Views on the way back

We headed back down the glacier the next morning. The route was the same as the way in, only we were covering more territory per day, as we were losing elevation and so the walking was somewhat easier. It didn't feel that way much of the time, although at least we knew exactly what we were in for, for better or worse. The scenery always looks different from the other direction anyway. Also, the weather was changing. Note the gathering clouds in the photographs -- these would cause us problems in a few days' time.

Tent "on the rocks"

On our last night camping on the glacier was, for some inexplicable reason, the coldest night of the trip. Perhaps the veneer of rocks covering the ice was thinner than it was in Concordia. Here is Mark next to our tent that night. If you look closely below the tent, you can see that it's set up on a large block of ice that's just barely hidden by the rock cover.

Rain

The next day the clouds produced the first of the rain, a shower during the day, and a bigger storm that night. Another day later we were off the glacier and back at Paiju for one more night. Storm clouds gathered over the course of the next day when we did the "March to Bataan" in reverse. The upside to this was that, while the day's walk was still long, it was not so gruelling without the burning sun. We were going a bit further -- crossing over the Jola to camp on the other side.

Mark stays out of the rain

By the time we got to the Jola, it was raining steadily; the waterproof gear that we'd been carrying for two weeks came out of the packs. We had to wait at the Jola for ages, as when we got there the porters were still transporting the gear across. Mark managed to stay out of the rain with his trusty umbrella. We were all pretty blase about riding the Jola this time -- very "been-there-done-that." No flurries of snapshots this time. Of course the rain was part of the reason. Camp was set up on the other side of the river along the rocks, awaiting the next morning's climb up the Cliffs of Jola.

Waiting to climb the cliffs

The next morning it was pouring rain still -- it had poured all night. The start of our climb was delayed because of the weather, but when Rex realized that the rain was not going to let up, we set off at about 10 a.m. Before we left the tents had been taken down, so we sheltered ourselves in a cave under the cliff -- the only dry spot in town.(Bob, you will really need to get a blue jacket next time to fit in!) That's Mohammed-Khan, our cook, on the right.

The climb up the cliffs was in a way easier than it had been going down originally because you're not looking down; however, the rain made it an interesting experience, as the cliff had turned into a virtual waterfall, and we were in the middle of it. It seemed to take forever to get to the top, and then the scramble across to the left and around the corner. Needless to say we were all soaked, as water had poured into our boots and down the sleeves of our jackets while we were reaching up.

But of course, this was only the beginning of a very long day. While the walking was not particularly difficult (nothing is after those cliffs), we had to watch for rock falls and mudslides, a very real possibility in the heavy rain. Plus the constant downpour made everyone miserable. No photos for the day, as the weather precluded stopping to compose a picture.

After many hours, with only a short break for tea midday, we arrived in Askole. It was a complete quagmire -- the dirt roads had turned into deep and slippery mud. We ended up all sleeping in the one room of the local schoolhouse as the field we were supposed to camp in had three inches of standing water in it. Another new experience.

The jeeps that were supposed to be waiting for us in Askole were not there, as the rain had washed out some of the roads in. It was unclear for how long we would have to walk the next day (or even the day after that) until we would get to as far as the jeeps could reach.

What was left of the roads

The walk the next day seemed endless. At least it had stopped raining after 30 hours, but it left the roads in a state beyond mud. In the morning we went over a long stretch of road sections of which had collapsed, often leaving no more than a thin ledge of dirt over a deep ravine. Again, we had to be very watchful of rock slides.

Endless Walking

After a few hours we got to Hoto (where we had camped the first night) and there were jeeps there. For a moment we were overjoyed, but then we learned that they weren't our jeeps, and in fact the road after this was washed out as well, so those jeeps couldn't go anywhere.

This left us four hours of interminable and boring walking down the jeep road (what was left of it). After the initial collapsed bits, it was a straight walk that went on and on and on. At least our campsite, when we finally reached it, was warm and leafy -- a nice change.

Finally, the jeeps

The remaining gear is sorted

The next morning after walking about an hour and a half, we turned a corner and there were the jeeps. Never were we so happy as we were to see those vehicles.there were four: two for us, one for the gear, and the porters all piled into the third one (about 15 of them remained).

The road re-appears

And click here to see what the road looked like on the way in

We passed the part of the road that had been under water on the way in -- NOW there was a wide road of sorts! We made it to Askole in an uncomfortable five hours, but at least we were back to "civilization."

That first shower felt good. And here's the whole group the next morning, all cleaned up, in the garden of the K2 Motel. After this photograph was taken, we flew back to Islamabad, and then later that night back to the US or UK. The adventure was over for the time being.

For the small percentage (it seems) of the population that doesn't know this, Mark and Rona met on this trip, setting eyes on each other for the first time on 10 August 1997 in the breakfast room of the Shalimar Hotel in Rawalpindi. We were married on 23 January 1999. You can see the photos of the wedding on this website on the "Wedding" pages!


For more information about this trek to K2 Base Camp, or other trips to Pakistan or around the world, visit KE Adventure Travel‘s website at http://www.keadventure.com