Our journey to Pakistan started early at Invercargill as John Grant saw us off on the flight to Christchurch and Auckland. We were delayed by half an hour leaving so had a rushed meeting In Christchurch with Belinda’s sister Jenny, niece Jessica and father Derek before our flight to Auckland left. The weather was lovely and clear all the way up with Earnslaw, Aspiring and Mt Cook rising above the clouds over the Southern Alps and Ruapehu in the North Island. In Auckland we got a transfer to the Auckland Airport Kiwi Hotel nearby.
Next day it was a leisurely start and back to Auckland
airport to catch the 1.00 PM flight to Bangkok. This was a 13-hour flight.
Belinda took lots of photos out the window of lovely cloud formations over
Australia and Indonesia. On arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport a girl from the
Paragon Inn with a sign that said “Dr Stanley Kool” met us. I later regretted I
did not take a photo of that! On arrival we found the room so hot we had to
keep the noisy air conditioning on all night and slept poorly as a result.
Breakfast the following morning was by the nice outdoor
pool. Thankfully they put on a big fan for us, as it was very hot and muggy. We
went for a walk but I could see it was overcast and dark clouds were a
harbinger of rain. Down the street was a supermarket where we got a few
groceries and then high tailed it back just before a torrential downpour. We had
a snack and then I took off to the pool for a swim in the rain. We had to check
out at noon so passed the time reading in the lounge till our taxi took us to
the airport at 3.00PM.
We caught the evening flight to Islamabad and what a noisy,
unpleasant flight. We had a seat in front of the partition and near the toilet
and had a constant stream of people stepping over our feet. On arrival in
Islamabad we took a while to clear immigration and customs without any
difficulty and in the arrival hall met Ibrahim, our Hunza guide for the first
time. Collecting our gear we got a taxi into the city. It transpired there was
some mix-up with our accommodation and instead of staying at New Cape Grace Guesthouse
we stayed at the “Continental Guest House”. This was not as good as the former
establishment and the bathroom had a bird’s nest in it and a toilet that did
not work.
I slept reasonably well though the air conditioning again
was noisy. I got up early and went down stairs. All was very quiet. After a
while James appeared and seemed cheerful despite his middle of the night
arrival at 4.00AM. We nattered for ages and then Ibrahim came out of his room.
Soon after Ghulam Nabi arrived, the famous Ghulam, the voice at the other end
of the phone. We paid him for the trip and then Ibrahim and Ghulam left to make
arrangements. By now it was almost lunchtime so we fronted up to the concierge
and asked for breakfast.
We were due to go to the airport at 7.00AM so it was an
early start. After breakfast we set off in two taxis with a pile of luggage. As
expected there was a delay in our flight which had not arrived from Doha and
the weather was not good. We checked in and spent the morning in the departure
lounge. At lunchtime the jet arrived and we got off for the short flight to
Skardu. We flew over cloudy mountains and it was disappointing we did not have
right sided window seats. Once at Skardu it was cooler and a van that took us
to the K2 hotel. This hotel sits on a terrace above the Indus with spectacular
views of the mountains all around.
We settled in and later went for a walk with Ibrahim into
town for a meal at a restaurant. The rest of the day we spent at the hotel
unpacking our gear. The rooms were spacious and there was a lovely balcony
outside to sit on and admire the views. I awoke early next day and went for a
walk. Belinda got up later and we had a lovely breakfast. Ibrahim arrived and
we set off to photocopy documents and then to the Ministry of Tourism to get
our permit signed. In the afternoon we changed some money, bought a few small
karabiners and food. We were in a restaurant when Ibrahim arrived looking quite
stressed informing us the army had cancelled our permit. It appeared we had
made an error with my visa copying last years one not this year’s one. We had
to redo the whole bunch of forms again and worse still we would have to wait an
extra day in Skardu.
We decided to go for a walk so set off for Satpara Lake up
in the hills about 9 kilometres away. It was pleasant enough and climbed up 400
metres to a dammed lake that was obviously much prettier before the dam. We met
some nice Pakistanis who took our photo and chatted to us. We got a text from
Ibrahim that he wanted to see us. Once back at the K2 he had good news that the
permit had been granted and all set for next day to start. Ibrahim had a tummy
upset, Belinda vomited and I got diarrhoea we think from that day’s food at the
K2. I had a bad nights sleep accordingly.
We crossed a rickety bridge and drove up a very rough track
to the village and there was the famous school across a paddock. We ambled over
and eventually someone came and let us in being closed for holidays. There were
130 pupils attending and 5 teachers only 1 of who was a CAI sponsored teacher.
Its hard to know where the truth lies in relation to Jon Krakauer’s allegations
but it did seem to us to be inconsistencies in what was written in Greg’s book.
Personally I’d be reluctant to donate money to the CAI for schools till the controversy
is settled.We then drove back across the river and up the hill to a
compound where we set up camp. Our porters and cooks arrived. I felt jaded so
went for a sleep while James headed off for a walk. Belinda was not eating
either
It rained lightly that night and I slept well. Arsing at
5.30AM we had breakfast and then set off before the porters. Pleasant walk past
the last cultivated fields in the valley towards a wide-open barren valley
surrounded by tall mountains covered in cloud. Lots of wild roses and the track
wound across wide valley flats past the terminal moraine of the Biafo Glacier
coming in from the left. We stopped for lunch at Korophan in a small clearing
just past the Biafo Glacier and then carried on up terraces on the true right
of the main valley to a track cut into a cliff around into the Dumordo valley.
Across the river was Jhula that was our next campsite. I felt better but very
tired as I was carrying a heavy pack and we were over 3000-metres high. The
others still had stomach pains bar James who escaped the bugs back at the K2.
It was changeable weather and it rained during the night. We
had a nice breakfast of pancakes and omelette and got off by 6.30AM. The
terrain was an open sandy valley amid spectacular mountains. Not long after
starting I had a run of the trots but I felt better than the previous day.
Belinda was still sick. At a collection of mud walled huts I took a photo of an
amusing inscription on the wall “ No smoking. Ministry of Health” and the man
there went ballistic at us. It turned out it was an army post and the only
evidence of that to an outsider was the flag flying over it. Ibrahim warned me
not to take any photos of army bases as the soldiers might confiscate my camera!
Further on there were spectacular photos of Uli Biaho. Further on we reached
Paiju that had some trees but was a very dirty and poorly kept campsite. We
were supposed to have a rest day here but James spoke to Ibrahim after
conferring with us and he agreed to push on to Concordia and have the rest day
there.
Good nights sleep at Paiju. We had porridge for breakfast
that was delicious. Got away by 6.30AM. Up ahead was the terminal moraine of
the Baltoro Glacier. I felt breathless and was moving slowly no doubt feeling
the altitude. I still had my rucksac plus ice axes unlike Belinda and James.
Once on the moraine we followed a path for hours and it was very hot and
tiring. There were lots of packhorses hauling gear up and down the glacier.
Eventually our track left the glacier for one on top of the moraine wall on the
true left to lead to a place called Liligo where we had lunch. In the afternoon
we carried on past the mouth of the Liligo Glacier around the corner to
Korbuche where there was a stone hut and campsite. We were all done in by then.
The scenery was fantastic with Uli Biaho, the Nameless Tower, The Cathedral and
an ocean of moraine. It cooled off when the clouds covered the sun. B and I
went for a wander across the moraine photographing the numerous wild flowers.
We noted the horses were treated badly. James had seen one dying on leaving
Paiju. Others were dead out on the glacier after being worked to death.
Up at 5.00AM to a clear cold day. The altimeter read 3950
metres. Breakfast was of dry cornies and milk powder. Felt so much better after
yesterday’s effort. I got rid of maybe 2kgs weight by packing my ice axe and
crampons and some other odds and ends into the porter loads. The path wound
along the moraine wall on the true left crossing several tributary glaciers
coming in off Kuberche Peak. We reached Urdukas at 9:30AM and camped up on a
terrace. Although a nice place it was spoilt by horses and non-maintained
toilets put in by some overseas aid project. We met a Canadian called Travis
who was headed down valley on a “Karakoram Traverse” organised by “Vertical
Adventures”. It seemed there were some issues with his permit and no supplies
at Concordia supposedly waiting for him when he crossed the Gondogoro La. I
went for a walk with Belinda up the hill behind the camp to about 4500 metres.
There were numerous wild flowers up there and spectacular views. We found the
source of the water pipe and the reason the pressure was so low down below
probably has something to do with the numerous splits in it. In the evening the
wind got up followed by a dust storm and rain. Tomorrow to Gore 2.
Urdukas was incredibly dusty especially when the wind got
up. In the morning everything was covered in dust. I slept poorly. During the
night I woke up with a frightening sensation I was suffocating. Belinda roundly
abused me for making so much noise. Talk about sympathy from my nearest and
dearest! Had to get up at 4:30 AM to visit the stinky toilets. Apparently a
donkey sneaked up to a tent the porters were sleeping in and swiped some
chapattis they have left under the fly. One for the poor donkeys I say! After breakfast we packed up and got away
smartly. We set off first but there were a confusing number of tracks down the
moraine wall onto the glacier so we had to wait for a porter to come along. On
and on it went over endless kilometres of moraine. I felt very weak and had
difficulty in keeping pace with the others. The Balti porters passed me at a
fast pace carrying enormous loads and disappeared. We saw several dead horses
on the route. Cloud hung low on the peaks and then it started to rain. I
reached Gore 2 in 5 hours that was 2 hours shorter then usual time so I was
told so that was a positive.
The guys had the kitchen tent up and a delicious meal of
tomato soup, chapattis, cheese, dried fruit and fruit salad. That restored me
to a great degree. I noticed the team was not prepared for bad weather apart
from James and Belinda. James was in
pain from a back sprain the previous day so I tried to mobilize his lumbar
spine on an ice ridge as a bed! As he is a big guy this was not very
successful. It all looked pretty grim camping here. There was crap everywhere
and not easy to find safe drinking water in the glacier as a result.
Despite the grim campsite I slept well. It rained during the
night and at 5.00AM when I got up cloud was low on the peaks. I talked to James
about postponing our departure for 1-2 hours, as I was worried about the
porters and their inadequate clothing not to mention Ibrahim. By 6.00AM it was
snowing but later it cleared somewhat so we got ready to leave and got underway
at 8.00AM. I was breathless on the hills and slipped to the back. We passed
huge hills of white ice among the moraine. The porters raced ahead. It started
to snow and I plodded along alone and not 100% sure of the route in the mist
and snow. I caught up with James, Belinda and Ibrahim. It was pretty miserable.
I and B pulled ahead and I stuck with James who walked very stiffly with his
painful back. Ibrahim waited by a rock for us and I told him to go on ahead as
he was getting wet and cold. Meanwhile B
was somewhere ahead and got lost in the whiteout so asked directions at a
Pakistani army post stuck out on the glacier. My hands were frozen, as I could
not find my gloves. On and on we plodded and then it started to clear and up
ahead was the encampment at Concordia. There were numerous tents there and
beyond on a moraine mound was our camp being set up by our team. The cook had a
great lunch ready for us. B got the tent up as I was spaced out. I dried out
all my wet gear.
It started to clear around us and the mountains started
coming out K2, Broad Peak to the right, then the Gasherbrums and some snowy
rounded peaks at the head of the Baltoro.
On the other side of us was the shapely dagger of the Mitre. We got the
tents up and had lunch. Our altitude was 4600 metres. Although the following
day was a rest day we decided not to go up to K2 base camp, as it’s a long day
up and back and the following day we were intending to head to Ali camp and
over the Gondogoro la.
The following day the weather looked better. James had been
in a lot of pain but the Tramadol I gave him seemed to work wonders. B and I
did a walk up the glacier to get some photos. We noticed the rocks were most
interesting with colourful laminates of different stone in split boulders.
Belinda wandered off by herself to get more photos of a glacial stream below
our camp.
Today we set off for Ali camp. Weather variable and cool.
James away first, then B and I set off. We dropped down the hill and crossed
the glacial stream and up over some ice hummocks to gain another moraine system
up the Vigne Glacier. This became a central moraine streak up a vast glacier
that we followed up for a long way. Eventually we had to leave this for soft
snow. The porters found it hard going in
their light footwear and heavy loads. Ali camp is at the junction of the Vigne
and a side glacier. It is an island of rock below a rather dangerous rock face
that appears loose and fractured and ready to collapse. There were a number of
tents and other parties there including one of a Catalan Team that had
retreated from Broad Peak. They told us their camp 4 had been swept away by an
avalanche and one of the team had lost a boot. As we were due to leave at
midnight we decided to sleep in one of the Karakoram NP tents already pitched.
After tea we settled down for a few hours.
There was a line of headlights high up above us. We clipped
onto the ropes and climbed steadily upwards. Without any gear on my back I
could climb relatively fast and was out in front of Ibrahim, Belinda and James.
Actually I had to climb fast just to keep warm. It was terribly cold maybe 10
degree below. There were steps all the way and as we had crampons we did not
need the assistance of the ropes. Still I’d recommend a climbing harness, karabiner
and sling to clip onto the fixed rope. James had a jumar. Near the summit of
the pass I realised there was a problem down below me. Belinda further back was
been molested by the Hushe man who was touching her and pushing his knee into
her crotch. She called out to Ibrahim for assistance and once he realised what
has happened he went ballistic and gave the Hushe man a dressing down and
forced him to apologise. Taki and Ghulam who had come back were shocked too and
I think the Hushe man was lucky not to have been assaulted by our team. I was just spaced out by hypoxia and to my
everlasting regret did not whack the bastard.
Dawn had arrived by now and there were frigid views towards K2 and the Baltoro Peaks. After a few group photos we started over the pass. On the other side was a pitiful tent for 2 Hushe men who were guardians on the pass at the start of the fixed ropes down into the next valley leading to the Masherbrum valley. Here Ibrahim disappeared back over the pass to drag the Hushe man back and made him apologise to Belinda.
Dawn had arrived by now and there were frigid views towards K2 and the Baltoro Peaks. After a few group photos we started over the pass. On the other side was a pitiful tent for 2 Hushe men who were guardians on the pass at the start of the fixed ropes down into the next valley leading to the Masherbrum valley. Here Ibrahim disappeared back over the pass to drag the Hushe man back and made him apologise to Belinda.
The descent looked appalling steep down a snow/ice face
albeit with steps but by holding the ropes it was not too bad. Down we went
then sidled across the snow to a scree slopes. I tore on ahead and felt much
better as we lost height. Our porters
were way ahead dropping down towards a glacier in the valley floor flowing down
towards distant green pastures. Down below we regrouped and moved along slowly.
Ibrahim pointed out the tracks of a snow leopard. Once off the snow we moved
along a rocky lateral moraine and eventually met Ghulam and Abbas who had
backtracked with tea and biscuits. What great men! We were truly thankful and
felt utterly spoilt. Further down the valley was Khuynspand surrounded a
fantastic alpine garden of colourful flowers, where we camped.
We arrived at 9:30AM after being on the move since midnight.
Khuynspand was neat and well looked after by an attentive guardian. We sat for
a while and then got the tents up. There were a few dusty tent platforms and I
put our on one of these. James wisely headed down to the river and crossed onto
a small island of grass and set up camp there with Hassan helping. I had a lie
down for a while and then went off photographing the wild flowers. At lunchtime
Belinda had a surprise birthday cake complete with candles presented to her by
Ghulam. She shared it around the company. Unfortunately she had a bout of
vomiting later that day.
After a good nights sleep not shared by Belinda we got up at
5.00AM and away at 6:30AM. It was a relatively easy walk down the moraine and
then onto white ice that gradually dropped towards the Masherbrum Glacier.
There were many boulders on ice pedestals. On our left was an impressive dagger
like peak called ‘Lela Peak’. Ibrahim said a party made the first ascent some
years ago. B wore trainers and had a few tumbles. Lower down was a great view
of the massive icefall off Masherbrum. There were lots of wild flowers. We
passed through a camp on the glacier but did not see any foreigners. Towards
the turn of the valley we got onto a pleasant path on the moraine wall on the
left that skirted and then dropped onto the ablations valleys beside it. Here
there were some yaks grazing. Lower down there were a few awkward places where
the moraine wall fell straight down to the glacier and it became a bit of a
scramble. There were lots of wild flowers and wild rhubarb.
We had lunch on a nice meadow in the ablation valley. Beside
us was an amazing rock wall that offered fantastic rock-climbing possibilities.
We carried on in lovely pleasant weather down to join a big valley system
coming in from the left and at the junction was our next camp at Saicho at 3630
metres. This was among trees and quite pleasant. B went for a sleep while I had
a wash. There were green wet field nearby with water races spilling water onto
them making them too wet to camp on. As I was running across them I slipped and
whacked my head almost knocking myself out! It was very embarrassing and I hope
nobody saw me. The surrounding mountains were spectacular and it was a pleasant
campsite.
I slept poorly at Saicho. At breakfast Ibrahim announced we
would spend the day at Saicho but we were keen to keep going all the way to
Hushe. So we packed up and off down a pleasant valley among the wild roses. The
track was on the left of the river all the way to Hushe. This was a stunning
place so green and fertile after the barren mountains and ice we had just left.
The local people grew barley, potatoes and vegetables. The school kids ambushed
us just outside the village and I think James got the worst of it being out in
front. Above the village was the Hushe Resort Hotel where we stayed. It was nice enough but had poor electrics and
no hot water. On the walls were photos of various expeditions to the Karakorams.
We went for a walk down to the bridge over the river where B took some photos.
There is a spectacular mountain just south of Hushe called Amin Brod that I guessed
was 6 thousand metres high with a green meadow half way up. Ibrahim told me a
local man had made the first ascent. In the afternoon James and I had a meeting
with our porters and camp staff and gave each an envelope with cash as a gift
for their services.
Woke up with a headache and not feeling great. After
breakfast had some group photos of the team and then we all crowded into a long
wheel landcruiser for the drive to Skardu. I’m not sure how we all fitted in
but it seemed to work. We stopped for lunch on the way at the PTDC hotel at
Khapalu. Nice building but poor service. We were served with a pathetic tiny
bowl of tepid soup and Ibrahim made the kitchen redo lunch much to the
manager’s protestations. Back in Skardu we said goodbye to the porters and it
was sad to see them leave. This time we stayed at the Masherbrum Hotel but it
was not a patch on the K2 and pretty average. We gave Gholam and Abbas some
money, a merino hat and a kiwi insignia. We had a big wash of our clothes. Neither
B nor myself feeling great!
The following day was a rest one. I visited the Ministry of
Tourism for a per functionary debriefing, bought some drink and biscuits and
then tired to find some boots for Ibrahim without success. In the evening I
acted as minder for Belinda who wanted some photos of the painted trucks on the
street. I was alarmed at the reception as all the locals just stared at Belinda
and I was not sure if it was hostility or curiosity?
An early start and we set off in a landcruiser for the
Deosai Plateau. We drove past Satpara Lake up a winding road to the open tops
somewhat reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands with lots of rounded hills
covered in green with the odd patch of snow. It was pretty high around 4000-metres.
We stopped by some huts and talked to some nomads. Then it was a long drive
across the plateau on very bad roads. Goats and yaks were grazing on the
slopes. We reached a camp by the famous slat bridge sadly no longer operational
and replaced by an ugly concrete monstrosity. There were a few tents there and
Ibrahim wanted to camp there but thankfully James objected. The people there
asked me to see a sick infant but there was little I could do and I implored
them to take her to the hospital in Skardu, as she was quite ill from
gastroenteritis.
We drove on to Deosai Lake, a beautiful body of water
enclosed by low brown hills. We set up camp and went for a walk among the flower-covered
meadows around the lake. There were quite a few mosquitoes too but it was a
much nicer place to camp. Ibrahim and the driver slept in the vehicle, as they
had no tent.
Woken up by Belinda bolting out of the tent at 5.00AM to
take dawn photos of the lake. It was a lovely dawn with soft lighting on the
lake and surrounding hills and snowy Nanga Parbat rising over the col. Packed
up and off. There was a big descent to Chilam where there was an army post and
where we had breakfast and repaired a punctured tire we got the previous day.
Then we drove on to Gudai beside a sparkling blue rushing torrent in the valley
to the left. The barren slopes were soon replaced by lightly scattered woodland
and small settlements.
In the Astore Valley we met a T-junction and turned left up
to Tarshing way on a mountain. The road wound up to a small village and we
arrived at a small hotel there. It was a pleasant place with nice basic rooms
upstairs. The shower was a bucket but that was OK. We had a simple but
enjoyable lunch and then James and I went for a walk towards the South Chongra
Peak. A path led up through fields past a few houses then up a steep slope for
300-metres to a moraine wall overlooking a glacier coming off the Chongra
peaks. That night Belinda forbade me taking any Temazepam!!
Up at 4:40AM for an early breakfast and trek to the Rupal
Base camp. A track led past the village up a moraine wall across the moraine
covered Chhungphat Glacier to village of Rupal. From here it was a steady climb
on a well-worn track to Rupal Base Camp in an ablation valley underneath the
face. Here was a nice green swathe on the side of the Bazhin Glacier. Fantastic
views of this 5000-metre high face covered in hanging ice and glacier under a
blue sky. We had lunch here and were soon joined by a train of loaded donkeys
carrying firewood down valley herded by local men. I was feeling very tired by
the altitude and the heat of the day. James went off for a sleep in the shade
of a rock. We left him there and headed down valley myself out in front. The
heat was terrific. Back in Tarshing I bought a Pepsi and some biscuits and felt
better. B looked worn out too on her return. I had serious doubts about Buldar
Peak after this effort. James returned hours later. When he was asleep under
the Rupal Face a huge avalanche had thundered off the face scaring him witless.
After breakfast we packed up and set off for Astore. It was
quite a long drive in a narrow valley on a narrow dirt road high above a gorge.
Astore was a collection of drab houses clustered around a steep street. Here we
stopped and I bought some provisions for Buldar Peak as well as a Balti hat for
Frank. Then it was down to the Indus where there were some amazing rapids. It
was roasting hot there when we stopped. Out in the river was a standing wave
where this mighty river hit a rock. James reckoned it was 7 metres high! All is
barren and sandy and no vegetation except where there is a water race. We headed
down to Rakhiot Bridge where we transferred to a jeep to Tato. I had been up
this road last year on my previous trip so I knew what to expect. It is listed
under the 10 most dangerous roads in the world and it seems a justified
inclusion. Our jeep driver went just a bit too fast and close to the edge that
caused us some concern. In addition the engine kept boiling and we had several
stops because of this. At one stage another jeep approached and he did not pull
aside in time that meant we had to back down the steep narrow road, an alarming
manoeuver.
Eventually we arrived at Tato and some porters carried our
gear up to Fairy Meadow 2 hours up the hill. We met two gentlemen from Zeb
Travel in Karachi visiting Fairy Meadow. Off we set up the track and for a
change I noticed Belinda was having difficulty in keeping up. Usually it was
the reverse with me being at the back. It’s a pleasant enough walk up about 500-metres
to Fairy Meadow through the forest overlooking the Raikot Valley. Fairy Meadow
is over an old moraine wall a broad expanse of meadow with Raikot Serai
surrounded by forest. Just as I arrived I saw my friend Rehmat running across
the lawn to a group of men carrying a stretcher. As I approached I saw an older
European man lying unconscious and fitting on a stretcher. They told me he had
diabetes and that he was part of a Spanish trekking group and had collapsed an
hour previously. They asked about transporting him down to Tato but I thought
it best to keep him at Fairy Meadow and try to resuscitate him straight away. I
got them to place him on a mattress and then turned him into the recovery
position. He had a good radial pulse and was having tonic/clonic seizures. We
tried giving him a glucose drink bit it made no difference. I tried to get a
helicopter evacuation but was told it was not possible and would take at least
12 hours and the army would have to be paid in advance before they would act. There
were no anti-convulsants available. After another hour or so he died. There was
nothing else we could do. It was devastating for the other trekkers especially
for the wife. Rehmat then arranged for the body to be carried down and I wrote
a report for the local authorities.
Just then Jaylees Hazir walked up to me. I met him the
previous year so it was very nice to see him again. He is a well-known
Pakistani writer. I also talked to Rehmat. But I was really exhausted so after
dinner I had an early night. We had been given a nice chalet overlooking the
Raikot Glacier and it had a wonderful view towards Nanga Parbat next morning on
getting up. We had a lazy day at FM and a long discussion with Jaylees on the
medicinal value of Marijuana, Jaylees for and Stanley against. But it was good
to relax and not have to move. James and I made plans to climb Buldar Peak and
sorted out gear. We decided to just take the Minaret tent fly and just the
minimum of gear. Rehmat gave us a route description. We decided on an early
start next day.
Up at 3.00AM for breakfast and we were off by 4.00AM by
headlight. It was getting light by the time we reached Beyal and I noticed the
school there had smoke coming from the chimney but thought better of calling
in. Up to the lookout that is a bit of a gut buster, then to the Ganalo Glacier
to basecamp. At the hut there was a boy and a man who offered us a cup of tea
but we were anxious to keep on. Further on we dropped down to the Rakhiot
Glacier and found that access onto it was difficult. Our first attempts were in
vain so we tried further up and found a complicated route across. Getting off
was a bit difficult too. Once on the lateral moraine on the far side it was a
steep climb to the ‘Goat’s Meadow’ where predictably there were goats. We
stopped by a huge rock for lunch. Higher up was the ‘Ibex Meadow” at 4400
metres where we set up camp. There were lots of beautiful flowers on these two
areas. Down below was the Rakhiot Glacier flowing off the enormous Great
Icefall and the stupendous Rakhiot face of Nanga Parbat. We had climbed 1200 to
1300 metres that day and felt knackered. We had been on the go for 12 hours. It
clouded in and drizzled in the afternoon.
I got up at 1:30 AM for a pee and noticed a clear sky and a
full moon. We should have gone there and then but instead waited till 3:15AM.
Breakfast was cold boiled potatoes and chapattis. No hot drink, as we had no
stove. We packed up the tent, which we hid near a rock and set off for the
Buldar Scharte. There was a rocky slope running up into scree and then frozen
snow flanked by cliffs and rocky walls. Dawn arrived as we moved slowly up
this. Higher up it steepened and was quite icy. As my crampons were blunt I had
to be very careful not to fall. We were both very short of breath and James was
making much faster time way ahead of me.
We reached a col at 5100 metres. I was having to rest for every 5 steps.
Now the sun was more powerful and the snow rapidly softening. We turned to the
left up rocks to 5225 metres where I caught up with James. I felt done in by
the altitude and could not get enough oxygen to move up any further. So we
spent half an hour admiring the fantastic views of the Chongra peaks, the Buldar
Glacier flowing down the valley to the north of us, Nanga Parbat. We were still
400 metres short of the summit and there was no possibility of reaching it that
day.
At 10:00AM we started back down to our bivi site on the Ibex
Meadow. We spied a herd of goats coming over the lip of the meadow and some
herders driving them along. Once back at our old campsite James had a lie down
and I ate some potatoes and cheese. At 2:15PM we left and slowly made our way
down to the Goat Meadow where we met a shepherd. We gave him some bread, cheese
and biscuits. Further on we met more shepherds plus a herd of 300 goats. They
were heading down valley so we walked along with them. There is a narrow track
along the moraine wall and somehow we ended up in the middle of the herd of
goats. This became a bit of a problem once we came to a very narrow track
across a steep moraine wall and the goats pressed close behind us trying to
pass. All of a sudden there was mayhem as they charged past dashing up and down
the moraine wall around us showering us in rocks and dust. I could hardly see
and back off as best I could without falling off the route.
Once past us the rear-guard goats caught up with their mates
and disappeared up a steep wall to the meadows further down the valley. Once we
reached the meadows we re-joined the shepherds and walked with them down the
valley to some huts. Here we bade them goodbye and continued on down across
meadows and forest to a track upon the moraine wall which dropped to a bridge
across the Rakhiot river. By now the light was going and just on dark we walked
into the dining room at Rakhiot Serai. I felt fine and not really tired having
recovered from the altitude effects by now. The other trekkers greeted us
warmly and we enjoyed a nice dinner before retiring.
While we were climbing Buldar Peak, Belinda and Ibrahim had
visited Beyal Summer School. This had been built the previous year with money
from a Belgian lady and Sier and I had promised the fund the teacher’s salary
for 3 years. They met Ali, the teacher and were introduced to the pupils. There
were 43 kids in the school. It all seemed a worthwhile project. Later after
discussion with Rehmat we agreed to fund an extension to the school for next
year as there was not enough room in the present building.
The next day was spent relaxing and talking to Rehmat. It
was cloudy and raining so glad to be down of the mountain. We met Ken, a
Canadian geologist and his American guide John from Montana. John was a good
friend of Greg Mortenson and had harsh words about Jon Krakauer and his book
“Three cups of Deceit”!
The following day we bade farewell to Rehmat and Fairy
Meadow as we set off for Tato. There we met our previous driver and had an
uneventful drive down to Raikot Bridge where we met up with a landcruiser for
the drive south. At Chilas we stopped for lunch, then drove over the Babusar
pass and on down to Naran. I was amazed at the number of nomads living in tents
all the way down the valley. The previous year there were hardly any here.
Accompanying them were their flocks of animals and bee hives. At Naran we
stayed in a small chalet.
The final leg to Rawalpindi took forever on ever-busy roads.
‘Pindi” was a fright, incredibly noisy and dirty. We stayed at the Hunza Hotel
that was not very appealing. In the evening I went for a walk with James and
Ibrahim to the bizaar that was dirty, noisy and full of Chinese junk. Belinda
was sick so stayed in the hotel. We were supposed to go to dinner but there
seemed some confusion and I did not fancy the filthy restaurants so bought some
juice and headed back to the hotel. At 1:45AM we got taxis to the airport and
said goodbye to Ibrahim who looked after us so well.
We flew out in the dark over a vast city of lights across a
war torn country called Afghanistan to the west and across dark mysterious
lands. Behind us lay an amazing country of stupendous mountains and some of the
finest people I’ve had the privilege to meet. The trip was hard and we found it
mentally as well as physically taxing. We both lost weight and were looking forward
to a restful time in Scotland.
Acknowledgment: Thanks
to Belinda for coming along and to James who made it possible. Thanks to Rehmat
who I count as a good friend and Ibrahim who looked out for us as a guide and
ultimately became a trusted friend. Thanks to all the Balti porters and Golam
and Abbas our cooks. I salute your good humour, incredible strength and
loyalty.
Asalaam Aleikum.
Dr Stanley
