K2 Base Camp Trek

The route starts at Askole, the last village on the Braldu road, and follows the river before stepping onto the Baltoro Glacier at Paiju. From there it is glacier travel almost the whole way — past the granite of the Trango Towers and Cathedral Spires, over the rubble-covered ice at Urdukas and Goro, to Concordia.

Concordia is the junction where the Godwin-Austen and Upper Baltoro glaciers meet, and it is the reason people walk this route: K2, Broad Peak and the Gasherbrums are all visible from the same camp. A further day up the Godwin-Austen Glacier reaches K2 Base Camp at roughly 5,150 metres, below the mountain's south face and the Gilkey Memorial.

This is a strenuous trip rather than a technical one — no climbing skill is required, but you need to be comfortable walking long days on uneven glacier ice at altitude, carrying a daypack, for a sustained period.