Just Back from K2 Basc Camp Trek

Just back from Pakistan. Had a wonderful time, even though there were incident at Nanga Parbat. I know that there has been a lot on here lately about safety and I thought I would share my thoughts having just returned. We travelled with other trekkers on KKH and trekked to K2 base camp, unfortunatey not Gondogoro La. we walked in Skardu, we walked everywhere, we took the KKH, we stayed in Chilas, we shopped in Skardu and Islamabad, we ate in out of the way spots and did many other things that made our vacation special. Not once, did it ever occur to me to be nervous in any way. It is a complete non-issue, so much so, that when you go and experience it yourself you may just feel a little foolish for being concerned in the first place! I 100% feel safer in Skardu and on K2 trek than I do in my own city in Texas. Nanga Parbat is far off from K2 trek trail and lot of security by army at each camp site.
Really, let this put your fears to rest once and for all. In addition everyone is very nice and accomodating. If anyone wants any more information please PM me.
Couple of tips

1) For a bit of peace and quiet after walking round in Skardu visit the Deosai - an oasis of tranquility.

2) The banks in Skardu wont accept travellers cheques (or at least the guy on duty when we were there wouldn't) and they also don't accept Mastercard or Visa card.

If you are undecided about visiting Pakistan - go for it - it was amazing!

You are from Texas and yet you call it "travellers cheques" instead of "travelers checks"?!! Are you really from Texas?

Thanks thirlingsteps for sharing valuable first hand travel report with fellow travelers.
Keep on having fun.

'm not native American, but live in Texas.

I agree. Pakistan is an undiscovered paradise. India is packed to the brim with tourists and everyone there is trying to get their share of the tourist dollars.

Thirlingsteps, thanks for sharing. Its great to hear. Did you do your trek with an agency? If so, what was it called?

Hi Guyanaguy,

Greetings from US
I'm from Texas & write 'traveller's cheques'! ;-)
but then I'm a girl
And a 7 time traveller to Pakistan.

Cheers.
SB

Thanks Tirllingsteps for your pleasant post.
It's nice to hear that a fellow Texan likes Pakistan as much as you did. I do as well.
How did you get cash?
This happened to me once in 2005 & I stayed in a village for 3 weeks until I could get money.
Do you know if Gilgit is cashing traveller' cheques at the banks these days?
This can be a problem in the North. No problem in Islamabad.

Thanks.
SB

I just returned from Pakistan - doing the K2 and G1 and 2 based camp trek. My experience on safety was very similiar to the OP. I never felt threatened - always felt safe, and I had a wonderful experience.

I could not cash travelers checks anywhere - even in Islamabad. I went to several banks in the Blue area and a whole covey of bank officials would examine my American Express travellers checks, and then they would hand them back to me, indicating that I couldn't cash them unless I had a Pakistani bank account.

Also, I could not find an ATM that would take my debit card. I kept getting error messages.

Fortunately, I brought enough cash - USD - and the money changers would readily accept those bills.

Thanks tomtraveller for sharing first hand update on traveler's check.

could someone out there give me some encouragement or tell me Im nuts. As with many folk who are hooked on the mountaineering books i want to see K@ for myself. But, Im 62 yrs of age. Im in good nick and with 6 months before the treking season opens im sure I can improve on that.

Is the treking just constant or is there a hurry factor/. Have you done this trek with folk in there 60's and how did they handle it?.

kitrob, last summer I did a custom trek to K2 and G1 and G2 base camps, including a camp at the base of trango towers. I think you should be able to do such a trek at age 62. Many of the treks just go to Concordia. On the rest day of Concordia, some groups trek to K2 base camp and back. There just weren't many trekkers is this area last year, and the few that I saw, most were younger. However, I have done a lot of trekking in Nepal, and I have seen many trekkers in their 60's and 70's and they do just fine. I am in my 50's.

On the trek, we usually left camp around 8am, stopping around an hour to an hour and a half for lunch, and then pulling into camp at 3 or 4 pm. If you were slower, and you arrived at camp an hour later, I don't see it as a big deal.

I would look at booking a custom trek, with perhaps shorter days, since you are concerned about your age. Then, the trekking agency could offer it to others. They would just have to understand that its a trek made for older individuals as opposed to trekkers in their 20's.

If this is a trek that you want to do, I'd encourage you to do it. The mountains are incredible! I hope to be trekking into my 70's.

Tomtraveller,

Many thanks for that.
I see you are very familiar with the K2 basecamp trek. I would really like your input on who to trek with. Without some inside knowledge it seems a real lottery if just relying on online info.

The most oft mentioned ones are VEPakistan, Hunza and , I think The Mountain Company or some such name.

We would be three guys, aged 58 to 62. We don't want to carry our packs or have to cook.. We want good tucker and good bedding and don't mind paying a little more if necessary.

Save going into LP could you email me at kit@kaimailaw.co.nz.

Many thanks.

Researching this trip, I found that Snowland Treks and Tours and Vertical Explorers seemed to have the most consistent good reviews. I interviewed the owners of both companies and I went with Snowland. They did a great job on my trip, and I'd go with them again. Snowland will customize a trip for you if you want.

Thank you very much for that. Snowland it will be.
If you have any other tips that you feel might be useful I would be most obliged to hear them. Cheers

kitrob, please post your experience after your trek. I'm sure you'll have a great time. I'm from the USA (west coast, Seattle). I flew Emirates Air with a stop in Dubai to Islamabad. It was a very efficient and fun, but long flight. I'd fly them again. Kamal, the owner, is very helpful and a great guy. Tell him I said hello.

If you have the time, spend a couple days in Lahore. I wish I had, but it was so hot in Islamabad in July (38 - 40 C) and it was even hotter in Lahore so I didn't go. Went to the markets in Rawalpindi, just outside of Islamabad. I recommend that too. I wanted to go to Peshawar, but Kamal did not recommend it for safety reasons so I listened to his advice.

As a not-very-fit 58 year old, I'd suggest that most olds would be in with a very good chance of reaching Base Camp as long as they don't get impatient. Take the trek slowly, allowing time to acclimatise, and to enjoy. The majority of people who start the trek manage to get to base camp and small proportion of those who don't make it are fit who, impatient at the relatively short walking days, try to go too far, too high, too soon !

What will get you to Base Camp is determination, coupled with no altitude sickness. In my opinion these are the things you need to do to get there:

Take Diamox if necessary - drink lots of water - lots. Those who didnt got headaches really quickly. Camelback is best for this, as easy to drink without having to take pack off, get gloves off, etc etc.
Take it slow. Those who went too fast started getting headaches the first and second nights.
Take medication with you in case you get sick. Ibuprofin + codeine was my savior. Also take some antibiotics just in case. Having a simple cold makes the trip so much harder.

Even when you don't feel like eating - force it down. Those who didnt keep eating, had no energy and struggled in the days after. Rest, walking slowly and drinking plenty of water and staying in clean tents are the important thing you need to know when you are trekking in higher areas.
we did our trek with Vertical Explorers Tours, and had a fantastic experience. Our crew gave us a level of personal service that was astounding. From the time we arrived in Islamabad until we left Islamabad 21 days later we were totally looked after and worth every cent! If get the chance to go back to this amazing country, will definitely use VE again. couldn't have asked for a better experience

Tom
In doing the k2 trek did you come back over the Gondorloro La and if not did you get a sense that you missed something. Is it something any tour operator can guarantee or is it weather dependent anyway??

Kitrob, we planned to go over Gondorloro La, but the Army closed the pass last spring and summer. No one was going over it. We were very disappointed, but we didn't have a choice. I understand this summer the pass will be open but you need to go through a security/background check by the Pakistan Army prior to starting your trek. This process can take 6 weeks to 2 months and Snowland (or another trekking company) can help you with this. I understand that climbers already to this to climb K2 for example.

Also, a tour operator can not guarantee that you will be able to go over it. The group may not be strong enough to do it (in the opinion of the head guide), the Army could close it at anytime, and it is very much weather dependent. After going over the pass, our original intention was to see K 6 & 7 by going up another valley on the other side. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do that either.

I still had a good time even though we had to re-trace our steps.

Tomtraveller
I have signed up with Snowland BUT they provide absolutely no info on there website. If you go to it they have a big list of topics. If you click on the topics, other than answers to a couple of them they all return with the words 'share with your friends'. Whatever that means.
Was the website like this when you signed up with Kamal. I dont really want to be throwing away good money on a tour operator who provides one with no information..

Kitrob, I just went to the Snowland website and it is completely different. It looks like he has revised it substantially, and it is still in transition. I would email Kamal with your questions at the gmail address on the home page, bottom left. That is the same email that I always communicated with Kamal.

On the old website, he actually had sample itineraries of the various treks and tours and very detailed day by day descriptions. I would email Kamal and have him email you some sample itineraries.

I don't know what you meant by "signed up"? Did you complete the booking form and hit "submit"?

I did K2 and K6-k7 base camps last year with Vertical Explorers and highly recommend them. they are a local company so the money stays local. It was an amazing trip and the people at VE went out of their way to accommodate us. They customized the tour to meet each specific need we had and as the Gondogor pass was closed, they provided service for K6-k7 base camps from Hushe side without any additional cost/hiccups.
Feel free to contact me with any questions. I'll be more than happy to give advice or help in any way I can.