Thursday, June 13, 2013

Broad Peak 2013 under way!

En route to Skardu

Our Broad Peak team has assembled over the last few days in blistering hot ( 43°C /110°F ) Islamabad. After a few days of visits to ministries for visa extensions, trips back to the airport for delayed luggage, and a little sightseeing, they have headed for the cooler climes of Skardu at 2200m/7300ft.

The mighty Indus River seen from the Concordia Hotel in Skardu © Brad jackson

Skardu is a relaxing but busy town and the jumping off point for most climbers and trekkers headed to K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum II, Nanga Parbat and Spantik. FTA's Dave Hancock has posted a fun tour of the town by motorcycle and we invite you to join him for a short tour so you can get the feel of the town:

Join FTA's Dave Hancock for  a motorcycle ride in Skardu


After the 23hours of rough driving on the famed Karakoram Highway, spread out over 2 days, they will be greeted by a relatively brisk  temperature (26°C/78°F) . They will then have two days of sorting tents, stoves & rope, making final shopping trips to the markets and scouring local shops for last minute bits of gear and clothing.


one of the many brigades to cross en route to K2 base camp! © brad jackson

By the 16th they will be heading to Askole and will begin the climb in earnest with the 80+km trek in on along the mighty Braldu and Biaho rivers, over the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen Glaciers to reach their rocky, icy, moving chunk of glacier called base camp!
Broad Peak BC © brad jackson
We will hope to have a nice update from the team after they arrive in Skardu, have a chance to get a good night's sleep and a chance to orient themselves.

K2 base Camp trek,  August 01 - CONFIRMED WITH LIMITED SPACES

For those still hearing to join us for a trek to K2 BC we do have spaces left on our confirmed trek starting August 1st in Islamabad. The fee is just 3350USD and we have room for about 3 more!

K2 BC Trek Info on main FTA site

The New York Times had a good article on the K2 trek a few years ago and it is a good read!



Farther ahead - Ama Dablam, Aconcagua, Ecuador and more

We have lots of trips coming up in the year ahead and encourage you to look over them all if nothing more than for the great images! Hopefully one of the trips suits you just right and we look forward to helping you reach a goal, achieve a dream or begin a new adventure chapter in life. We have trips and treks for all levels of climber or walker so let us know how we can serve you best!

http://www.fieldtouringalpine.com/programs/treks

http://www.fieldtouringalpine.com/programs/expeditions


More news shortly!

Dave & Stu and the FTA crew

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