Foreigners killed at Fairy Meadows

There are currently advisories from my government to avoid all travel to Pakistan. I was still able to get private insurance through Charter Novis, They may have a British counterpart, They were the only insurance company I found which would insure trekkers up to 18500 feet which is the altitude if you are going to cross the Gondogoro La. Its difficult decision. I knew that other areas of Pakistan were risky but felt that North was relatively safe. Don't know whether or not one incident, a very bad one, changes that. There are many other expeditions in Pakistan now and i havent heard of any of them giving up and going back. Ill post if I go or not. I have to decide very quickly as my flight is in the next few days...

sorry Scooter. if I dont go Ill be out $1000. I accept it because I knew it would be difficult to organize enough people to form a group and that the situation could change that. I think that the K2 trek is probably the ultimate adventure I could ever do and will accept some risks to do it

sorry Scooter. You are lucky after all. . if I dont go Ill be out $1000. I accept it because I knew it would be difficult to organize enough people to form a group and that the situation could change that. I think that the K2 trek is probably the ultimate adventure I could ever do and will accept some risks to do it

I was supposed to leave the US for Islamabad 6-15 and was scheduled to be at the Fairy Meadows and off to the base camp this week for the week. I severely sprained my ankle to the extent that hiking was not an option, so I regrettably cancelled the trip with Vertical Explorers. Ate a couple hundred bucks for the Letter of Introduction and Visa fees, and have been super depressed most of this week that a vacation a year in planning had to be discarded.

This could have been me. Could you imagine the glee of these asshats to get an American in their grips? I was out around $700 between all the fees. I'm the happiest guy in California today.

Nanga Parabat seems like such a strange place for an attack.

It’s so remote. I visited Fairy Meadows en route to Gondogoro la (above Concordia) and China ten years ago. Bush was bombing Iraq and things were pretty tense throughout the country. But Fairy Meadows and the two day walk to NP Base Camp and camp I was absolutely tranquil. The jeep ride to FM was a bit hairy. Lots of exposure and rock slides.

At Fairy Meadows, a chopper landed carrying about a dozen Pakistani army guys. They couldn’t believe that a lone American would be there. They thought I was CIA and several of the guys had their photo taken with me.

From Fairy Meadows it was an easy walk up to the final village (just a few cabins) before the mountain. From there I hired a guide to take me to base camp.

Base Camp was empty. Only saw a couple of travelers at FM and none on the trail to base camp. The walk was unforgettable for the wild flowers and serene alpine views.

Just hard to believe the area could be the scene of such a violent act.

Check out my photos of Fairy Meadows and the walk to Nanga Parabat Base Camp by clicking here .

Blue Skies

Edited by: Dogwap

Sad very sad. May god rest their soul in peace, I was just checking Nanga Parbat BC i guess i will not go.

Re - "Tour operator says K2 trek is safe and will be safer" ~ avsfan

Don't take this the wrong way, but consider that they have a dog in this fight.

Indians and Pakistanis are fond of claiming - "No problem" in a laid back way, when there is 'clearly' a problem but they just don't want to admit it, face it and have to bother to deal with it.

37: I understand this of course.

I was in Baltistan for two weeks, just coming back to the lowlands on the 22nd. It was utterly peaceful in the Braldu and Basha valleys.IF you can be guarunteed a flight, then it should be quite safe. The weather was very unsettled and abnormally cool and rainy from about June 13th to the 20th or so and all flights were cancelled for 4 or 5 days. PIA has now changed from a single 737 about midday to two Fokker prop flights, one early morning and one mid-day. I have done well over 50 trips to Gilgit-Baltistan over the last 30 years and speak Urdu quite fluently, so it is much easier for me to travel than most. I have friends in many of the villages throughout the mountains. One thing that I know from the local people is that all of the communties in the mountains will pull together and do their very best to provide security and help to foreigners. It would be extremely difficult for terrorist to get to the K2 area. The upper Shigar and Braldu is nearly 100% Shiite and they have been targeted by the Taliban, and so despise them., and there are many military and police checkpoints from Giligt all the way to the Braldu... I would avoid trekking below Gilgit in the Indus Valley, Safe travels.