[GaliWalker]

Added this here as well as the start of the topic to keep the comments sequence intact. Part IV: Throne room of the mountain gods Concordia and K2 base-camp July 18: Goro Two to Concordia Three days of bone-jarring roads and five days of sublime hiking had led to this. Galen Rowel, the great photographer and mountaineer, had dubbed Concordia the "throne room of the mountain gods". This was the day I would enter this room, featuring some of the finest mountain scenery in the world. The excitement, which had been building the past couple of days, was now almost uncontainable. That morning I had a poor night's sleep, due to being too amped up and the temperature being below freezing. Once I got going I deliberately slowed everything down, determined to eke out every bit of enjoyment from the day.

85- Urdukas Peak at dawn

86- Trango Towers

87- Masherbrum

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A half hour's hiking got me to the mouth of the valley, at the head of which stood 23,871ft tall Mustagh Tower. Earlier this year I had been enthralled by the excellent book "Summit Fever", which chronicled the third ascent of Mustagh Tower. So, I was really looking forward to my first sight of the peak. Mustagh Tower had originally been made famous by a misleading photo taken edge on from the upper Baltoro, which depicted it as an impregnable tower. Even though I did not get to see the famous 'unclimbable' view the mountain was quite striking, so I spent a good hour wandering up and down the Baltoro trying out different compositions.

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90- Mustagh Tower

Concordia, elevation 15,500ft, is a T-junction. The Godwin Austin glacier flows southwards from K2, while the Upper Baltoro Glacier flows northwards. The two glaciers collide and merge at Concordia and then flow west as the Baltoro Glacier, which is what we had used for our approach. As I hiked on, heading east towards Concordia and the wall of Gasherbrum IV, marking the end of the T-junction, it seemed that I was making no progress. The scale of the mountains was so huge that what had seemed a stone's throw away turned out to be wishful thinking. Anyway, there were lots of wonders to see: Broad Peak, at 26,414ft the world's twelfth tallest peak, was now in view, to the left of Gasherbrum IV, while Gasherbrum II, at 26,362ft the world's thirteenth highest peak, could be seen peeping out from behind the right shoulder. Disappointingly, Gasherbrum I, at 26,509ft the world's eleventh highest peak, lived up to its second name of Hidden Peak by remaining hidden behind Gasherbrums V and VI.

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Hiking past glacial pools, contouring tediously around or over ice-dune after endless dune and jumping the odd crevasse I finally caught sight of a cluster of tents...Concordia, a giant amphitheater, ringed by mountains that soared straight up on all sides. Mitre Peak to my right and Marble Peak to my left formed a giant gateway to the throne room. As I passed through I immediately looked left, up the Godwin Austin glacier, and there stood the pyramid shape of K2. Finally! I couldn't help but lift my arms up high and whoop in exultation.

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The rest of the day was spent drinking in the magnificence of K2. I'd periodically drag my eyes away to take in Broad Peak, Gasherbrum IV, Baltoro Kangri (23,990ft) and the lesser peaks, but inexorably my eyes would be dragged back to K2. A thick band of clouds hung stubbornly across the peak, though not the summit, but I wasn't too worried at this stage, since we still had two nights at Concordia.

95- Marble Peak summit

96- K2 and stubborn clouds

97- Broad Peak: Rock and snow

98- Broad Peak: Dragon's back

99- Broad Peak

100- Gasherbrum IV

July 19: K2 base camp A big day, the climax of our trip. The plan was to hike to K2 base camp (elevation 16,500ft) and back, a round trip of 14mi on difficult terrain. This would be our longest day on the trek, estimated to span at least 10hrs. Keeping this in mind, for the first time on the trek I ditched the extra photography gear, only keeping the camera. At my insistence we had a 5:00am start, an hour earlier than normal, just so that we would have a safety margin for the end of the day. Our party also included three porters, without their normal heavy loads, to act as additional guides in case anyone had to turn back. It was cold and inhospitable in the deep early morning shadows of the mountains as we set off. Almost immediately we faced the first obstacle. As we transitioned from the Baltoro to the Godwin Austin Glacier there was a labyrinth of crevasses and swiftly flowing glacial streams. Knowing the way through can potentially shave off hours. We began by walking the crest of an ice dune. This early in the morning the ice was rock hard and traction was not good. Slipping off the crest was a no-no. Next up we had to climb down, off the dune, in a semi-controlled fall. Immediately after this, another ice-dune crossing with a rope to down-climb...then, a series of jumps over crevasses and glacial streams, and a couple of sections of tip-toeing on knife-edged ridges. Abruptly, it all flattened out and the going became easier. We were now on the Godwin Austin glacier. With the dangerous start out of the way, we all relaxed and spread out. Two of us, plus porter, took the lead, which we'd hold for the rest of the day. We motored on, towards the magnificent pyramid of K2, initially in the shadow of Broad Peak and then in sunshine. Looking back Chogolisa (elevation 25,148ft), also known as Bride Peak, was a gorgeous snowy sight. The great climber Herman Buhl, who has first ascents of two of the world's fourteen 8000m peaks, lost his life on Chogolisa, when he fell through a cornice.

101- Hiking in Broad Peak's shadow

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103- Chogolisa

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Soon, we reached our halfway point, Broad Peak's base camp, where we decided to wait for the rest of our group to catch up. As we waited we could hear rescue operations being organized for three climbers who had been stuck on Broad Peak's summit, above 8000m, for two nights now. The prognosis wasn't good. We would hear a day later that they had been given up for dead, bringing the deaths on Broad Peak to four for the year. May they rest in peace.

105- Broad Peak base camp

The section from Broad Peak base camp to K2 base camp was a maze of crevasses, glacial streams and pools. We stuck to our guide since it would have been easy to get off track. Most of the elevation gain also took place on this section. I still hadn't completely recovered from the cold that had struck me so badly a few days back – I was perpetually coughing – and it was all I could do to keep up. Curiously, the closer we got to the base camp the less impressive K2 became. From a photographer's point of view, the bright conditions and unaesthetic angles on K2 weren't very appealing. Thankfully, I was wearing my hiker's hat this day so I got my money's worth.

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K2's base camp was a busy place, even more so than Concordia. Multicolored tents sprouted like a virulent rash on the glacier. Talking to a Balti high altitude porter - who had summited Gasherbrum II twice as well as Broad Peak, and now hoped to summit K2 - while sipping some tea, I learnt that no one had yet tackled K2 for the year. The high altitude porters were still establishing camps - they had struggled up to camp-2, but with the currently gorgeous weather hoped to have the final two camps set up in the next day or two - while the climbers were still acclimatizing. Summit day was tentatively scheduled to be July 27. The way back was reasonably straight forward, until the final bit, when we had to transition from the Godwin Austin Glacier back onto the Baltoro. Once again, we had to exercise great care in our footing. In a few places conditions had changed dramatically from the morning, making for some spicy moments. Tired, happy and relieved, we reached Concordia exactly 11hrs after starting. Just in time for me to indulge in some evening photography!

109- Mitre Peak

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111- Broad Peak and K2

112- Broad Peak

113- Last light on K2

114- Moonrise over Concordia

115- First light on K2

116- Sunrise over Gasherbrum IV

The fireworks on our trip were (almost, but not quite) over. All that remained was the small matter of our multi-day return.

[Hiker Chick]

What an amazing trip!! I can't wait to read the rest. Thank you so much for sharing your incredible story and pictures.

[jeremybe]

Had to post. Amazing. Congrats.

[cascadetraverser]

wow....

[GaliWalker]

Added this here as well as the start of the topic to keep the comments sequence intact. Part V: Oxygen Return from Concordia All good things must come to an end. With my K2 base camp round trip successfully completed, a mental switch got turned off. Thoughts of a warm shower and sleeping in a bed began to crowd my head, as well as wanting to talk to my wife. I had been out of contact for days and knew that she'd be worried. Unfortunately, accomplishing this was still a number of days off. July 20: Concordia to Goro One The thin air wasn't behaving too well with some in our party, plus all of us were anxious to get back anyway. We had long ago decided to shave off one day on the return, especially since we didn't have to worry about maintaining a slow acclimatizing pace anymore. For the first day of the return, we scampered past Goro Two, where we'd camped on our approach, and continued further to Goro One. I had been really keen on staying the night at Goro One, even on the approach, since I considered it second only to Concordia as the top viewpoint on the trek. This was rewarded that evening, when all my photographic fantasies were realized as a magnificent sunset developed over gorgeous Masherbrum.

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July 21: Goro One to Kho-Burse We skipped the campsite of Urdukas, continuing on to Kho-Burse, the land of the clingy flies. It was a surprisingly difficult day for me: I was still coughing continuously from my earlier struggle with a cold. This day I resigned myself to the fact that I would do so till the end of the trek. I was also footsore and completely de-motivated to walk.

124- Typical knife-edge ridge to negotiate

125- Our cooking staff

126- Aisa Khan, my personal porter

July 22: Kho-Burse to Bardumal With oxygen fizzing in our blood, and thoughts of civilization crowding our minds, we decided to shave off another day from our return. Rather than staying at Paiyu, we continued to Bardumal Camp, where I was afforded a touching welcome by the caretaker, whom I had photographed on our approach.

127- Lovely greenery at Paiyu

128- Evening at Bardumal

July 23: Bardumal to Askole In the homestretch now, off the Baltoro glacier, we fairly flew down the trail, like greyhounds chasing a particularly juicy rabbit. As I entered the little streets of the village of Askole, where I proceeded to promptly get lost, the lush green surroundings were indescribably beautiful. After so many days in ruggedly austere surroundings, this rudimentary slice of civilization seemed like the fanciest place on Earth. That night we gorged on fresh meat, one of the best meals I've had.

129- Wheat fields

July 24-26: Askole – Skardu – Chilas - Islamabad Once again the drive was exhausting, but for some reason, much less so than on the approach. Conclusion The Karakorams have the finest mountain scenery on the planet. Dramatic spires, rock faces and snowy peaks tower all around you. From both a hiker's and photographer's perspective I've never had so much fun anywhere else, or seen any other place that even comes close. This was the trip to end all trips. My bucket list still has numerous places that I want to see before I hang up my boots, but even if I get to visit none of them, I think I'll be fine. I got to see K2. Approximate round-trip hiking stats: - Distance: 114mi - Elevation gain: 16,000ft - High point: 16,500ft - Days: 11

[GeoTom]

Outstanding! Thank you for deciding to go and taking the time to write this up. And for the photos.

[marydave]

What an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime trip! Thanks for telling the story and sharing the photos.

[Ancient Ambler]

I am rendered almost speechless by your amazing trip and TR. Your excellent narrative and stunning photography really captured "the finest mountain scenery on the planet" and I was particularly captivated by your keenly realized people shots, as well. Your TR obviously represents a tremendous amount of work. Thanks for sharing your dream trip with us.

[Ski]

[silence]

I looked at all your trip photos this morning on Flickr and couldn't tear myself away .. every shot was enthralling. But hey you do that to me all the time with your stuff ... So, you already know that I think you're a very skilled and highly creative photog .... but I was totally blown away! Now I'm looking forward to reading your story when I can sit back and savor .

[Tom_Sjolseth]

Awesome.. just great! One of these days..

[GaliWalker]

GeoTom, I'm so glad I didn't call the trip off, despite the tension on the drives. I can't imagine how the trip could have gone any better than it did. marydave, truly a trip of a lifetime. Won't mind doing something easier for a while though. Ancient Ambler, thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a nice comment. I really appreciate it. Ski, many thanks for sticking with the report as I was posting it. silence, happy reading! Tom_Sjolseth, I hope you get to go there and climb some of those peaks. That would be an interesting report.

[TrailPair]

We are in awe of your report.....and your photos. (Been living the adventure vicariously through your eyes and prose)

[Jackal]

[GaliWalker]

Some photos of me, taken by a member of our group:

Photographing Bakhor Das Peak

Waiting for the light to develop...

Still waiting...

Ahhh...

GaliWalker and Gasherbrum IV

I don't usually get to have my picture taken, so I was quite pleasantly surprised .