Gondogoro Peak Expedition (5,785 m)

We meet you at the airport and settle you into the hotel. The expedition briefing, document check and any remaining payments are handled over dinner with your guide.

The spectacular hour-long flight north past Nanga Parbat to Skardu (2,500 m), with the Karakoram Highway as the road backup if weather holds the planes. An easy acclimatisation walk by the Indus in the afternoon.

Our staff complete the permits and climbing formalities while you check gear, rent anything missing in the bazaar and walk up to Kharpocho Fort. We step onto the trail fully ready.

A long, dramatic 4x4 day through the Shigar Valley and along the Braldu gorge to Askole (3,000 m), the last village before the wilderness. First camp among the fields.

The first full day on foot, following the milky Braldu river through a broad, stark valley to Jhola Camp (3,050 m) — long but gentle walking that eases the body into the rhythm of the trek.

Up the Braldu valley to Paiju (3,420 m), a green oasis at the snout of the Baltoro Glacier, with the Trango and Paiju peaks rising into view ahead — the first hint of what is coming.

A planned acclimatisation day. The porters bake bread for the glacier week while you take a short height-gain walk and rest properly before the ice begins.

Onto the Baltoro Glacier itself, picking a line across rubble-strewn ice and moraine to Khoburtse (3,795 m), with the Trango Towers and Cathedral spires overhead all day.

A shorter stage to Urdukas (3,930 m), the famous grassy balcony above the glacier with a front-row seat facing the Trango group — the finest camp view of the approach.

A full, demanding day on the open ice to Goro II (4,295 m), with Masherbrum, Gasherbrum IV and the Muztagh Tower filling the skyline. The first camp pitched on the glacier itself.

Steadily up the moraine to Concordia (4,691 m), the meeting point of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers, with K2 standing clear at the head of the valley. A night camped in the throne room of the mountain gods.

A long out-and-back along the Godwin-Austen Glacier: past Broad Peak Base Camp, up to the Gilkey Memorial on its rocky outcrop, and on to K2 Base Camp (5,150 m) face to face with the second-highest mountain on earth. Back to Concordia for the night.

A half-day move up the Vigne Glacier to Ali Camp (4,800 m) at the foot of the Gondogoro La. The afternoon is spent on crampon, ice-axe and fixed-rope training with our guides and the Hushe rescue team — the rehearsal for both the pass and the peak.

A 2 a.m. start, roped together on fixed lines to the top of the Gondogoro La (5,585 m) and its four-eight-thousander sunrise — K2, Broad Peak and both Gasherbrums — then a careful fixed-rope descent to Khuspang (4,450 m), base camp for the climb, under the blade of Laila Peak.

A day at base camp to recover from the crossing, rehearse the rope work on the slopes above camp and set the summit plan against the forecast. The route up Gondogoro Peak starts practically from the tents.

An alpine start and steady snow climbing to the 5,785 m summit of Gondogoro Peak. From the top the view runs from K2 and Broad Peak across the Gasherbrums to Masherbrum, Chogolisa and Laila Peak below you. The guide's turnaround call is final. Back to Khuspang.

A second climbing day held at Khuspang: a fresh attempt if the weather stole the first, or a rest day under Laila Peak if the summit is already in your legs.

A separate reserve day at base camp for the weather the Karakoram will eventually throw at any schedule. If the summit came early, it is a lazy day under Laila Peak; if not, it is the margin that turns a near miss into a top.

Downhill at last: a gentle descent along the Gondogoro Glacier to the meadows of Dalsampa (4,150 m), where grass, wildflowers and grazing yaks replace the ice and the body starts to recover in thicker air.

A reserve day protecting the whole programme — neither the Gondogoro La nor the summit can be forced in bad weather. If everything has run clean, it becomes a quiet rest day in the upper Hushe valley.

A pleasant descent to Saicho (3,350 m), a green camp among juniper and birch with running streams — the hardest ground of the trip now firmly behind you.

A final morning walk out to Hushe, the home village of many of our guides, porters and the rescue team who fixed your ropes. Jeeps then carry you past Khaplu and across the Shyok to Skardu for a hot shower and a celebration dinner.

The morning flight down the Indus to Islamabad, with a road transfer via Chilas as backup if weather holds the planes. The evening is free for a farewell dinner.

Held in reserve for a cancelled Skardu flight. If you are already in Islamabad, the day is yours — Faisal Mosque, the Margalla Hills, or a long lunch at low altitude.

Transfer to the airport for your international flight — the Baltoro walked, the La crossed, and the summit above it climbed. Assalam-o-Alaikum.