The ultimate goal of hikers, the K2 base camp of Chogory Peak in Pakistan
The ultimate goal of hikers, the K2 base camp of Chogory Peak in Pakistan
Part I: Overview
1、 Karakoram Mountains
The Karakoram Mountains are mainly located in the north of Pakistan and the south of Xinjiang, China, and also include parts of northwest India, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, with a total length of 800 kilometers and a width of 240 kilometers. In the core area of northern Pakistan, which is no more than 400 kilometers long, there are four peaks more than 8 kilometers long, and more than 20 peaks more than 7 kilometers long (on the mountain map of northern Pakistan, there are more than 40 peaks more than 7 kilometers long), which is far more dense than the the Himalayas. The most famous, of course, is K2 Chogory Peak, the second highest peak in the world at an altitude of 8611 meters， sports fitness .
In addition to the dense peaks, the Karakoram Mountains is also the most developed region of glaciers in the world except for the two poles, with several world-class glaciers concentrated. Six of the eight largest glaciers except the polar region are concentrated here. In the process of walking, we can see that there are huge glaciers in almost every valley, which is amazing.
The following table is the ranking of the largest glaciers in Pakistan (by area). The largest Siachin Siqin Glacier, located at the junction of China, Pakistan and India, is mainly controlled by India and is not open to tourists. The Baltoro Glacier, which ranks second, is a necessary section on the K2BC hiking route (a classic backpack of the famous outdoor backpack brand Gregory is named after this glacier). The third Biafo glacier and the fourth Hispar glacier form the Snowlake hiking route.
2、 K2BC hiking route
There are many hiking routes in the Karakoram Mountains, of which two are the most famous: one is the K2 base camp (K2BC) hiking route, and the other is the Snowlake hiking route (see the full version of Snowlake here for details). The two routes have excellent scenery and great difficulty. The main difficulty is that the road conditions are very poor. Most of the road sections walk on the glacier. It can be said that there is no road and it is very physical. There is no supply on the way. You need to find a guide and take all the necessary supplies. The climate in the Karakoram Mountains is changeable. Even in the hiking season from July to September, it is more likely to encounter bad weather.
These two routes usually start from Skardu, Skardu, and take a bus for 100 kilometers to Askole Village, which is the last village that can be opened to traffic and has supplies. From Askole to the east is the K2BC hiking route, because the camp along the route is fixed, and the whole journey is about 12 days from Skardu on foot. The reference journey is as follows:
It can be seen from the above table that the altitude of the journey is basically several hundred meters per day, which is beneficial for the hikers to gradually adapt to the high altitude. Except for turning the pass, there are no ups and downs. However, because most of the road sections walk on the surface of the glacier, which is full of riprap and cracks, it consumes a lot of energy and energy, so the difficulty cannot be underestimated.
The schematic diagram of the reference trip is as follows (the daily route is marked with different colors)
3、 Main points
1. Snow mountains: You can see four peaks with an altitude of more than 8 kilometers (K2 Chogory, the second highest peak in the world, G1 Jashublom 1, the twelfth highest peak, Bloat, and G2 Jashublom 2, the thirteenth highest peak), as well as several snow mountains with an altitude of more than 7000 meters. In addition, there is a chance to see the world's ninth highest peak, Nanga Parbat, at the westernmost end of the the Himalayas. There are many peaks here. Perhaps only the the Himalayas near Mount Everest can compete with it, but the Karakoram peak is more precipitous and ornamental on the whole.
2. Glacier: Most of the hiking sections are located above the glacier, and you can see many huge glaciers, especially the Baltoro Glacier, which is huge in size and length, and the surface landform is very rich. You can see various ice tower forests, ice mushrooms, ice caves, glaciers, etc. in a close distance. Such hiking experience is rare in other places.
3. Kawaguchi Peak Group: The group of Kawaguchi peaks that can be seen from a close distance on the way, although the altitude is not particularly high, only more than 6000 meters, but it has a very challenging large rock wall. There are more than 2000 meters of ultra-long rock climbing routes, and there is the world's highest 1600 meters drop of vertical rock wall. It is the Shangri-La that the world's large rock climbers yearn for, and it deserves special attention.
4. Crossing the pass: the Gondogorola pass, which is crossed on the way, is a technical pass with an altitude of about 5700 meters, covered by glaciers and snow, and has great difficulty. It is equipped with road ropes and requires some climbing equipment. Its climbing experience is comparable to a 6-kilometer-level snow mountain, which is also a very rare experience for hikers.
5. Humanistic customs: During the trip, you can also enjoy the cultural customs and idyllic scenery of the northern mountains of Pakistan, the famous Karakoram Highway and the landscape of the Indian River Valley, and feel the friendly enthusiasm of the Pakistani people towards their Chinese friends. July and August are also the harvest season of local fruits during hiking. In particular, it is recommended that large cherries, big white apricots, mangoes, etc., which are abundant in the local area, are delicious and cheap, and food friends should not miss them.
4、 Supplementary notes
1. The above itinerary is a reference itinerary. Considering that it is very difficult to commute from Concordia to and from the k2 base camp in one day, it is suggested to divide it into two days and stay in the k2 base camp for one night, which will increase the total itinerary by one day;
2. If you don't turn over the pass and return from Concordia, the travel plan time will also need to be increased by 1-2 days;
3. If G1 and G2 base camps are added during the trip, the planned time needs to be increased by 2 days;
4. If you go from Paiju camp to Trango base camp and then to Khoburtse camp, the time will be increased by 1 day.
Part II: Introduction to Reference Journey
The first day: take a car from skardu to askole village, the whole journey is about 7 hours;
Today's trip is to take an off-road vehicle to the village of askole, enjoy the idyllic scenery along the way, and experience the thrilling simple mountain road in the second half.
Early in the morning, the guide led his team to the hotel door to meet the guests, and drove east along the bank of the Indus River out of Skardu. After crossing the Indus River, turn north, and there is a large piece of white sand along the road. After crossing the sandy land and crossing a rocky valley, the view suddenly broadens. In front of it is the wide Shigar River Valley. You should follow the valley all the way to the north.
After an hour of departure, I arrived at Shigar Village, the largest village in my trip today. I stopped to drink some hot tea. Many hiking or mountaineering teams will come here to invite their porters.
Continue to the north along the river valley and enjoy idyllic scenery all the way. The distribution of villages here is very characteristic. There are glaciers on the top of the mountain, and the water melts along the valley to form a small river. The oasis is nurtured below, and the villages will come out naturally. The number of glaciers here is amazing. The mountain peak at the river valley is only more than 5000 meters high, but the top of the mountain is covered with glaciers.
At noon, I came to a checkpoint to check my hiking permit. The stone in front of the checkpoint is inlaid with a bronze medal, which is the monument of Renna, a member of the Tibetan mountaineering team. On May 27, 2005, on his way to climb G1, his vehicle was hit by a rock and was killed. Before that, he had completed the climb of 13 8-kilometer-level peaks.
Not far from the checkpoint, there is a suspension bridge. After crossing the bridge, we came to Daso Village. Today's mileage has reached two thirds. Daso village is a pretty small village with a small restaurant where you can have lunch.
After passing Daso Village, the river valley became narrow and the road condition was much worse. The road became more and more narrow and rugged. Beside it was a turbulent river.
The jeep in front is crossing the suspension bridge on the river. This kind of simple suspension bridge is used all the way here. It is pulled and fixed by steel wire rope and paved with wooden boards. After driving up, the bridge deck is obviously undulating, sometimes twisting from side to side, and you feel swaying when sitting in the car.
At 4pm, I arrived at the destination of today's askole village. Most of the houses in the small village are traditional low-rise mud houses. There are hotels and campsites for camping in the village. There is a small shop in the middle of the village. Every day, a group of people sit at the shop door and chat. It is regarded as the business center and social center of the village.
To the east of the village is a huge rock wall. The country path under the rock wall is the starting point for hiking tomorrow.
Opposite the askole village, a small village across the river, is more famous, which is the Koerfei village in Three Cups of Tea.
The next day: askole-jula, walking for 6.5 hours, which is difficult;
Today's trip is the first day of hiking. The road condition is good along the river valley to the east. Pay attention to sun protection, and timely replenish drinking water on the road. On the way, you can overlook the steep Paiju Peak at an altitude of 6610 meters.
Depart the camp in the morning. Start early, in order to avoid the sun in the afternoon as much as possible. After leaving the village, take a turn along the bottom of the big rock wall, and the roadside rocks are piled up, which is the result of the collapse of the rock wall.
Go eastward along the path at the foot of the mountain, turn over a small slope by the river, open the river valley in front, where the two rivers converge. The roadside wild flowers blooming in the sun have a beautiful name called Alpine Rose.
The road bifurcates at the river side. The road to snowlake is along the river to the north, and the road to K2 is across the suspension bridge on the river.
The background of the pack team we met on the road is the high paiju peak. Below the glacier is today's camp jula.
After crossing the river, continue to move forward. In the valley in front of you on the left, there is a heap of rubble, which is the front end of the huge Biafo glacier. There is a small forest at the front of the Biafo Glacier, where you can sit and rest on the ground and eat simple road meals. After lunch, continue to go along the riverside path.
For the last part of the journey, turn north along the river and bypass the small bridge to Jula camp. The camp is built on the open gentle slope by the small river, and the terrain is safe. Don't worry about falling rocks on the mountain. The camp uses water pipes to draw clean streams from the mountains. Below the camp, there are rows of simple toilets made of iron, which are very like sentries.
The third day: Jula-paiju, walking for 7 hours, difficult;
Today's journey is still along the river valley to the east, which is a little boring. If the river is large, there may be wading. In addition, the water temperature is low, so pay attention to safety. At the end of the trip, you can overlook Baltoro Glacier and Chuankou Peak Group.
Starting in the morning, the morning sun shines on the Bakhoras Peak, which is 5432 meters above sea level. The peak looks like a thumb-up thumb.
All the way down the river valley, clouds float in the air, and the river valley is cloudy and sunny. Some sections of the road are completely in the riprap by the river, next to which is the earth cliff. Pay attention to the falling rocks. Protect yourself if you want to wade.
Turn up a soil slope, and in front of it is a huge valley. The Okinawa Peak and the Church Peak are arranged on the left in turn, majestic and precipitous. At the foot of these dangerous peaks, you can see the rolling Baltoro Glacier from a distance, just like a rough gray river.
The last leg of the hike is to walk to the camp at the foot of the mountain on the left. This is also the front end of the Baltoro Glacier and the source of the river. There are many strange trees growing on the hillside.
In the afternoon, I arrived at the paiju camp with an altitude of 3450 meters. The location of the camp is very good. It is located under a forest, and many platforms have been built for camping.
The fourth day: paiju khoburtse, 7-hour hiking, difficult;
Today's journey is the first day of the glacier. In the face of the test of the hard road conditions, you need to have full psychological preparation. The overall difficulty will be relatively large.
The first part of the journey is still along the river to the east, which is relatively easy. Looking back at the distance, the clump of trees by the river is the starting paiju camp.
The uli biaho peak group in the north is full of strange peaks and rocks, like a fairyland.
Go further and you will come to the front end of the baltoro glacier, which is tens of meters thick. This is the source of the river. I thought a lot of trickles would converge into a river, but when I got close, I found that it was not. The whole river rushed out from the gap of the glacier. I didn't think there was such a large river under the glacier.
From now on, I will leave the relatively easy valley hiking section and start hiking on the glacier. Climbing the riprap slope of the glacier is really hard. The rocks are loose and the surface of the glacier is melting. You can't be careless at every step. You feel very tired when you climb up.
Overlooking the peaks of Chuankou on the north side, the clouds and mist rise from the peaks under the sun.
In the afternoon, we arrived at today's destination, Khoburtse camp, and walked for seven hours. The altitude rose from 3450 meters to 3930 meters, less than 500 meters, but it was a tiring day to walk up and down the rocky slope on the glacier.
The fifth day: khoburtse-urdukas, walking for 3 hours, with average difficulty;
Today's trip is relatively easy. It takes only 3 hours to walk, which is a rest day. The Urdukas camp has a high terrain, which is an important viewing platform for viewing the peaks in Chuankou, and cannot be missed.
Depart from the camp in the morning and walk along the edge of the baltoro glacier. The glacier is full of large and small gravel, and it is very difficult to walk. Although the glacier guide has traveled many times, the route changes every year.
After three hours of hiking, we arrived at today's camp, URDUKAS, with an altitude of 4050 meters. The altitude has only increased by more than 100 meters. Today is a relatively easy day.
The urdukas camp is built on a small hillside near the glacier, where there are huge rocks, and the tent is built under the huge rocks.
Overlooking the huge cliff of the opposite Chuankou peaks, the drop is more than 2000 meters, incomparable and incredible.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, the uli biaho peak group in the distance, the Kawaguchi peak group in the middle, and the church peak in the vicinity are arranged in sequence. At the foot of the mountain is the rolling baltoro glacier.
The famous Chuankou Tower.
There are many strange peaks in the east.
The sixth day: urdukas-goro II, walking 5.5 hours, difficult;
Today's trip is still walking on the glacier. You can enjoy the rich landforms on the glacier surface, the majestic posture of K1 (massebrum peak at 7821 meters above sea level), and the elegant demeanor of G4 peak from afar.
Leave the urdukas camp in the morning and set off for goro II camp. Shortly after leaving the camp, he began to cross the baltoro glacier. There are many cracks on the glacier surface, as well as huge ice mushrooms.
The surface of the glacier melted and formed an ice hole. It's a cool world when we get in.
The huge ice tower exposed, the teammate went to the bottom of the ice tower, and it was as small as an ant.
After walking for 4 hours, we arrived at goro I camp, and some teams would encamp here. Let's eat some road food here and continue to go to Goro II camp.
