Thieves, Liars and Mountaineers: On the 8000 Metre Peak Circus in Pakistan's Karakoram Mountains Read Online Free PDF

for expedition teams. Trekkers and those climbing K2 and Broad Peak head north up the Godwin Austen Glacier to their respective base camps, while those climbing the Gasherbrums branch south on the Upper Baltoro Glacier to Gasherbrum Base Camp. Halfway between the latter and Concordia is Shagring Camp. I arrive there at 3.30, and the advantage of my late arrival is that all the porters have got there ahead of me, and given my team mates time to pitch all our tents before my arrival. Before retiring into mine, I have tea and biscuits in the dining tent with Phil, Philippe, Serap Jangbu and Tarke.
    “Did you get to see K2,” asks Phil, “or had it clouded over by then?”
    “We had a brilliant day,” I reply. “We saw K2, Broad Peak and, apparently, G2 as well.”
    This last detail had been provided by David Hamilton, leader of the Jagged Globe G2 expedition. There was a point short of Concordia where several of the Gasherbrum peaks were visible in a line behind the more prominent G4. I felt sure G2 or G1 must be among them, so asked David when I bumped into him at Concordia, knowing him to be something of an expert on the Karakoram. Phil and Serap Jangbu are insistent the peak in question was G1 rather than G2, much to my amusement.
    “Well, one of you superstar mountaineers must be wrong,” I say. “Fat chance we have of reaching the summit if you can't even agree which mountain we're supposed to be climbing. Looks like either us or Jagged Globe are going to end up climbing G3!”
    To provide the icing to my entertainment Phil then falls off his chair. I roar with laughter, but Philippe, who is too polite, and Serap and Tarke, who presumably don't want to laugh at the boss, remain silent.

10. Arrival at Base Camp
     
Saturday 20 June, 2009 – Gasherbrum Base Camp, Pakistan
     
    A short day today, setting off at 6.30am and continuing up the Upper Baltoro Glacier till it turns round a corner to the left and becomes the Abruzzi Glacier. Here Gasherbrum Base Camp sits on a long finger of moraine at the foot of the icefall which is the South Gasherbrum Glacier. Camp 1 lies 900 metres above us up the icefall in the Gasherbrum Cwm. Surrounded by the seven peaks of the Gasherbrum group, Phil says it's one of the most spectacular settings he has ever been to.
    From Base Camp, however, the main point of focus for the Gasherbrums is Gasherbrum I, the highest of them at 8068m, and for now that is enough. Above the icefall the southwest face rises 3000 metres above us in a sheer wall of thick snow. It's one of those mountains you look at and think, “I can't believe I'm going to try and climb that – I must be crazy!”. Of course, all mountains have many facets. From the summit a steep ridge leads down to the left, and our ascent route lies behind it and hidden from view. Even so, it is understood to be extremely steep, and it will be by some margin the hardest peak I've ever attempted. Only time will tell whether it will prove beyond me.
    I reach Base Camp at about 10.30. Serap Jangbu, who set off early to reserve a location for us, has chosen a spot right at the very top end of the moraine, as close as possible to the route through the icefall. We spend the next couple of hours clearing snow away, choosing and flattening pitches and putting our tents up. In order to make Base Camp as comfortable as possible for us we now have a tent each, and I choose a pitch close to the edge of the icefall and angled in such a way that my front entrance looks straight up at G1. It's a great location, though somewhat cloudy this afternoon.
    We're going to be here for the best part of two months, so it's important we're happy with our tents. Gordon isn't quite so fortunate with his choice. The expedition team below him have asked him to move because they're concerned he may urinate in the snow outside his tent, which stands at the top of a snow slope they're using as their water source.
    “Every time I step outside my tent, I see someone