Pakistan, In Search of K2 Views, Episode 1

This is a solo 4-day trek into Pakistan’s Karakorum Mountains to find the Machilu La Pass from which spectacular photos of K2 are possible. The million refuges heading south from the Swat Valley didn’t deter me from the objective however the monsoons eventually would.

The photo in the K2 museum was all that I’d hoped to see in Pakistan. In that single photo, standing prominent was K2, the second highest mountain in the world, as well as Gashurbrun I (11 th ), Broad Peak (12 th ), and Gashurbrun II (13 th highest). Four of the world’s 14 giants, all within one photo frame and I wanted it. I turned to Riaz ul-Hassan, the Resident Representative at the K2 museum, in Skardu, Pakistan and asked from where had the photo been taken. He said a spot called Machi Lu La and that it was only a one or two day trek north of a small crossroad village called Khapalu. He then showed me the details on a Leomann’s Karakoram Map (Sheet 3). We then went on to discuss some other items in the museum but already my mind had left the room and was focused on a trek and that photo. So that is what I did. I left the museum, purchased a map and made plans to leave for Khapalu the next morning.