Trip report for Snow Lake & Hispar La in Pakistan during July/ August 2019

Photo: Celebrating with the crew at Hispar La (credit: Jo Clark)

In July we organised Snow Lake & Hispar La trek in Pakistan and the leaders for this trek were Jo Clark (UK), Karim (Pakistan) and Sultan (Pakistan). Jo led our successful K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La trek last Summer and enjoyed returning this Summer to lead this more remote and less frequently trekked mountain journey through the Karakoram mountains from Baltistan to Hunza Valley.

This Summer we organised three groups in Pakistan: K2 Base Camp & Concordia, K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La and to Snow Lake & Hispar La. All of these groups started on the same dates and everyone flew from Islamabad up to Skardu together. Robert Anderson led our K2 Base Camp group to Concordia and over Gondogoro La whereas Jo led our Snow Lake group over Hispar La to Hunza. Both the K2 Base Camp and Snow Lake treks start at the village of Askole and the trail separates in the afternoon of the first day's walk. Like most of our groups this Snow Lake group was an international mix with people coming from UK, Australia, Poland and New Zealand.

Photo: Walking up the Biafo Glacier (credit: Jo Clark)

Photo: Walking across Snow Lake (credit: Jo Clark)

Photo: Just starting up Hispar La pass (credit: Jo Clark)

Photo: Camping on the Hispar La (credit: Jo Clark)

In her own words Jo Clark summarises her experience trekking in Pakistan and leading Snow Lake trek below:

"Leaving Askole, we said goodbye to the K2 trekking group led by Robert and headed towards the west up the Biafo Glacier. As we slowly made our way up the glacier, the terrain changed from rocky moraine to an icy trail littered with small crevasses. At the same time the weather turned and we had a few days of rain.

After a week of trekking, the clouds cleared, the sun came out and Snow Lake shone in the distance. With a few avid photographers on the trek, the clear views and majestic mountains made for some early morning sunrise photos and lots of distraction during the day.

On the day we trekked to the pass, a dawn start saw the team roped up and traversing the majestic Snow Lake with views of The Ogre and thoughts of far away expeditions. The flat open expanse of Snow Lake is difficult to imagine and the many false summits of the pass make it just a little longer and further that you think it should be. However, arriving on top of the snowy pass is well worth the effort and everyone was excited to have reached the top and camp in such an incredible location.

The five day descent towards Hispar Village is the more challenging side of the trek with glaciers to cross and steep sandy slopes to climb and descend. However the vast array of flowers, the views and perfect weather, and the yaks we met as we got lower made the harsh terrain and effort worth every step.

Having seen just one other group over the past ten day our arrival in the relative civilisation of Hipar Village was a change of pace, but the campsite was grassy and villagers friendly, providing us with a pleasant transition before the 4WD journey to Karimabad the next morning."

Photo: Descending towards Hispar Glacier (credit: Jo Clark)

Photo: Looking back at the pass and the Ogre (credit: Jo Clark)

We track all of our groups in the field with GPS check ins from Thuraya satellite phone and this year we have started using Google Maps in real time so friends and families can follow their progress - you can see the Google Maps for Snow Lake & Hispar La.

As you can see this group successfully made the traverse over Hispar La into Hunza Valley. I have copied below the comments from one member of this group on her AITO review:

"I trekked through the beautiful mountains and on the Biafo glacier crossing over snow lake and the Hispar la pass in Pakistan with The Mountain Company. I have trekked with them 3 times and each trek was run using a western leader. The Mountain Company always executes trips that operationally run smoothly and focus on clients safety whilst ensuring that everyone has an unforgettable travelling experience."

Jo took video during this trek, she has edited and uploaded to The Mountain Company's Channel on YouTube. As you can see the scenery is superb and by watching this video will give you a good insight and feel of what to expect on this trek.

Thanks very much to Jo, Karim and Sultan and the cook Nisar for all of their help leading and organising this trek. Well done and congratulations to the group for completing this challenging trek and making the traverse into Hunza Valley.

We plan to organise Snow Lake & Hispar La trek in July 2020, please get in contact with us if you are interested in joining this group.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

Trip report for K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La in July 2019 led by Robert Anderson

Photo: Robert Anderson and group at Concordia (credit: Robert Anderson)

In July we organised our 11th trek to K2 Base Camp in Pakistan and out of these departures seven groups have successfully crossed the Gondogoro La high pass over to Hushe village.

Our leaders for our July 2019 K2 Base Camp treks were Robert Anderson (USA), Raheb (Pakistan) and Hameed (Pakistan). We had five people in our K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La group and five people in our K2 Base Camp & Concordia group. Like in previous years this group was an international mix with people coming from UK, USA, Norway, Canada and Ireland.

This Summer we organised in total three trekking groups in Pakistan: first one to K2 Base Camp & Concordia, second to K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La led by Robert and third to Snow Lake & Hispar La led by Jo Clark. All of these groups started on the same date arriving in Islamabad on July 20th and then flew up to Skardu from Islamabad together on July 21st.

Photo: crossing bridge after Askole village (credit: Robert Anderson)

Photo: walking on Baltoro glacier (credit: Robert Anderson)

Photo: Mount K2 (credit: Robert Anderson)

Robert Anderson writes about his experience trekking in Pakistan and leading K2 Base Camp treks below:

"We reached Broad Peak base Camp by noon on August 1st, and the team paused for lunch, K2 already towering high overhead, swirling with wispy clouds.

Over the past week we had ascended the 95 km from Askole to Concordia. On the third day we dropped onto the Baltoro Glacier, trading sandy trails and bright sunshine for the rocky path leading through the crevasses, over the ice cliffs and around the azure blue lakes. The ice popped and cracked, rocks tumbled into the fissures and rivers roared over the ice and underfoot to suddenly disappear into crevasses. We passed underneath the staggering heights of Uli Biaho and the Trango towers, sunsets framing their jagged summits every evening.

At K2 Base Camp, the climbing teams had already left and we were alone with the mountain, indescribably high and rising far above us. We took pictures, yet none close to capturing the sense of immensity, the towering and complex black rock and white ice slopes that rose so far into the sky.

Back at Concordia, 5 of us headed for the heights of the Gondogoro La at 5,600 meters, stepping over Snow Leopard tracks as we started up the ropes. The night had started pre-midnight with stars, but at the pass a blizzard raged and we dived down the other side, sliding down ice covered ropes and into the sunshine of the Hushe Valley.

We met back up with our Baltoro team at Skardu, traded stories from the heights and plotted new adventures together."

Photo: walking to Ali Camp before crossing Gondogoro La (credit: Robert Anderson)

Photo: leaving Ali Camp before crossing Gondogoro La (credit: Robert Anderson)

Photo: climbing up Gondogoro La (credit: Robert Anderson)

Photo: descending a snowy Gondogoro La (credit: Robert Anderson)

Photo: descending a snowy Gondogoro La (credit: Robert Anderson)

Well done to both groups for achieving their objectives with the Gondogoro La group successfully crossing this technical high pass 5,500m+ and for K2 Base Camp group for walking up to Gilkey memorial and to the Base Camp of the second highest mountain in the world. Both of our K2 Base Camp groups arrived safely back to Skardu on August 8th and then flew back together to Islamabad on August 9th.

Photo: relaxing in Khuspang camp after crossing Gondogoro La (credit: Robert Anderson)

Photo: Khuspang camp after crossing Gondogoro La (credit: Robert Anderson)

Jo Clark, the leader of our K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La group in 2018, made a good video of her trek and uploaded to our YouTube channel, link below:

We track all of our groups in the field with GPS check ins from Thuraya satellite phone and this year we have started using Google Maps in real time so friends and families can follow their progress - you can see the Google Maps for our 2019 K2 Base Camp treks.

You can view the all of our AITO reviews for K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La and K2 Base Camp & Concordia. I have copied below an AITO review received from one member of this group below:

"I can't say enough good things about The Mountain Company. Pre-booking information was plentiful, and any questions I had were immediately addressed. The pre-departure information was extremely useful - everything from gear selection to a fitness program, assistance in arranging visas, suggested airline routings... wow. I had several back and forth interactions about what gear to take and my inquiries were always answered promptly. 

Then there was the trip. Everything on the ground went smoothly from the time I was met after picking up my bags in Islamabad until I was dropped off again on departure. Our leader, Robert, was exceptional, extremely experienced, good natured with a positive outlook that helped in the difficult days. He was keyed into the needs of the individuals in the group and made the logistics trivial for us. The local operator was of high quality and the local guides friendly, funny, helpful and accommodating to us. Any issues with porters/muleteers or logistics were unseen by us. I am an experienced traveler and have used a half dozen tour operators over the years. This trip with TMC was the best of them, and I will be booking other trips with TMC in the future."

To find our more about the challenges of this trek take a look at our Blog article How difficult is crossing Gondogoro La pass on K2 Base Camp trek?

Thanks very much to Robert, Raheb and Hameed plus the rest of the hard working team in Pakistan for their help and making it possible for our trekkers to experience this beautiful trek to K2.

The Mountain Company is promoting both our K2 Base Camp & Concordia and K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La for July 2020. We are also planning to organise Snow Lake & Hispar La again in July 2020.

Please get in touch with us if you have any questions on K2 Base Camp trek and if you would like to discuss your suitability or additional training required to join this trek in the future.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk