American Gasherbrum 2006 Expedition Update

Friday, June 23. "We flew to Skardu" may not sound beautiful to you, but they're music to my ears. I'm laying in a motel room in Skardu after a 45 minute plane flight, which allowed us to avoid two grueling days of driving up the Karakoram Highway.

So far the trip has paralleled my experiences the previous two years--long plane flights, jet lag, mind-searing heat in Islamabad. I've also seen a number of my Paskistani friends, and look forward to seeing others in the future.

On Thursday I gave the Alpine Club of Pakistan $500 donated by my friends and family for earthquake relief. The money will be used to help rebuild schools in the earthquake zone. The other $500 will go to the Central Asia Institute, to be used for the same purpose (see the link at the top of the page).

The weather has been generally clear, which was why we could fly today (Friday). The plane must fly by one of the biggest mountains in the world and land in a narrow, deep mountain valley, so bad weather prevents the plane from flying about 50% of the time. I had excellent views of Nanga Parbat (an 8000 meter peak) on the flight.

We have a variety of folks on our permit: A guided group of 3 plus the guide, a couple of Italians and a Nepali, and two solo Americans, Nick and yours truly. We travel and trek to base camp together, but will climb independently.

So far I've done little but eat, sleep, and shop for supplies. Avoiding the 100+ degree heat in Islamabad meant hiding in the air-conditioned room or in the restaurant of the Pearl Continental Hotel.

Saturday, June 24. It's 6am and I'm sitting on the terrace of the hotel, overlooking a river coming down from a side valley. The valley is fllied with poplar trees, and the surrounding mountains are mostly a uniform brown, the color of light mud, with occasional splashes of snow or grass. I'm only up at this hour because of the jet lag, but it's worth it to enjoy a few minutes of cool air and relative quiet.

Skardu is a town that has its own charm, I suppose. It's a frontier town at the end of the road, with eye-watering air full of diesel fumes and dust. There are hundreds of the shops common in the Third World. It does seems strange to walking around the dust, rocks, trash, and other filth and see shops advertising digital photo services.

The main goal today is to get my baggage repacked so that it is the right weight for porters to carry. We're also making sure that our outfitter (ATP) has all of the items we've requested. A walk through the bazaar, and probably a nap, and food, will complete the day. Tomorrow (Sunday) we will take the 8 hour jeep ride up to Askole, and we start walking the next day. I don't know when the next dispatch will be--maybe in 4 days, maybe a week

Wolf Göschl climbing near Gasherbrum La (G1, 6300m, 24. June) copyright Gerfried Goeschl

Timeline:
June 19- fly to Pakistan
July 3- arrive at Base Camp
August 8- depart Base Camp
August 16- return to USA

From June 21 through August 16, I will be in Pakistan attempting the world's 13th highest mountain, Gasherbrum II (8,031/26,348 ft).

Gasherbrum 2 is located along the Baltoro and Abruzzi Glaciers in northern Pakistan. Four of the world's 14 highest peaks are found within a few miles of each other, including K2 (the world's second highest peak).

I will be climbing completely self-supported, without supplemental oxygen, without guides, and without high-altitude porters.

Many folks have asked about the political situation in Pakistan. While there are areas of Pakistan that are totally bad news, the main climbing areas have continued to be as safe for Westerners as anywhere in the world. The local inhabitants rely on expeditions for much of their yearly income, which helps. For two years I have found almost Pakistanis to be almost uniformly friendly.

While this route is not technically difficult, the combination of weather and altitude mean that even for the world's best climbers there is no certainty of reaching the summit.

Safety: Climbing the high peaks is not safe; but neither is driving to work. An interesting analysis shows that since 1990, these high peaks have become much safer than they were in the past.

The main difficulty in climbing these peaks stems from the lack of oxygen in the air . However, many climbers are prevented from summitting by more mundane problems. Mike Farris

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