Mountain Madness Gasherbrum II 2005: Islamabad

Dispatch: This is Charlie Fowler reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan. On July 29 Megan, Nick and Joe flew from Skardu to Islamabad. Some of our gear had not been delivered from basecamp, so I waited in Skardu an extra day for it to arrive. When the gear did arrive, I was unable to fly to Islamabad, so I traveled overland back down the Karakoram Highway, a bumpy two-day trip.

Joe took off for home yesterday evening, while Nick and Megan checked into a nice hotel and will be relaxing there a few days before traveling on. Today I will be finishing up expedition business, including a de-briefing at the Ministry Of Tourism. Tomorrow morning I begin the long flight home to Colorado. It will be good to be home, but already I am thinking of returning soon to Pakistan.

Cheers, Charlie

Earlier Dispatch: This is Charlie Fowler reporting from Skardu. We arrive here yesterday afternoon after a long jeep ride from the trailhead at Askole. We left basecamp on July 24, intent on going over the pass of Gondogora La to the village of Hushe, but bad weather thwarted our plans. Instead we had to hike back down the Baltoro Glacier, a trek we accomplished in 3 longs days with 10 to 12 hours of hiking each day.

Hot showers, clean clothes and relaxing in a real bed were the highlights of yesterday afternoon and evening. Today team members went hiking and sightseeing while I took care of some expedition business with our Liaison Officer, Capt. Asif. We are scheduled to fly to Islamabad tomorrow morning and from there back home in a few more days. Cheers, Charlie

Updates

Built to handle a myriad of different climbing pursuits, the Ultralight Universal is our best selling crampon. This crampon lives for trekking, glacier travel, or steep couloirs and snowfields. Totally adjustable Zytel straps make this crampon durable and easy to use. Fits everything from moon boots to flip-flops, our lightest crampon available. Weight: 590g Points: 10. See more here.

   Ascenders

   Atlas snowshoes

   Atomic

   Black Diamond

   Botas

   Brunton

   Carabiners

   CaVa Climbing Shoes

   Chaco

   Clearance

   Clif Bar

   Cloudveil

   CMI

   Crampons

   Edelweiss ropes
   Eureka Tents

   Exofficio

   Featured

   FoxRiver

   Garmin

   Granite Gear

   Harnesses
   Headlamps

   Hestra
   Helmets

   HighGear

   HornyToad
   Ice Axes

   Julbo

   Kavu Eyewear

   Katadyn

   Kelty

   Kong

   Lekisport

   Life is Good

   Lowa

   Lowe Alpine

   Lowepro

   Millet

   Motorola

   Mountain Hardwear

   Mountainsmith

   MSR

   Nalgene

   New England Ropes

   Nikwax

   Omega

   Patagonia

   Pelican

   Petzl

   PowerBar

   Princeton Tec

   Prescription Glacier

   Glasses

   Primus

   Rope Bags

   Salomon

   Scarpa

   Seattle Sports

   Serius
   Sleeping Bags

   Stubai

   Suunto

   Tents

   Teva

   Thermarest

   Trango

   Tool Logic

   Trekking Poles
   Yaktrax
   and more here