Itinerary / expedition journal
Itinerary
The itinerary is roughly as follows;
Day 1 (6 June). Departure from home.
Day 2 and 3 (7-8 June). Arrival in Islamabad in the early morning hours. Expedition briefing at the ministry of tourism. Exploring Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Day 4 (8 June). By bus on the famous Karakoram Highway to Chilas .
Day 5 (9 June). Another 8 hours by bus to Skardu (2280m)
Day 6 (10 June). Short acclimatisation hike to the nearby hills to get our first view of the mountains.
Day 7 (11 June). In jeeps along the Braldu gorge to the Shigar Valley. Hopefully the drive can be done all the way to Askole (3048m), the last “civilized” village. If not possible the approach march will start at Thongal.
Day 8 - 15 (12-19 June). From Askole the approach trek goes to Jola Jola (3025 m), then to  to Paiju (3370 m) where we we see the last green for many weeks. Some time after Paiju we will be getting on the massive Baltoro glacier that we will stay on for the next several days and where we will be making camps at Urdukas (4050m), Goro II (4150 m), Concordia (4650m) which will provide a superb view of the world’s second highest mountain K2 (8611 m). The followign day , weather permitting , we should be setting up Base Camp on the middle moraine ridge at 5200m on the Abruzzi Glacier.
Day 16-17 (20-21 June). Two days at BC to get organized and acclimatize.
 
  Day 18-43 (22 June - 17 July). The fun begins. This means setting up the route and the higher camps, stocking them with supplies and acclimatizing. The first days will be spent by tackling the Abruzzi glacier to reach and setup Camp 1 at 5950m. The the climb itself will start by climbing the very prominent SW ridge to set up camp 2 at 6600m, camp 3 at 6950m and camp 4 at 7350m. High altitude porters will support the expedition in building the route and fixing ropes along it. An extra week is reserved in case of bad weather and the need for a second summit attempt.
Day 44 - 47 (18-21 July). The return hike lasts four days and takes us through the Gondokoro La to Hushe from where the jeeps take us back to Skardu.
Day 48 and 49 (22-23 July). Return trip on the Karakoram highway after Rawalpindi.
Day 50 (24 July). Debriefing at the Ministry of Tourism plus a spare day.
Day 51. Flight home!!