June 13
A smooth departure from Skardu on Tuesday left us bumping along the road to Askoli with our caravan 3 jeeps deep. Kris, John, our LO- the “Major”, and Karim were separated into their own vehicle as per custom, and Kip was left as the sole protector of Ingrid, Hil and I in the “woman” jeep.
The paved road shortly turned to dirt and finally to a via ferrata for the 4 wheel world. We encountered only two obstacles- a minor vehicle repair and a sand slide near Askoli that covered the road. Luckily, two groups of porters had followed up behind us and leaped out of their open air trucks to assist in the process of shoveling and clearing the path by hand. The drivers plowed through, and the rest of our group met them on the other side, running the length of the road to dodge falling rocks.
Once in Askoli, we hopped out at the literal end of the road. For the ladies, we made a grand entrance. Surrounded by what felt like hundreds of Pakistanis, we were very much on display – which would be the theme for what seems to be the remainder of our time with the porter crew. These eyes are full of curiousity but the occasional leer can be a bit disconcerting. The presence of women, and in particular women climbers, is an extremely foreign and thought provoking concept to them.
The evening is Askoli was mild. A couple of folks in our crew have not felt well, but with some rest and a few meds, everyone bounced right back..good news for our long trek ahead.
Wednesday evolved into quite the eventful day for us. The Serb, Russian, and South Korean groups organized their porters and headed out. We were the last group to depart. An intense feeling of desperation was building ominously around us for the remaining men looking for work and their chance to be selected. This was one of their very few opportunities for work for the year, and a rare chance to feed their families.
Our camp was a type of protective enclave within the village. As porters were chosen, filing through the gate one by one as the Sirdhar checked them off his list, emotions and anxiety heightened and within moments our team was in the midst of a mob-like scene. Porters began simultaneously storming the front gate and the two side walls with barbed wire, rushing to grab our gear. The scene was alarming- our group mobilized quickly. Ingrid flew superman style onto a pile of our duffels, Hil & I covered our respective piles, and our fellas ran after the Pakistanis dashing away with loads.
As quickly as it began, it ended, and loads were transferred back into the enclave. It was a disturbing experience for all of us. The pure raw hunger and desperation in their eyes was both haunting and heart wrenching. None of us had felt in danger, but our trip could have been shut down had we lost that gear. The honor and brother system in the world of porters is well in tact and the guilty parties returned a bulk of the stolen goods, as well as some guilty men being reprimanded by local authorities.
The trek that day was stunning, but also hot as Haites. We hiked 18km and gained roughly 350 meters. Intermittent streams and drafts of air from the Indus River kept us cool at moments and saved us, on occasion, from the heat of the day.
We arrived in Johla in the late afternoon in the blistering sun, now also referred to as the deathstar. As our gear trickled in, we got our tents set up and congregated in their shade. At this point, our team had really begun to gel and it has been great fun to walk in with new friends.
Thursday morning we got a very early start, based on the previous day’s experience. The team cranked through on the hike and we did the 16km of sand and rock strolling in roughly 4.5 hours with a gain of another 350 meters. The day was cooler then before but the heat continued to beat down.
Once in camp at Paiyu, we rehydrated and rested in shade until our gear arrived. A few hiccups left Kris’s solar system a bit battered- but thankfully no worse for the wear, our head cook quite ill, and Kris and John’s tent bag arriving 10 hours late.
The tents are our only escape from both the sun and the inquisitive eyes that surround us at all times. With 500 porters in camp, Ingrid, Hil and I provide quite the show. We are on display at all times and continue to take great care in covering up with our shawls. The staring is harmless but relentless. They stand in groups, sit perched on ledges, and just watch. Basecamp in four days will be a nice relief from the unwanted attention.
Today, Friday, is a rest day- mostly for the porters and animals. Our team is catching up on laundry, sat phone calls to loved ones, and recharging off the solar system. Our sleep last night at approx 11,000ft was good for all. The second half of our basecamp assault begins tomorrow with roughly 2,700 meters in vertical gain and 45km ahead of us. The mountain views around us grow more and more impressive by the day as we climb into this magnificent valley..as Kris would say “surrounded by the giants”.
Kim Havell
