Trek to Nanga Parbat Base Camp

I set the team a challenge. Trek from Raikot Bridge where the Karakoram Highway crosses the Indus, up to the Base Camp of Nanga Parbat. This is one of the ten treks in the world with the fastest elevation gain. The men started at 4000 ft on wednesday evening at 4:00 pm and were up at Fairy Point at 9000 ft in 3-4 hours. The next morning we left at 7:00 am and the first team was at Base Camp by noon at almost 13-14000 ft. The team then descended back to Fairy Point and jeeped to Raikot because we were running out of daylight. The locals thought it was crazy and could not be done so quickly, but the team was fit and strong and showed great resilience, stamina and teamwork to accomplish this difficult task. It was a most awesome adventure.

The Pakistan Rowing Team squeezed into a coaster (minibus) for an 18 hour trip to Raikot Bridge near Gilgit. In the front row, L to R, Coach Islam, Coach Zaheer and Zohaib, a lightweight rower from Lahore.
We left Islamabad as it was getting dark, around 8:00 pm. According to the Alpine Club we would get to our destination by 9:00 am. Not so. Here we are at a traffice jam outside Islmabad.
At a stop along the road to Abbotabad.
A small shop selling snacks and cassettes on the road to Islamabad. Jeff and Majeed pose in front. We are only 2 hours out of the city.
We reach Abbotabad where the new driver is supposed to get on. Apparently we have been riding with the trainee driver! The cassette player is not working and a tire has to be replaced so we stop at this gas station which has another vehicle from the owners fleet. Unfortunately the driver and his assistant switch the cassette player and the tire without informing the nigh watchman. All of a sudden there is a shouting match and an old man with a rifle appears on the roof telling our guy to not steal. A cell phone call to the owner defuses the situation. Afterwards the driver chuckles that they always are stealing each other's cassette players, so now he had gotten the other driver back. Zohaib trying to stay awake at midnight.
Zohaib and Hamza in front of a random bus parked at the gas station. Hamza, the son of Rizwan, the Rowing Federation Secretary General came along with us. His enthusiastic spirit was good to see. He was however, out of shape like me, something we found out the following day.
Zaheer napping on the roof of the minibus. THis was to become a favourite spot. The rowers with some foresight had put two matresses on the roof!
We drove through the night and the morning saw as past Mansehra. We were now on the famous Karakoram Highway. We stopped at dawn at a little mosque by the road to say morning prayers.
The driver at dawn....a little bleary eyed. I was always keeping one eye on him because a little catnap would take us over the edge.
A few hours later we were at Besham, a fairly large town from where a road branches off to Swat. Asad Khan, a pathan with very european features and an excellent lightweight rower from the Navy is in the red shirt.
Getting filled up with petrol. Another bunch of guys moved to the roof to take a nap. I was a little worried that we might lose some in the night.
The Karakoram Highway. At this point it is wide and expansive. At other places the landslides reduced it to a small track. It is quite an amazing feat of engineering.
The road to Gilgit
The "highway" takes constant upkeep in impossible terrain.
The road was literally blasted out of the mountains.
The mountains get higher and higher as we push onward.
The road clings to the mountain. For those of us who thought this was a little scary, we were not really prepared for the jeep road we were to see later that day.
Our breakfast stop. We had brough our food with us, but of course the guys had to have their tea. Jeff on the roof to see the view. He, unlike his Dad, was too sensible to ride on the top!
Zohaib standing and eating his breakfast while Adeel looks on.
Our breakfast hut with a magnificent view over the Indus.
Azmat and Hamza on the "charpoi", or literally, 4 legs, on the left. These are the beds used by the majority of Pakistanis. They are light and the webbing is airy during warm nights. A mattress keeps the heat in while this lets it out. Sabir and Nazeer ont he other charpoi.
The houses in the valley are dotted all the way up the mountain. The folks in those house almost a thousand fee above the valley floor have to trek down and up for their water and food.
Zaheer and Zohaib on the roof. Zohaib wearing the hard earned Pakistan team jacket.
The roof crew.
Jeff at the breakfast stop overlooking the Indus River.
Sabir Khan had by now changed into the traditional Shalwar(baggy pants) Kameez (long shirt).
The sun rising over the Hindukush.
The road snaked along the river. We are still on the right bank.
The swirling mixture. Emrald green water from snow melt mixes with the turbid Indus, but for a while you can still make out the green.
The Indus River bank.
Little kids waved to us as we drove by.
Fresh apricots were our snack for the morning.
As we were driving along, Farasat, one of our heavyweight guys jumped out and had to hug some of his friends from the army that were working in the road repair crew (Frontier Works Organization)! Farasat was always ready with a smile and a motivated attitude.
The Karakoram Highway switches to the left bank at Patan (I think). Here we are heading upstream. The less foolhardy drivers pull over to the side to let the bigger vehicles pass.
Brilliant blue morning.
The apricots being washed in a mountain stream by the road.
For a stretch, I got on the roof. It really did afford a breathtaking view. The only danger was falling rock, and as we got into the rock fall area, the driver called us in. There have been a number of people killed by the rock falls as they rode on the top like us.
Piles of lumber were all over the place. Most of this is done by the very powerful lumber mafia. They have stripped the mountains of trees. The problem is they can't easily get it into the more regulated parts of Pakistan.
The site of the new Basha Dam on the Indus.
One of the tunnels being built in preparation for Basha dam.
From the Basha Dam onwards we were literally in a desert. The temperature rose. The ariconditioning stopped working because we were still going uphill. There was no greenery around except right next to the river.
The occasional traffic on the Karakoram Highway.
The occasional traffic on the Karakoram Highway.
The KKH crosses the desert-like area near Chilas.
THe road leading up to Chilas. Hot and dry. The temperaure by this time was at 114 deg F.
The well adorned trucks along the KKH.