Spantik 2007 Expedition Dispatches

Overview

This August we have a strong team, led by Jacob Schmitz, headed for Spantik and look forward to a great climb. Our members come from all over the globe including the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Members of our team have travelled and climbed all over the world but for most this will be a first visit to Pakistan. It will surely be an enlightening experience culturally, physically and visually. We hope you enjoy following the expedition!

During the expedtiion there will a lot of great trainings and review for the members including crevasse rescue, fixed rope movement, roped-team movement and Wilderness First Aid. We intend to be a safe-conscious and self-sufficient team by the time we make our summit attempt.

We would like to thank Eureka and Thai Airways especially for their support and generosity. They are two classy companies to deal with!

If you would like to receive expedition updates please send a note to stu@fieldtouring.com with the subject line Spantik Dispatches.

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Recent news

August 21 - Safely back in BC!
August 20 - Update: safely back in C3, Grant in the air
August 20 - MORE SUMMITS!
August 19 - First team down and second leaving in a few hours!
August 18 - SUMMITS!!
August 18 - Summit bid under way!!
August 17 - Summit attempt in a few hours!
August 15 - On to C3 tomorrow, summit bids near!
August 13 - C2 established and summit push on!
August 11 - C1 Established, climbers moving up tomorrow
August 9 - BC reached already!
August 5 - Spantik, Snow Lake and K2 treks all heading out!
August 2 - On the road already!
August 1 - Team to head up to Skardu tomorrow
July 30 - Members already arriving!

CLIMBING TEAM | SPONSORS | DISPATCHES | SPANTIK 2008 INFORMATION PAGE

Jacob Schmitz (USA) , Leader

After leading two trips to Denali this year Jacob is now headed to lead our team on Spantik and we are looking forward to a a super trip with him at the helm.

Armed with a superior background in big wall rock climbing, ice climbing and mountaineering, Jacob brings this experience to his guiding work and is a respected and busy guide around the world. In particular his background in teaching introductory mountaineering courses in Alaska makes him a fantastic guide for members looking to learn a great deal on expeditions.

During his many years climbing in the U.S., Asia, Africa, Argentina and more Jacob has led trips for Mountain Trip, Alaskan Mountain Guides, Advenure Patagonica and guided extensively in Alaska (including Fairweather and Denali), Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua. His personal climbing resume includes many years of big wall climbing in Yosemite and mountaineering in the USA, Patagonia, Ecudaor and Mexcico. Jacob is also certified as a Wilderness First Responder and will be offering an optional Wilderness First Aid course to members. read more about Jacob and our other guides

Chris Szymiec , (Canada) Assistant Guide

Chris will be joining the team fresh off of a few months of guiding work for Outward Bound Canada and will be heading off to Cho Oyu at the end of the trip to assist Sean James on our expedition there. With a strong background is demanding alpine routes in Canada Chris finds himself happily at home on narrow ridges in high places and is a great resource for our members.

Certified as a Wilderness First Responder and with special training in rescue systems by ACMG Chris beleives in prevention and preparation but is prepared for any events that can unfold in the mountains.

Ian Blessley, (UK) Guide-in-Training

I have travelled extensively through out the world both with the military
and as a civilian working in some harsh and hostile environments. I visited
Pakistan in 1997 where I climbed Mingli Sar (6050m), following this I
travelled to Nepal, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar, as an independant
traveller climbing Kala Pata and Kilimanjaro. Whilst in the Armed Forces
where I served in the Infantry reaching the rank of Captain, I served in the
jungles of Brunei and Belize, as well as visiting Kenya and deploying across
the North of Afghanistan. In the UK I enjoy spending my time walking and
climbing across the country.

Tom Reehal, (UK) Guide-in-Training

Mike Cosgrove ( New Zealand), Climber

For many years now I have been very active in the out doors. The last 11 years I have spent alot of time in the mountains. The past 5 years I have climbed mountains on all 7 continents including Chulu West in Nepal (6419m),Aconcagua in S. America (6962m), Elbrus in Russia (5642m),3 small peaks in Antarctica, ( Pion, Molina and MT DeMaria) Mt Kenya and Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mt Kosciosco and Mt Bogong in Australia,and just recently returned from a successful climb of Mt Rainier in North America.All of these mountains I have managed to climb successfully on my first attempt.

Jeremy Tonkin, Climber

Mountaineering courses in Aust. and New Zealand, Climbing in Aspiring region in NZ inc Rob Roy, Avalanche, Glengyle and Aspiring. 2001 climbed Chulu West (6750m) with World Expeditions. I was on this trip with Mike Cosgrove, a freind of mine who is joining this Spantik trip as well. I have treked to Everst base camp and to Kala Patar. Numerous other climbing trips to NZ with Mike.

Ken Reed (USA), Climber

Sport routes 7 to 13 pitches graded 5.9 to 5.10 in Potrero Chico, Mexico from 2002-2005. Mountaineering: Have hiked 20 of the Colorado \"14ners\". Summited Pico de Orizaba, Mexico, 5630 meters, in 1999. Summited Urus, 5420 meters and Chopicalqui, 6200 meters, in Peru in 2002. Lower Exum route on the Grand Teton, Wyoming Sept 2005, summited via standard route. Attempted winter 14ner (Quandary) in Colorado January 2007, turned back at 13,700 feet in 50 mile/hour gusts. Spantik will, inshallah, be my 1st guided ascent.

Peter Cooke, (UK) Climber

I've travelled alot in the developing world, and climbed in the Rwenzoris, Uganda and to 6000m in Ecuador on Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. I currently spend a fair amount of time walking in the highlands of Scotland when work allows and also climb rock in England. My technical background in climbing is limited, so this will be an in at the deep end trip for me!

Twan van Bakel , (Dutch) Climber

Expeditions include Elbrus, Aconcagua, Mercedario, Incahuasi, Cerro San Francisco.

Italo Mazza, (Italy) Climber

Expeditions include Muztagh Ata, Aconcagua ( Polish route), Cerro Mercedario, Illimani, Chimborazo, Huascaran, Kilimangiaro; Mount Cook and countless european mountains.

Sebastian Aukofer, (Germany) Climber

I was born in 1982 and since I can walk, my father brought me into the Alps;
skiing in winter time, trekking and hiking in summer time. My second passion
is ice hockey, which I played professional for a few years. Then I had to
focus on my studies of mechanical engineering which I'll finish this summer.
I tried to gain a little bit of experience in several fixed rope routs and
my highest peak was Mt. Kinabalu (4095m) in Borneo Malaysia. This will be my
1st guided ascent an expedition in that scene.

Grant Ritchie, (New Zealand) Climber

My technical mountain climbing has all been in New Zealand where I summited Mt Cook in January 2006 and Mt Aspiring in January 2007.
I completed a 10 day technical mountain course (with Alpine Guides Limited) in the Mt Cook region in 2005 and a 5 day intermediate mountain skills course on Mt Ruepehu (NZ) in 2002. I have climbed Mt Ruepehu and Mt Taranaki in NZ.

I have trekked to Kala Patar (5545m) in Nepal, Mt Kinabalu in Sabah and been over 4000m several times in the Andes. The outdoors, trekking and mountainbiking have been a lifelong past time.

Taqui Mohammed , (Pakistan ) High Altitude Porter

Taqui has been working trips for FTA for many years and is one of our most respected and talented high altitude porters. His trips working as a high altitude porter with FTA include 4 to Broad Peak, one to K2, one to G2 and guiding roles on numerous treks to Snowlake and K2 basecamps.

DISPATCHES

quick link: July 30 August 1 2 5 9 11 13 15 17 18 18b 19 20 20b 21

August 21, 2007 - Safe and Sound in BC!

From Stu in the US Office,1:30pm USEDT, 10:30pm local time

Chris called in from BC to say that entire second team has made it safely back to BC and are looking forward to a few days of rest before the head out on the 24th. They left C3 at about 9am this morning and returned to BC at about 5pm stopping for a while at C2 to eat and rehydrate. They were met half way down from C1 by the rest of the group and happily handed over their loads and enjoyed an unencumbered stroll to BC and hot drinks and food! They plan to hike out on the 24th and drive back to Skardu on the 27th with flights to Islamabad arranged for the 28th.

Tom is with Grant in Skardu and Grant will be moving down to Islamabad at soonest for a flight home hopefully on the 24th. He was examined and treated and released from the Military Hospital and they are resting at the hotel.The extent of the frostbite is not yet known but he is not out of the woods yet and we are hopeful for a good recovery at home. I had a nice talk with him a few minutes ago and he had noting but nice things to say about everyone who has been helping him from pilots and doctors to team members and ATP staff. It speaks volumes about Grant that he is so positive about everyone despite his situation. The flights have not been going lately so the backlog is large and we are doing everything we can to have Grant get on the next available flight to Islamabad.

Grant and Tom have met up in the Concordia Hotel with Karen Chance and Richard Boutin who have just returned from a succesful K2 BC trek led by Salman Ali and they will be going overland tomorrow morning and arrive in Islamabad on the 23rd.

We'll have a few more dispatches as the team treks out and look forward to a big summary with pics in the weeks ahead

August 20, 2007 - Update: summit team back in C3, Grant in the air

From Stu in the US Office,9am USEDT, 6pm local time

Chris and Jacob have both called in the last few minutes as reported in on all the events high and low on the mountain.

Chris and the second summit team returned to C3 at 3pm and are resting and eating and preparing to pack up and leave at 5 or 6 am and get as far as C1 or BC tommorrow. Mike is doing very well and glad of his decision not to push for the summit. They are all enjoying great views or K2, Broad Peak and more and we at the office cannot wait to see the pics!! Chris also mentioned that Spantik is a "big beast of a mountain" and they are all feeling very happy to have been on its flanks and for those that topped out to have visitied its highest point!

Returning from a summit bid and headed towards comfort of C3 tents! By Baz Jones from FTA 2006 expedition.
Down at BC there has been much action as well with Grant being assisted down the 800ft drop down the steep slope to the glacier to a waiting helicopter. He was joined by Tom for the ride back to Skardu and was in good spirits and happy for the good care Tom and Jacob have been providing.

Our expedition is now set to leave BC on the 24th and should be back in Skardu sipping tea on the 27th. We will look forward to a longer trip reports in the weeks ahead but a quick summary is that all members reached high on the mountain this year and we had 10 members reach the top:

18th August: Jacob Schmitz, Taqui Mohammed, Tom Reehal, Italo Maza and Grant Ritchie.
19th August: Chris Szymiec, Twan van Bakel, Ian Blessley, Sebastian Aukofer and Ken Reed

Congratulations to all of the members for working so well together and being part of a successful expedition!

August 20, 2007 - SUMMITS for the second group!

From Stu in the US Office, 1am USEDT, 9am local time

I received a call from Chris at 9am local time from the summit of Spantik with Sebastian, Ian, Twan and Ken just behind and about to join him.Congratulations to them all!

The plan was to enjoy a view and then get back down to C3 and call us when they arrive. Chris said it was a great day so far and the views magnificent. They left at 1 am and climbed much of the route in the dark and on firm snow. By the time they return to C3 the snow will again be soft and they will stop and await the firm morning snow to return to C1 tomorrow. Mike awoke this morning not feeling as strong as he would have like for the14 hour day and therefore made a wise choice to call of his summit bid. I am sure he had a day full of amazing views and will have had one of the days of solitude and reflection I spoke of earlier.

The first group has arrived at BC and are well except for Grant who experienced some numbness on his summit push that has now shown up as some moderate frostbite. With discoloration on all of his right foot toes and some swelling beginning it was decided he would not safely be able to walk out without causing further injury and he is having a helicopter ride arranged by our ground agent. He should be in the air shortly and enjoying the fine weather in Skardu this afternoon.

[5pm local time update:Grant and Tom flew out a few minutes ago and are on the way to Skardu!]

We'll look for a full update on all of this in the next 24 hours and post it as soon as we have it.

August 19, 2007 - First group in BC, Second group leaving in 6 hours!

From Stu in the US Office, 9:30am USEDT, 6:30pm local time

After reviewing how the group was feeling after supper last night the scond group decided to rest and hydrate for today and will leave at midnight tonight for the top. They are following the pattern of success for the first group who also found the push from C2 to C3 tobe very demanding. Chris noted that the midday temps have hit 34°C and turns the snow into energy sapping mush which added to he steep rise from C2 to C3 really takes it out of the legs!

Jacob and the entire first wave made it back to C2 last night and at 8am this morning broke down camp 2 and headed back to BC. Peter has recovered his energy and all members were reported to be feelign well as they packed up camp. Chris had not spoken with them at BC yet and had a call planned for a few hours from now. Word is that the food has been 5 star and they are likely enjoying the first fresh cooked meal in quite a few days!

The team is scheduled to leave BC on the 24th or 25th so the second group is on a great schedule at this point and hope to sumit on 20 and return to BC on the 21st, have a few days of rest and then head out to Skardu. Chris and Jacob are then off to lead our Cho Oyu expedition in Nepal beginning on the 7th of September. Chris will continue on leading our Everest BC trek and our second of two Ama Dablam Expeditions. Busy season for both of them!

Our Snow Lake and K2 BC treks will also be coming out in the next few days and we look forward to having word of their trips when they return. We did have a note from the Snow lake team who successfully crossed the Hispar La and was well on schedule.

More news ahead as Chris and co head up in a few hours!

August 18, 2007 - SUMMITS!!!

From Stu in the US Office, 6:30am USEDT, 3:30pm local time

Just off the phone with Jacob who is back in C3 after returning from the SUMMIT along with Taqui, Tom, Italo and Grant!!

Breaking the trail, Jacob and Taqui topped out at approx 10:30am on August 18th. Tom, Italo and Grant followed a half hour later. Late in the ascent Peter, had begun to slow and was not able to summit. Keeping tabs on all of this Jacob spent just a few minutes on the top and left to descend with Peter back to C3. All 6 of them have made it back to C3 by 3:30pm local time and they are intending to head down to C2 where tents await them for a good sleep. In the morning they will break down C2 and carry it down to BC.

Jacob said the route was in great shape and the views were fantastic! Look on the
web site in the gallery in september for all the pics!!

Chris's team is all assembled in C3 and readying for an early start on the 19th. The weather was overcast with light snow for 4 days until today and is forcasted to be even nicer tomorrow. With the route established and fixed lines in key places already Chris, Ian, Mike, Ken, Twan and Sebastian are in a great position and we'll watch them tomorrow with great anticipation as well! They will likely stay at C3 (but will try to break camp and drop to C2) after summiting and then come down the following day all the way to BC.

We'll keep you posted as we have new info! The amazing ridge of 7027m high Spantik! Image by Sean James from our 2006 expedition.

August 18, 2007 - 7:15am local time Summit Bid under way!

From Stu in the US Office, 10:15pm us Edt 17th aug, 7:15am Aug 18th local time in pakistan

Just off the phone with chris who was breathing hard and sounded great!

Chris called in from the ridge between C2 and C3 where his group is approaching a steep fixed section. His group got off at 5am and hope to be to C3 by noon going nice and easy. Jacob and his crew got off at 3:30am under a blue sky and are well under way though the sky is a bit cloudy now which matches the pattern they have been seeing for some days now. Chris noted that they are watching the snow conditions carefully as they are seeing some windpacked snow at this time and small debris.

Chris will call back as soon as he has any significant news of where either group is and well pass it along!

August 17, 2007 - Summit Bids in a few hours!

From Stu in the US Office

Just off the phone with chris and have the following news to report:

Both groups took a rest day on Friday the 17th at their respective camps and on Saturday the 18th they will make the moves originally planned for the 17th. Jacob and crew will leave at 3am for a summit push with a plan to return to C2 after the attempt. Chris's team will leave at 5am to take advantage of hard snow to get to C3.

FTA members enjoying Camp 3 in a spectacular spot! Image by Veronika Bartova from our 2006 trip.
Mike is apparently feeling very strong now after a rest day and good to go.Unfortunately Jeremy has not been feeling his energy to be good enough to continue on the push and has wisely chosen to return to BC rather than put himself into harms way. He returned down to BC from C1 yesterday. The demands of this climb are such that one does want to have all the engines running well to have the mental and physical reserves to return from the summit. It is never an easy thing to stop a summit push and it often takes great willpower and courage of conviction to do so in the face of opportunity and desire. Sometimes we are so busy climbing and surviving we don't have time to absorb the enormity and beauty of the place and I am sure Jeremy will be enjoying a wonderful time at BC with magnificent surroundings and solitude so rare these days.

Jacob's team took about 8 hour to get from C2 to c3 as they were caught behind a slower moving japanese group and ended up in the heat of the day postholing for hours. Chris's group will leave a little earlier to avoid both! That said they will all still have sizeable summit days on the order of 12-18 hours.

On Sunday the 19th Chris's crew will leave C3 early, likely 1am, to make a summit push and will return to C3 and either spend the night and pack up and descend the next day or take down C3 and return to C2. A subset of Jacobs group will remain at C2 on the 19th as a support for Chris's team in case of any emergency or logistical needs.

Chris reports that the weather has been generally calm and good with small amounts of snow. They have spent the rest day doing various oxygen deprived activities such as making an igloo, singing and dancing and building a snow women to balance out the gender ratio!

Chris will be calling in with the play-by-play tomorrow during the first groups attempt and we will update the website as often as possible during the weekend.

More news as we have it!

August 15, 2007 - C3 tomorrow and the Summit bids maybe Friday!

From Stu in the US Office

Just off the phone with Chris who is down at BC and headed up early am to C1 and then on to C2 with his group. Everyone is doing well and making summit plans. A few people are not moving as fast as they would like and Jacob and Chris are making strategic decisions to have options available and backup on summit attempts.

Jacob's group was resting in C2 today and intends to move to C3 tomorrow and then will have to watch the weather to see if Friday is okay. The reports are for high winds on Friday but local mountain conditions at 7000m may be very different that at 8000 on other peaks. Chris's team is at C1 resting today and will move to C2 tomorrow to stage for their attempt. The only change in teams at this point is that Mike has taken an extra day after a hard carry and and is now with Chris's group.

Eureka tents holding steady high on Spantik in 2006
Image by Veronika Bartova

The team is loaded with the Eureka Fifth Season Exo tents which are about as strong a tent as are made today. We used 2 and 3-person versions of these on K2, Broad Peak, G2 and Ama Dablam in the last year and though they are a bit heavy they barely ripple in the heaviest wind and therefore you can get some sleep in them! The poles are beefier than many high altitude tents and we have been very happy with them. Comforting to think of them in a windy spot with top notch tents. Thank you Eureka for sponsoring us with these tents!

Chris has noted that there is only one other team on the hill and they are on nearly the same schedule and also in two groups. This is a Japanese group that Chris reckons are between 57-68 years old. This will give us all encouragement to stay young of body and mind!

More news as we have it!

August 13, 2007 - C2 Established and the Summit Push is On!

Climbing high on Spantik in 2006
Image by Sean James

From Stu in the US Office, 9am EDT (6pm local)

Jacob called in from C1 where the entire 14-man team is now assembled and feeling well. Spirits are high after good days eating fresh goat-meat at BC and health returned fully for all members.

At this point the team is divided very nicely into a first group of Jacob, Tom, Italo, Grant, Mike and Peter supported by Akbar and a second group of Chris, Ian, Sebastian, Jeremy, Twan and Ken supported by Taqui. Today Jacob and his group made a carry to C2 and set up the camp while Chris and his crew came up to C1. Tomorrow Jacob's group will move to C2 and spend the night and Chris's group will make a carry to C2.

The hope for Jacob's group is to make a summit bid on Friday and Chris's on Saturday or Sunday. Each group has a strong setup with an FTA leader (Jacob and Chris )a guide-in-training (Tom and Ian), a hand-picked FTA High Altitude Porter (Taqui and Akbar) and a host of experienced members. In the next 24-48 hour the actual teams for the bids will be firmed up and we will have that for you then.

While the first team will bear the brunt of carrying tents they will be able to come down less encumbered while the second group will arrive lighter and leave 3-4 kilos heavier each!

We have fielded strong teams two years in a row now and we hope the weather and route conditions will cooperate and give our team a real chance at the top!

Stay Tuned For All The Action!

August 11, 2007 - C1 Established, more carries today, moving up tomorrow!

From Stu in the US Office

Jacob called in early in the day with the latest update on the teams' efforts so far.Yesterday in the morning several members who had planned to climb to C1 opted to rest up another day or so before making the first big effort. On the 10th after carrying loads to C1, Jacob, Mike, Tom, Peter, Italo and Grant established the camp site and returned safely to BC. This morning (after enjoying a day of true leisure yesterday!) Chris, Twan and Sebastian were leaving for a carry to C1. The final group of Ian, Jeremy and Ken will make their load carry tomorrow and likely be accompanied by Jacob and most of the first group who will hope to stay at C1 and then carry to C2 on the 13th.

Eureka tents at C1 with Spantik's main ridge beyond. Image by Sean James from FTA Spantik 2006
As the route to C1 is uncomplicated it is a nice time for members to move safely at their own pace and enjoy an acclimatization schedule that best suits them. Once they begin to move above C1 their will be more issues with moving in roped groups and the real climbing will begin!
As often happens due to acclimatization and minor (we always hope!) health issueson a trip a natural group forming occurs which complements the logistics quite nicely in terms of really only needing half the amount of tents stoves gear etc on the hill and makes everyone's job a little bit easier.

It is certainly too early to tell whether these groups will in any way remain as weather and acclimatizing factors are major players in the days ahead. There may be a decision in the week ahead to make a big push together if the snow seems deep but two or more teams of 6-7 or less often works quite well and has been the norm for our Ama Dablam trips. Spantik usually sees a larger group push together as there are not any bottlenecksto worry about the way that there are on many peaks. This enables a smaller group maybe not feeling up to it to turn about on the push and not hinder or complicate anyone else's efforts.

In 4-5 days after some nights on the hill these things will all become a little more clear and it will be fun to watch it all evolve from the warmth and comfort of our homes :-)

August 9, 2007 - Already at BC and carries to C1 tomorrow

From Stu in the US Office

I received a welcome phone call from base camp from Jacob and he says that everyone and all the gear arrived in good shape on the 8th!

During the day of the 9th the team ambled over to the glacier and did a large review of skills in preparation for the first efforts on the hill to come on the 10th. The weather has been somewhat overcast along the trek in but they arrived to 75% sunny skies. During the review session they had overcast skies and are hopeful for clearer weather in the days ahead. For the work to be done to reach C1 they will not be too concerned about the weather but in another 3-4 dyas as they work towards C2 and beyond we will all be watching the reports carefully!

The plan as of the evening of the 9th was for Ken and Sebastian and Chris to take a rest day on the 10th while Jacob and the rest of the team makes a carry to C. Then on the 11th Chris, Ken, Sebastian will make their carry. The reason for the separation is that both Ken and Sebastian were a little under the weather on the 8th and though they improved significantly on the 9th it was felt best that they make the first carry at full strength.

Jacob will be calling in after they return from the carry and we look forward to news of C1 and the first steps on the route!

August 5, 2007 - Spantik Climb, Snow Lake and K2 treks all departed from Skardu!

From Stu in the US Office

All three of our August groups are off and running today with early starts to remote places. After a busy day yesterday sorting gear, making last minute purchases and rentals all three groups managed to get off on schedule for their desitinations.

In the weeks ahead we will have official dispatches every 3-4 dyas from the Spantik group and any time we have news from the treks we will post that information here as well. If you would like to receive updates simply drop a note to stu@fieldtouring.com and i will add you to our list of family, friends and future trekkers and climbers following our August trips.

August 2, 2007 - Off to the famed Karakoram Highway!

From Stu in the US Office

I have been in touch with Chris and Ian several times today as they wereout and about meeting Peter and Ken at the hotel, meeting with the Alpine club, collecting some extra gear we had flown in from Nepal to replace items lost at C3 on G2 and attempting to get ready for straight shot (leaving at 6pm today) to Skardu to catch up with the team in time for supper at the Concordia Hotel tomorrow night. They will then have the 4th in Skardu to unpack and repack gear, shop for snacks and have some team meetings on the schedule of events ahead. All groups including the Spantik team, the Snow Lake Trek and the K2 BC Trek groups will leave on the 5th from Skardu if everything goes according to plan!

Ian wrote the following late last night and sent it in from the hotel in Islamabad where the weather is apparently extremely hot and humid!

The majority of the team have arrived and departed Islamabad for Chilas on the way to Skardu by road, 15 hrs in the bus today and 6 tomorrow !!. Chris and I are remaining in Islamabad to visit the Alpine Ministry to ask fo our climbing permits and to collect some extra stores sent through from Nepal going through customs. We don't know who has the worse deal the guys on the bus or us!! hopefully we will get to fly which should be good as there are reported to be some amazing views of Nanga Parbat.

We await the arrival of the last members of the teams to arrive.Those that arrived early spent a couple of days exploring the area around the hotel in Islamabad as well as taking a short trip to Rawlpindi and the old bazaars. Whilst the sights and sounds were amazing and difficult to describe some of the smells are better left undescribed completly. So far everyone we have met has been friendly and we have seen very little sign of the reported troubles in the international press.

August 1, 2007 - Members in Islamabad and off to Skardu in the morning!

From Stu in the US office

Our members have been arriving all day and getting settled into the hotel. After a short rest they'll have an introductory meeting, a few good meals and finish recovering from the long travel which has brought them to Pakistan!

Ian and Chris will be meeting with the Alpine Club tomorrow to finalize the permit but we will have the team move up to Skardu where the weather and politics are cooler. Ian and Chris will either fly up the next am or take a monster 23 our ride straight through to catch up. Ken and Peter are the only two remaining to arrive and will come in at 5am on the 2nd and join Chris and Ian on the way to Skardu. Chris also noted that all member's bags have arrived with them to everyone's welcome relief.

Ian wrote that he had a good day on the 31st wandering around Rawlpindi bazaars and found a everyone very friendly. We'll hope for continued peace and quiet for Pakistan in the days and months ahead.

Members of the Snow Lake Trek and K2 BC Trek are joining the Spantik group for the travel to Skardu and then will head off in their own directions once reaching Skardu.

More news soon!

July 30, 2007 - Members already arriving!

From Stu in the US office,

Ian Blessley is already on the ground at the hotel and we are officially under way! In the days ahead members will be arriving from all parts of the globe and w e look forward to getting this exciting adventure under way!

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