley of giants

[Devil Soul]

K2 via Concordia: Trekking through the valley of giants
IMAD BROHI — PUBLISHED 2 MINUTES AGO
In July 2016, I embarked on an incredibly memorable, yet challenging, 11-day trek to the base camp of K2 — the highest mountain in Pakistan — with three other Dutch hikers in tow.

Arranged by Snowland Treks and Tours, our trip started from Islamabad where we stayed for a day. The next morning, we took a short, but a very scenic, flight to Skardu. We acquired a great deal of interesting information about our destination from the plane's captain, which naturally got us pumped for the journey ahead.

The PK451 flight that took us to Skardu. We passed through Nanga Parbat and Lake Saif-ul-Mulook among other landmark destinations.

Following a brief stay in Skardu, we left for the town of Askole, which is only 115km away but the rocky roads, not to mention the landslides and floods that we encountered on our way stretched our journey an additional five hours.

The picturesque drive through hanging wooden bridges, however, made it worth it.

One of the several hanging wooden bridges we encountered on our way to Askole.


Arriving in Askole, we stopped for some garam parathas, and washed them down with wonderful milky tea before starting our first trek to the Jhula campsite.

We walked through a small lane in the town of Askole that widened as we exited the village. Then, we entered Shigar Valley, where I the jagged mountain peaks and views quite literally took my breath away.

The track was nice and wide as we left Askole.

Much of the track is well-established and follows the Braldu River.

Night descending upon our Jhula campsite.


Situated at a distance of 18kms from Askole, we reached Jhula just before sunset. We parked our camp next to the river, which afforded us an ethereal view of the Barkhudas mountain peak.

The next morning, we trekked from Jhula to Payu campsite, which is 22kms away, at 200 metres of elevation gain; the route that we took was close to the river bank with many uninhabited houses.

From a distance, the Payu campsite is the green patch on the mountain.

Porters make special bread for us at the Payu camp; they serve pretty good green tea there as well!

I woke up in the middle of the night and was awestruck when I looked at the sky. I immediately grabbed my camera to take this shot of the Milky Way from our Payu camp.

 

[Devil Soul]

From Payu, we made our way to the Baltoro glacier, the focal point of our trek. The journey to our next campsite Khoburshe was 15km away, with 500 metres elevation gain.

The long distance and the formidable gain of elevation, coupled with our first, tentative steps on a glacier, was taxing but also proved rewarding as we got a glimpse of the spectacular Trango and Lobsang mountain spires as well as the starting point of the serene Baltoro River from here.

Trango Towers (L) and Lobsang Spire (R). Also visible is the famous Nameless Tower to the left of Trango.

Our first view of Khoburshe Camp. We had to take a detour due to the formation of a lake near the camp.

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I woke up to a view of the Giant Trango from my tent.


Near the Khoburshe campsite, a lake has sprung up due to a glacier melt, which required us to take a detour, adding about another two kilometres to the trek; we retired at the camp for the night.

The next morning, we trekked from Khoburshe to Urdukas, which is situated at a relatively short distance of 6km, with 200m of elevation gain.

The journey was, by far, the most wonderful part of the trek as we crossed two glaciers and glacial streams to reach Urdukas, surrounded by tall imposing mountains. It is a wonderful campsite that sits atop huge rocks.

Our first view of Urdukas.

Porters singing and clapping as we celebrated Eid. A Pakistan Army officer stationed at Urdukas joined in the celebrations.


As we set up our tents and settled into them, we heard the sound of music. Venturing outside, we saw porters from different teams who had gathered around a big boulder and were dancing and celebrating as it was Eid!

Close to Urdukas, there is a Pakistan Army checkpost and some military men also joined in the heartfelt celebrations.

 

[Devil Soul]

Our next stop was the Goro II. It was another long trek of 15kms, with 270 metres of elevation gain. We were ecstatic when we saw our first views of the incredible Masherbrum (7821m) and Gasherbrum-4 (7925m) mountains.

The next day, we were back on the glacier, making our way through the crevasses and small lakes.

The first rays of the sun on the beautiful Masherbrum mountain.

Our first view of Gasherbrum-4 as we climb up the valley.

The route from Goro II and Concordia has several snow capsules.

Goro II is notorious for being the coldest site. I took this photograph of the Milky Way extending from Biarchedi mountain with my tent lit up.


Traversing along the route, we saw large protruding chunks of snow, known as snow capsules. These capsules vary in size and are sparsely found along the trek.

Our campsite at Goro II was the coldest on the trek. When I woke up in the middle of the night, my tent was covered in frost.

The morning that greeted me was equally cold, if not more. But the day was special. Crossing Gora II, we finally saw the magnificent K2 mountain, and other stunning peaks such as Muztagh Tower (7273 metres) and Mitre Peak (6010m).

Our next camp on Concordia glacier was next to Mitre Peak. With that as our reference, we walked about 12kms to reach Concordia.

The crevasses just before Concordia. The white mountain in the back is Snow Dome which is about 5,029m high.

Our campsite in Concordia.

My first view of K2.


Near Concordia, we had to negotiate many complicated crevasses. We also heard loud songs of the glacier cracking up.

After what seemed like an eternity, we arrived at our camp on Concordia. Situated at 4,600 metres of elevation, the high altitude made us easily breathless, even if the movement was something as small as getting up.

Most expeditions end on Concordia after which trekkers head back to Askole. One can also take an alternative route by hiking to Ali Camp and then crossing the Gondogoro Pass to enter Hushe Valley and return from there. It, however, requires expert technical climbing skills.

 

[Devil Soul]

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Enroute to the K2 Base Camp. The clouds covered K2 like a halo on an angel.

A summit view of K2.

A view of the K2 base camp.


In our case, we decided to visit the K2 base camp, which is approximately 11kms away from Concordia, save for one team member who ended up going to the Milky Memorial.

Three of us, including myself, stayed at the K2 base camp for about an hour, and had lunch with an international expedition team before returning to Concordia.

The return journey from Concordia to Askole was 90kms. It took us three whole days to return to Askole from where we returned to Skardu the same evening; thus ending our intense, adrenaline-filled trek, one we are bound to remember for the rest of our lives.

—Photos and videos by the author



Imad Brohi is an engineer by profession, who can't have enough of outdoor activities and the gym.

The views expressed by this writer and commenters below do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

 

[Curious_Guy]

Awesome , i went to Rati Gali and its mere 12000 ft and it was tiresome as hell , but end results take away all that and in a moment you are running and smiling , admiring the nature . i will In Shaa Allah go on this trek someday and admire the majestic Karakorum 2

 

[ghazi52]

Great experience.

 

[NoOne'sBoy]

Porters make special bread for us at the Payu camp; they serve pretty good green tea there as well!

I woke up in the middle of the night and was awestruck when I looked at the sky. I immediately grabbed my camera to take this shot of the Milky Way from our Payu camp.

dawg you for real? does the sky actually look like that or you put some camera tricks and photoshop?

 

[Trango Towers]

Did this exact trek. It's awesome. But there are days you will want to cry. I thought I was fit but it challenges you mentally as well as physically. Enjoy a few of my pictures. That's my tent with Makra peak in the background on Concordia. The peak with the halo cloud is broad peak an 8000m +.

 

[Viny]

How dearly I am feeling left out ....
Such a beauty and blissful...
Look forward to the day when visa norms will be eased. ...

 

[Trango Towers]

How dearly I am feeling left out ....
Such a beauty and blissful...
Look forward to the day when visa norms will be eased. ...

Hi viny. I have been to India. Amazing place. Sadly had to tell them u was a shop keeper to get a visa. When in India met nice people. Intrigue. I think they expected Pakistanis to have horns. Lol. Media impacts.
But this region of k2 is militarized and you may have trouble. Let's hope sense prevails and we all sort the differences left by the British and stop fighting. The amount spent on weapons just one year can educate all the people in both countries. Imagine that

 

[ghazi52]

Marble Peak and K2
Not only sunsets, but also mornings are amazing at Concordia, especially when the weather is favourable. But there is no other choice but to pack the baggage and proceed to the Ali camp in the Vigne valley. The path is now more complicated and even a guide with porters have sometimes problems in finding the ideal way through small rivers, cracks and canyons in a glacier.

Gondogoro trek 6: The last stage before crossing Gondogoro la pass is approximately six hour lasting ascent from Concordia to Ali camp in a completely icy Vigne valley. As number of cracks on the snowy glacier gradually increase, caution is more than in place. Beautiful views back to K2, Broad Peak and others are worth the effort. Ali camp is a small rocky plateau surrounded with ice on all sides.

Parade of giants

There is no point of view that would be uninteresting around Concrodia.

 

[Dalit]

The world’s most epic and incredible trek.

Awesome , i went to Rati Gali and its mere 12000 ft and it was tiresome as hell , but end results take away all that and in a moment you are running and smiling , admiring the nature . i will In Shaa Allah go on this trek someday and admire the majestic Karakorum 2

I’m planning something in 2019. I hope to join a trek or something. This is just insane.

 

[ghazi52]

K2 (8611 meter ASL)

One of the main hiking destinations on the Baltoro glacier – an amazing view of the pyramid K2, which exceeds Concordia more by than four kilometers. On the left there is mountain Angelus (6855 m asl) with glacial tip. Everywhere else in the world it would be considered for a giant, but next to K2 it is only an insignificant dwarf. K2 is so monumental that no one could guess that it is still 15 km away as the crow flies.

K2 and Broad Peak (8047 m asl)
The nearest eight-thousand mountain in the sight is really gigantic Broad Peak (8047 m asl), the third highest mountain in the Karakoram and 12th in the world. Name of the mountain is really snappy – it's really a huge massif. It is necessary to pay attention during the walks around Concordia not to fall into one of the rivulets on the glacier.

Broad Peak and Gasherbrum IV (7,925 m asl)

Insignificant and nameless, but even so it is very pretty peak (6218 m asl) between Broad Peak and Gasherbrum IV.

Gasherbrum IV. and Concordia

The view west is truly monumental. Brutally perpendicular side of Gasherbrum IV. protrudes just behind the tents at Concordia. Right next there are sharp rocky spikes / left to right: Gasherbrum VII. (6955 m asl), Twins (6882 m asl), Gasherbrum V. (7147 m asl) /. Far behind it is still possible to see nicely Gasherbrum VI. (7004 m asl).

https://www.gigaplaces.com/en/place-concordia/
Baltoro Kangri

The south is closed by Baltoro Kangri (7 312m asl) /sometimes noted (7274 m asl)/, native mountain of 58 km long Baltoro glacier. Next to it there is completely icy Kondus peak (6750 m asl).

Vigne valley

From the upper Baltoro glacier turns lower valley Vigne, through which proceeds the trek from Concordia to the pass Gondogoro la. The highest peak here is Khumul Gri (6851 m asl).

Mitre Peak (6025 m asl)

Incredible rocky tooth directly above Concordia.

Baltoro glacier

The view to the east (back) is of incredible highway of Baltoro glacier. You can see from this view that Concordia is not a cozy place even in good weather, but the views are worth a little hardship.

https://www.gigaplaces.com/en/place-concordia/
Marble Peak (6256 m asl)

Rocky cathedral of Marble Peak is also quite impressive.

Sunset over Khumul Gri


Sunset is the best part of the day at Concordia.

Sunset over Baltoro Kangri

Baltoro Kangri called also Golden Throne is doing honor to its name at sunset.

Sunset over Gasherbrum IV.

But the most beautiful sunset performance is above Gasherbrum IV. After the sunset it becomes cold very quickly. Thus it is ideal to get into a sleeping bag and have a rest before another busy day.

 

[ghazi52]

WALK IN PASSU

Along the Karakorum Highway a few kilometers behind Gulmit is located only a few scattered houses, mostly tiny guest houses and this all is Passu ( 2460 m asl). Even so, it’s worth to stop here and enjoy the incredible mountain scenery. Wide Hunza valley is encircling here by the sharp peaks and directly at the road end Passu and Batura glaciers. Just the fact that the River Hunza managed to break through Karakoram from the north to the south and surrounding mountains also exceed it by more than 5 km – all this speaks for itself.

Houses in Passu

If you expect according to the size of the dot on the map that Passu will be a town or at least village, you will be disappointed. It's really just a few gardens, mostly closed shops and three small guest houses scattered to three kilometers along the Karakorum Highway.

Batura Inn


One of the tiny guest houses, amazing local tops in the background and dusty unpaved Karakorum Highway.

Passu Cathedral

The most photogenic top of the whole area towers on the other side of the river – amazing rock crown of Passu Cathedral.

Hunza river

River Hunza near Passu is widely spilled into the area and is bordered by beautiful mountains.

Oasis

The aim of this short trip is ascent to moraine of Batura glacier with a beautiful view of Passu Cathedral. After a while, you can turn left from the Karakorum Highway and approach the moraine along the rocky plain, to which leads beaten path. Views back are very nice.

Amazing outlook of Cathedral Peak

There is an amazing direct view of the „cathedral" and beautiful green oasis of Jahanabad after the ascent to the moraine in about 200 altitude meters above the surrounding plain. Exactly here is the confluence of the rivers Hunza and Shimsal and the beginning of not frequently walked but amazing trek Shimsal.

The ascent route

You can see the entire ascent path if you look back – Karakorum Highway, small parallel path and the plain itself along which the path leads up to here.

Batura glacier

North view from the moraine is of a massive highway of debris – Batura glacier , one of the longest glaciers if the polar landscape is not considered. But it is recommended to trek in this direction only with a guide!

Rock organs

Rock walls above the glacier are really impressively jagged. The trip here and back to Passu takes about three hours – depending mainly on how long you will admire the beautiful surrounding landscape.

 

[Viny]

Hi viny. I have been to India. Amazing place. Sadly had to tell them u was a shop keeper to get a visa. When in India met nice people. Intrigue. I think they expected Pakistanis to have horns. Lol. Media impacts.
But this region of k2 is militarized and you may have trouble. Let's hope sense prevails and we all sort the differences left by the British and stop fighting. The amount spent on weapons just one year can educate all the people in both countries. Imagine that

Lucky, I am happy that you got a chance to visit India, yups the notion of nations on PDF is different then reality.
Frankly speaking the new generation thats coming up has no clue about pakistan, other than whats presented in media as a country thats spreading terrorism and is cause of all issues in J&K. They have lost the idea that just few decades ago there was no such border and people on both the side where one and fought together for independence. With that generation which saw the independence reaching prime, the brotherlyhood is dieing, the connection is dieing...

I see history in Pakistan, thankfully lot of things have not changed with time as fast things has changed on Indian side. When I see photos of Pakistan, at times i feel like the time has stopped there, things that i use to see 10-20yrs ago in India, is still seen in pakistan, like railway stations, roads, some colonies, old societies etc etc.

Other than this nature is still prestine, business tourism has not spoiled it. I would love to travel across the nothern and western pakistan along with P0K(aka Azad Kashmir). Chances of seeing all this in this life is grim, given the how the countries are head to head. None the less I would like to thank the members of PDF, the frequently come up with threads like this which helps many like me to connect to sureal world of Pakistan