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Trekking to K2 and Gondogoro La: A Scenic Journey
Jul 8, 2004 09: 22 EST
This year marks the Golden Jubilee of the first ascent of K2. To mark the event, Ian Bergeron and his girlfriend, Stéphanie Provost, went to K2 base camp to meet the modern age climbers attempting the summit of this huge pyramid of rock. What they got was a journey of a lifetime.
By Ian Bergeron:
Islamabad
We arrived in Islamabad tired from our long flight from Montreal Canada. 16 hours on a plane, trying to sleep in those cramped seats is exhausting. Once we got outside, we felt even worse from the heat and humidity that plagues this town in summer. 100 degree heat plus humidity is not pleasant, especially when your olfactory senses are attacked by “new” odours.
After a rest day and another day where we had to go to a briefing at the ministry of Tourism, to prove that we can undertake the journey, we were ready to leave for Skardu, the capital of northern Pakistan. Unfortunately, the plane did not take off because the weather wasn’t clear in Skardu. You see, the sky must be clear for a plane to take off, since the airport of this mountain town doesn’t have radar. Pretty scary when you fly at 8000 meters and you know that you’ll fly in between mountains of about the same height.
Finally, the next day the plane takes off. What a spectacular flight! We saw Nanga Parbat (8125m) from up close. You almost feel you could touch it if the windows of plane would open.
Skardu
Skardu was a lot better for our North American bodies. Temperatures were a lot more comfortable (94 or so), and the city is so nice. Surrounded by huge peaks of 4000 meters or more, Skardu is the stop for any expedition in the Karakoram. It’s where they hire porters, get food and find jeeps that will take them to the beginning of their journey, the small village of Askole.
We spent two days here, visiting the surroundings and nearby lakes. Above Skardu lies Satpara Lake, a small oasis enclosed by majestic peaks. The area serves as the water resources for the region as well as the hydroelectricity source for the town. Regrettably, the superb green pastures will be flooded in the next two years, when the enlargement of the dam is completed.
Askole
To get to Askole, in the heart of the Karakoram, you must endure a long and tiring jeep ride. 9 hours sitting in an old Toyota Range Rover, traversing the countryside. The road is bad, really bad. It’s sitting on the flank of hills and a wrong turn will drop you into the river down below. In 2002, 8 Italians died when their jeep missed a turn. This is a road where mistakes must be avoided.
Askole looks like it’s out of medieval times. People mainly live off agriculture and men also work as porters in the summer time. Houses are made of old stone, barely covered by a wooden roof. Like it was a long time ago, animals live underneath the humans. Health conditions are very hazardous. When I go to get some water, I think to myself “my God, it’s a miracle if I don’t get sick here”.
Juhla
To get to Juhla, you must walk 17km in sand and rocks. The terrain is often difficult, since you must cross the end of the Biafo glacier, filled with very bad moraines. Add to this the burning sun that is heating your body at close to 96 degrees, and the stomach problems mentioned earlier, you are in for dehydration. Well, this is what has happened! We drank more then 6 litres of water and still that wasn’t enough. For the first time of my life, I fell on my knees and cried like a baby for no apparent reason. I now know that my body was dehydrated and I was hurt. Nevertheless, this was one of the most difficult days of my life.
That night, we met some Spanish trekkers that where returning after unsuccessfully crossing the Gandogoro Pass (5640m). This raised some doubt in my mind since this was on our itinerary. They told us the weather was too bad to cross.
Urdukas
We camp in front of Cathedral Peak. I find myself dreaming of climbing high on it’s face one day when suddenly a huge piece of rock falls from it’s summit making a frightening noise. My dream stops dead cold. I’m now happy to be sitting here contemplating its beauty.
Goro II
Finally I see what I came here for, huge 8000m peaks. In front of me lies Gasherbrum IV in all its splendour. My girlfriend and I pass most of the afternoon looking around at the peaks unfolding from the clouds. We are in synch with the region; our stomach problems are a thing of the past. We can now let the landscape soak in our memories.
Concordia – K2 Base Camp
At Concordia, we finally get a glance at our trip highlight: K2. This pyramid is immense! Thinking that 60 Matterhorns could fit in this mountain alone gives us perspective of how huge it really is. Again we gaze at it a whole afternoon in order to savour its magnificence.
The next day, we walk the 10k to base camp where we meet the K2-Magic Line 2004 expedition. Led by Oscar Cardiach, this team of 5 is attempting the difficult Polish route (unrepeated). Applying the purest style of climbing, they’ll try to reach the summit without oxygen. These men are bold, strong and intelligent. Manel de la Mata, a member of the team, turned back at 60 meters from the summit of Everest some years ago, because he lost his headlamp. Not summit fever dudes, simply climbers enjoying hard climbs on difficult mountains.
Gondogoro Pass
The weather is bad. Really bad. Clouds, snow and no visibility plagues us for more then 2 days. Either we cross now, or turn back. Turning back is not an option for me. We decide to hire two members of the Hushe rescue team, who know the pass like the back of there hand. This will prove to be a good idea.
The two of them and myself set the pace, opening the trail for our 10 porters and my girlfriend. The snow is soft, wet and very deep. We sink to our waist several times, sometimes sinking in hidden creeks of water.
3 hours after we left Ali Camp, we’re at the La (pass). It looks huge and dangerous, prone to avalanches. We keep going at it. We’re now at 5400m, I have no idea if we are close to the top or not, the whiteout condition preventing us from seeing the summit.
I realize that my girlfriend is falling behind. She’s having difficulty with the altitude. I’m also worried of avalanches. The snow piles up constantly while we climb. I even saw some chunks of snow detaching from the summit cornice. I go to see her and try to help her up the steep 50 degree hill. Two hours later we are on top. Normally we could see Broad Peak, K2, Gasherbrum and Laila Peak from here. Now the clouds surround us. Weather is bad, we must continue.
Going down the other side of the pass, in the Hushe valley, is somewhat easier, but not less dangerous. The snow build-up here and many gullies are prone to avalanches. The two rescue team members confirm my suspicion by asking us to hurry up. Don’t need to tell me that again! We’re literally running and sliding down to avoid the gullies.
Some 2 hours later we are back down to 4700 meters, in the safety of Xhuspang camp. In one day we will have climbed 630 meters and descended 900. A long 11 hour day in deep wet snow. We’re tired but happy to have passed. Actually, we’re the only team in more then a month to have crossed the pass and only the third team this year. When we left, other expeditions where betting on when we’d turn back. Three other teams had this in their itinerary, a French team, a German team and another Canadian team. All turned back. Not us. Seems like living in the deep snow of Eastern Canada has some advantages!
Images courtesy of Ian Bergeron; from top down: Trango Towers, Concordia, Masherbrum, K2, Porters, Gondogoro La, Porters.
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