K2 2019 Kicks off!

Our team of climbers & trekkers have arrived in Pakistan and are on the way to K2, the world’s 2nd highest mountain!

Our advance team of 100 porters began the trek to base camp 2 weeks ago to help deliver supplies for our expedition team and reserve our place. The journey to K2 base camp is rugged, wild, and very scenic with breathtaking views! We begin in Islamabad and hope to fly to Skardu. I’ve been very lucky the last few years and had good weather for this flight, however, if weather conditions are not suitable for flying we will drive the Karakoram Highway, a two-day journey by road to Skardu, which is part of the original Silk Road trading route. While it’s a scenic and historic route, I prefer the flight! Fingers crossed for good flying weather!

From Skardu, we plan to drive by vintage Toyota Land Cruisers to the mountain village of Askoli. This jeep ride is a fun six-hour adventure along steep river gorges and mountain passes. From Askoli we will begin the trek, a ~100 km journey to base camp up the Baltoro glacier. We will pass by iconic peaks such as the Great Trango Towers, Gasherbrum 4, Broad Peak, then arrive at K2 base camp.

*** Stay tuned here for daily expedition dispatches! You can also follow the team on Amazon Alexa devices and with our real-time location tracking map: https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/k2-2019 ****

Here are some of our favorite photos from the 2018 K2 expedition. Enjoy!!