Gasherbrum II, 8,035 m

Your guide meets you at the airport, holding a sign with your name, and takes you to your hotel in Islamabad. Most international flights land around midnight or in the afternoon, so the rest of the day is yours to sleep and settle in.

Night at Hotel, 540 m.

The Ministry of Tourism holds the formal briefing for the Gasherbrum II expedition before you leave for the mountains. After the paperwork the day is free to explore Islamabad and enjoy a first proper Pakistani meal.

Night at Hotel, 540 m.

The morning flight to Skardu is one of the great mountain flights, and on a clear day Nanga Parbat shows itself beside the wing. You land in the Baltistan valley and have the afternoon to wander the bazaar, stock up on anything forgotten and enjoy the quiet before the walk.

Night at Hotel, 2,498 m.

A gentle morning walk up to Kharpocho fort gives a wide view over the Indus and the town. You can add a drive to Sadpara lake, and the afternoon is for shopping in the bazaar while our staff finish the last permits and loads.

Night at Hotel, 2,498 m.

The Gasherbrum II expedition begins in earnest with the jeep drive from Skardu through the Shigar valley and along the Braldu river, past orchards and sandy riverbanks. Askole is the last village on the road, a cluster of stone and mud houses with fields of barley and wheat, and the place where the porters gather and the walking starts.

Night at Askole, 3,015 m.

The path leaves the village and crosses the snout of the Biafo glacier, the long ice river that runs fifty kilometres back to Hispar La. After a moraine crossing and lunch beside the Korofon river the trail follows the Braldu to Jhola, where the Braldu and Dumordo rivers meet.

7 hours on foot. Night at Jhola, 3,103 m.

A day along the Braldu gorge, with the granite walls of Trango Tower and Cathedral Peak coming into view ahead. The valley is dry and sunny, glacier streams cross the path, and the day ends in the grove of Paiju, the last green camp on the way in.

7 hours on foot. Night at Paiju, 3,418 m.

A day to let your body settle at altitude. The porters bake bread for the weeks on the ice, and an easy walk towards the base of Paiju Peak is a good way to stretch your legs.

Night at Paiju, 3,418 m.

You step onto the snout of the Baltoro glacier and the scenery grows bigger with every hour. The moraine rolls up and down, and views of Trango Tower and Uli Biaho open up on the way to the camp at Khoburtse.

7 hours on foot. Night at Khoburtse, 3,788 m.

A shorter day crossing two small side glaciers, with the Trango towers rising above the path. Urdukas sits on a grassy terrace about a hundred metres above the ice, a favourite camp with a long view back down the glacier.

6 hours on foot. Night at Urdukas, 3,905 m.

The route follows the medial moraine up the middle of the glacier, with Masherbrum (7,821 m) to the south and great ice towers beside the trail. Goro II is the first camp on the Baltoro itself, near the meeting of the Baltoro and Younghusband glaciers.

8 hours on foot. Night at Goro II, 4,285 m.

More rocky moraine, and with each hour more of the great peaks appear, until K2 itself stands at the head of the glacier. Concordia, the junction of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers, has Broad Peak, Mitre Peak, the Gasherbrums and Sia Kangri all in view.

7 hours on foot. Night at Concordia, 4,512 m.

A short walk of about two hours along the upper Baltoro glacier takes you to Shahring, a camp with views of Chogolisa, the Snow Dome peaks and Baltoro Kangri. The day is deliberately easy, a gentle step higher before the move to base camp.

4 hours on foot. Night at Shahring, 4,850 m.

Twenty five days are given to the mountain, with base camp at about 5,150 metres. The team climbs in rotations up the normal route, placing the high camps and sleeping higher each time before returning to rest, which builds the acclimatisation for the summit. Spare days are scheduled so the group can wait for the best weather windows, and our crew keep the kitchen and communications running. At 8,035 metres the summit gives a view over the Baltoro and the neighbouring giants.

Night at Gasherbrum base camp and high camps, 5,150 m.

With the Gasherbrum II climb behind you, the team returns down the glacier to Concordia and a rest day in the shadow of K2.

7 hours on foot. Night at Concordia, 4,512 m.

A different and less travelled line leaves the Baltoro towards the foot of Gondogoro La, over firm glacier ice with short detours around the cracks. Ali Camp is named for the local porter who was the first to cross the pass.

6 hours on foot. Night at Ali Camp, 4,500 m.

An early start at 2 am brings you to the top of Gondogoro La (5,585 m) in about three hours, with the crew fixing ropes where needed. From the pass you see all four Baltoro giants together, K2, Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum II, with the sharp point of Laila Peak (6,096 m) ahead. The descent leads to Khuispang, where the Gondogoro and Trinity glaciers meet.

7 hours on foot. Night at Khuispang, 4,600 m.

The way eases down from rock to grass, and the ropes and crampons go back in the bags. After lunch the trail leaves the edge of the Gondogoro glacier and enters a green valley of rhubarb and meadow grass, a very welcome change after weeks of ice.

7 hours on foot. Night at Saicho, 3,350 m.

A short walk beside the meltwater of the Charakusa, Aling, Masherbrum and Gondogoro glaciers brings you to the first fields and houses. Hushe has two storey stone homes with the animals below and the family above. A jeep carries you on to Skardu, about six hours by road.

4 hours on foot. Night at Hotel, 2,498 m.

You fly back over the Karakoram to Islamabad and have the afternoon to relax at the hotel.

Night at Hotel, 538 m.

A day set aside in case weather moves the Skardu flight. If you made it to Islamabad the day before, it is a free day for sightseeing and for the final paperwork.

Night at Hotel, 538 m.

Our staff take you to the airport for your flight home.

540 m.