Broad Peak

Day 1.: Flight to Islamabad Scheduled flight to Islamabad. Day 2: Islamabad We arrive at Islamabad, the gate to the unique mountain world of northern Pakistan, in the morning. We go sightseeing in Rawalpindi or Islamabad. Furthermore, we take care of the administrative paperwork at the Ministry of Tourism. We spend the night in a hotel. Day 3: Islamabad - Skardu On the schedule today is the domestic flight to Skardu. The approximately 1 hour long flight, with spectacular view on the most western 8,000er, the Nanga Parbat, can only be undertaken when the weather is good. In case a flight is not possible, we drive along the just as spectacular Karakoram Highway for 1,5 days to Skardu. Day 4: Skardu It takes us one day to get the porter crew together and to sort our luggage into 25 kg packages. Naturally, we also take our time to explore the beautiful locale and then we surely will enjoy our last night in a hotel bed. Day 5: Skardu - Askole Our entire luggage is loaded onto jeeps. If the road allows it, we reach Askole (3,048 m) together with our porters after about 6-7 hours of driving. Here we spend the night in tents for the first time. Day 6 - Day 11: Askole - Jula - Paiju - Urdukas - Konkordia - Base Camp At first, we hike through the very arid, almost desert like, region and cross rivers to get to the well furnished camping site of Korophan at 3,253 m. On the following day we reach Paiju (3,785 m), the last oasis before the wild and romantic glacier world of the Karakoram. Once arrived there, our porters will need one day of rest in order to prepare the food for the coming days. The next day will then take us to Urdukas and on the Baltoro glacier from where we have a fantastic view on the Trango Towers. We pass the Muztag Tower to get to Gore; from this point onwards the ground underneath our tents will consist exclusively out of ice of the Baltoro glacier. The Konkordiaplatz, which is the meeting point of the Baltoro- and the Goldwin Austen glaciers. Furthermore, it is a venue for mountain giants like the K2, the Gasherbrum IV, the Chogolisa and the Broad Peak. On the last day of our approach we reach our Base Camp after about 5 hrs. of marching over the Austen glacier. We spend the night in tents. Day 12 - Day 42: Ascent of the Broad Peak We have 27 entire days at our disposal for the ascent of the Broad Peak. Experience has shown that this should be more than enough time. We intentionally tackle this entire project in a relaxed fashion, because a good acclimatization at the beginning is incredibly important for the success later on. During the entire expedition we establish and maintain three high camps with the help of our porters. We establish Camp I at approx. 5,800 m, Camp II at approx. 6,600 m and Camp III at approx. 7,400 m. Because we, Kobler & Partner, have had many successful expeditions on the Broad Peak, including the one in 2017, we are very familiar with this route. On this mountain there are no crossings and no flat spots, it simply steadily goes upwards. From the Base Camp we start by crossing part of the Baltoro glacier and then, after about 30 minutes, we reach the foot of the Broad Peak. After 300 altitude metres we reach a ditch that gets tighter and tighter toward the end. We will secure this couloir with around 500 m of fixed ropes. At the upper end we reach a platform, where Camp I used to be established. This time, however, we establish Camp I at about 5,800 m above a very steep flank. Afterwards, we continue over a short ridge and then we cross an approximately 35° steep south-western flank. In the middle of this flank, at about 6,600 m we establish Camp II in the middle of smaller rock towers. In order to reach Camp III, we follow a couloir until we reach a distinct landmark, a rock. The now following ridge (that has to the left the massive couloir, that stretches to the next glacier plateau, and to the right is the flank that we followed from the foot of the Broad Peak) leads us to the foot of the upswing to the summit. Then we continue over the above mentioned glacier plateau and at approximately 7,400 m we reach our last camp that is well protected between two Seracs. The final part of the ascent to the summit will require us to put in a lot of effort once again, because the path becomes much steeper shortly after the camp. First we pass by the two seracs until we are underneath the pass at 7,900 m between the main- and the northern summit. The last steep slope (50°) we secure with fixed ropes. The circumstances are of incredible importance for the difficulty of the summit ridge to the central summit and then further to the main summit. The big effort will hopefully rewarded with a spectacular view on the giants of the Karakoram. Day 43 - Day 47: Base Camp - Skardu After one month we leave our, by now surely beloved, Base Camp. In four days, we will return to the embrace of civilisation. Our last night in tents will be in Askole and in the next morning, we drive to Skardu with a car. Day 48 - Day 49: Flight Skardu - Islamabad The flight is only possible when the visibility is good. Otherwise, we drive to Islamabad by bus, which takes roughly two days. We spend the night in a hotel. Day 50: Islamabad Today we have a little bit of time to visit the bazaars of Islamabad and take care of some last few purchases. The obligatory debriefing takes place today. We spend the night in a hotel. Day 51: Flight Back Home from Islamabad. Arrival Back Home at Approximately the 52nd Day.