Hello again from Broad Peak Base Camp!
We have successfully finished our first visit on the mountain. We got up early at three o’clock two days ago so that we could leave base camp at four in the morning. This way we would have rather hard snow which is easier to climb on, and the risk of rockfall is smaller.
After some rest days at base camp, it was great to finally start climbing. The climb up to camp 1 was mostly on steep snow slopes and a few places where we climbed on rock (which is the most fun part, maybe). The whole route was perfectly prepared with fixed lines by our guides so that we could safely climb even the steeper slopes (45-50 degrees).
It took us about seven hours to reach camp 1 at 5600 metres. Here we stayed for two days and two nights so that our bodies could get the maximum effect out of the stay at a higher altitude.
The descent back to base camp today went much faster. It took us only two hours to get back to “advanced base camp” – a spot at the foot of the mountain which we use for storing some of our climbing gear – and another 45 minutes back to base camp.
On our way down from camp 1 we met another team consisting of two Spanish guys, an American and a Dane. It seems like they won’t be of much help, though, fixing so we either have to wait for other teams to arrive, or our guides will have more hard work ahead of them fixing the route between camp 1 and 2 which still includes some very steep slopes.
Our whole team is now back at base camp relaxing. Everybody is feeling well, and we are looking forward to some rest here and then our next rotation on the mountain, starting hopefully in a couple of days.the remaining part of the route, so we either have to wait for other teams to arrive, or our guides will have more hard work ahead of them fixing the route between camp 1 and 2 which still includes some very steep slopes.
Our whole team is now back at base camp relaxing. Everybody is feeling well, and we are looking forward to some rest here and then our next rotation on the mountain, starting hopefully in a couple of days.

After a long hike (six days incl. one rest day) has our team reached Base Camp. We stood up at 5 AM every day in order to avoid the worst heat in the afternoon. There were many other groups on the trail, which are either trekking groups or climbing groups.

Most of the trekking groups hike to Concordia which we passed today. It’s a place where three big glaciers meet and from where you can see several 8000 metre peaks. These groups either trek back the same way or over a different pass (the Gondogoro La).

Most of the climbing groups have K2 as their goal. Some go to Gasherbrum 1/2 Base Camp, while we are so far the only group at Broad Peak. We know there will be a few more coming though.

Base Camp is located on a big glacier, but there are rocks on top, so we are not directly on snow or ice. We have a great dome tent here – with a carpet floor, heater and music. So I believe we’ll have a good time here for the coming weeks. Tomorrow will be a rest day, and I’m looking forward to a late morning in my sleeping bag.

After another long bus ride, we have reached the town Skardu. During our ride we passed Nanga Parbat, the 9th highest mountain in the world at 8126 metres (also known in German as “Schicksalsberg der Deutschen”). This is the area where the Hindukush, the Karakoram and the Himalaya mountain ranges meet.

After a short photo break we continued to Skardu. In the late afternoon, we already had a chance to take a walk through town. The Balti people who live here are very friendly and apparently more used to tourists than in the conservative regions we passed through yesterday. In Skardu we will stay for two nights. Tomorrow will be a rest day/packing day before we continue to the last outpost of civilisation, Askole, the day after.

The team: Benedicte, Gaute, Ryan, Mr. Nansen, Tomás, myself and Ajaz

On our way to Skardu

Downtown Skardu

After a long 15 hours’ bus ride, we have arrived in Chilās – a small town in a region called Kohistan. We left at 3 AM this morning. The first few hours, the road was pretty good, but later it become more bumpy. We saw fascinating towns and villages on the way. Unfortunately, we could not stop and take any pictures in most of the places, but we’ll get a chance for that tomorrow.

Our team enjoying a delicious dinner at Restaurant Kabul

Salaam alaikum!

We have reached our first stop, Islamabad. I arrived here early this morning at 4 AM, checked into our hotel and got a few hours of sleep before I met the rest of the team at breakfast.

The guides had to do some paperwork for the authorities today while the rest of us could go to a supermarket or just hang out at the hotel. In the evening we had a nice Afghani dinner at Restaurant Kabul. It’s Ramadan at the moment, and it seems like the streets are much more busy with people in the evening than during daytime when it’s also almost 40 degrees Celsius outside.

Tomorrow we have to get up very early again. We will leave the hotel at 3 AM and have a 15-16 hours’ drive along the Karakoram Highway to Chilas in the Gilgit-Baltistan region in Northern Pakistan. From there we will continue on Monday towards Skardu which will be the last bigger town before we og further north to Askole in the Central Karakoram National Park from where we will start our hike into Base Camp.

I’ll check in again from Skardu.

P.S.: For those of you who have been following my attempt to order a new sleeping bag and get it delivered to Oslo – on Thursday (one day before departure) I got the message that it was in Oslo now, but only ready to be picked up the next day. Unfortunately, my flight left at 11:15, so I had to leave to the airport without my new sleeping bag and with another (thinner) one instead. At 9:15 while I was queing for check-in, I got the message that it now was ready for pick-up in my local store in Oslo. So I called my good friend Petra who drove to the store, picked up the parcel and came to the airport where I could receive my new sleeping bag at 10:50, i.e. 25 minutes before departure. Then I was denied to use the fast track at the security check (!), but I made it anyway through the security check, running through the whole airport to the non-Schengen-gates, through the passport control and to my departure gate. Now I’ve got a sleeping bag with 1250 grams of down instead of 750 which will keep me warm at Base Camp. Thank you, Petra!!

Many people wonder why climbing a big mountain takes such a long time. Well, firstly, many high mountains are in remote areas which are difficult to reach by car, by plane or other means of transport. In our case we use the first six days of our tour to get to our starting point Askole in North Pakistan.

Secondly, the trek into base camp can take some time – in our case another six days. This trek also helps the body to slowly acclimatise to higher altitudes. It produces more red blood cells so that the blood can transport oxygen better and compensate for the lower air pressure in higher altitudes. This is important in order to avoid high altitude sickness.

Finally, the climbing of the mountain itself takes a long time. As a rule of thumb, one should only move 300 metres higher per day so that the body can adapt. In practice, this means that we need carry days and rest days before we can move further up the mountain. On a carry day, we climb up to the next camp, leave some equipment, food or gas there, and return down to our last camp to sleep there. This is called the “climb high, sleep low” principle, which helps your body to acclimatize to greater altitudes. Rest days make sure that your body can recreate after a long hike or climb, possibly with heavy loads. They also serve as buffer for bad weather, so in reality rest days are often not planned, but occur when bad weather stops us from continuing our ascent.

In the picture below, I have made a draft what our expedition could look like. This schedule will be adapted on our way, but it shows as an example how often you actually climb up and down before you finally have the chance to reach the summit.

Stay tuned for further updates on mountainpolarbear.com! Departure in t minus 9 days.