PAKISTAN - Trek Snow Lake and the Hispar La
An adventurous Karakoram trekking traverse from Baltistan into Hunza ~ Walking across the astonishing Snow Lake ~ Camp on the Hispar La ~ Superlative Karakoram mountain landscapes
6 nights hotels & lodges, 14 nights camping, 13 days DEMANDING trekking. Max. altitude - 5151m. All meals included.
strenuous
An adventuruous and sustained trekking adventure holiday walking in the Karakoram mountains of Pakistan across Snow Lake. The interconnected Biafo and Hispar glaciers in the Karakoram mountains of northern Pakistan, with a combined length of 120 kilometres (75 miles), provide an unlikely natural highway which cuts through the heart of the Karakoram Range. Starting out from Askole on the approach to the Baltoro and K2, this long and relatively committing glacial walking traverse is undertaken annually by just a handful of trekking expeditions. Walking either on the glaciers themselves, or through flower-carpeted ablation valleys, we will encounter challenging as well as more straightforward trekking conditions. A highlight of the holiday is the camp on the Hispar La (5151m./16895ft) where we can watch the afternoon shadows creeping across Snow Lake to the mighty Ogre (7285m./23895ft) and turn to see the sun setting over the Karakoram mountains of Hunza and the distant Hindu Kush to the west. Stunning Karakoram scenery and a genuine sense of expedition style of adventure in a high mountain wilderness are the keys to the attraction of this magnificent trekking holiday across Snow Lake and the Hispar La in Pakistan.
This is a long and sustained trek. During the ascent of the Biafo the trek mostly follows the centre of the glacier, at first walking on moraine rubble and then finding, after two days, the much easier underfoot conditions of bare ice. Crampons are not required at this stage as the ice is cranelated and grit-filled and actually provides an excellent walking surface. The central part of the trip, as we approach and cross Snow Lake and the Hispar La, will be on snow and here we will don our crampons and rope-up to safeguard our passage between concealed crevasses. The descent of the Hispar is mostly done off-glacier in the green, sometimes flower strewn ablation valley, though it is necessary on each of the 4 days of descent, to cross a side glacier with varying degrees of difficulty. Again, crampons are not needed for these crossings but some scrambling may be required to cross the lateral moraines. You should only consider this trek if you have some previous trekking experience in the mountains, preferably at altitudes over 4000 metres (13,000 feet)
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The trip pages are only a brief summary of the details available within our trip dossiers. It is important that you read the full day to day description and further information for this trip before making your booking.
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