hi,

anybody has info on the epic trek:

Shimshal -> Braldu Glacier -> Lupke La -> Snow Lake -> Hispar Pass -> Nagar trek?
(+ side-trip to Sim La - pass)

altough it is in a restricted zone, some people say it is not necessary for a permit.

anybody experience in this trek?

somebody knows an alpine MOUNTAIN guide (NO trekking guide) who could guide us?
do you know porters from Shimshal, where we are going to start this trek.

thx in advance!

I know some people who have trekked from Shimshal to the Braldu Glacier without any permits, although technically it's in a restricted zone as it's very close to the Chinese border. If you ask around in Shimshal you should be able to find some people who have been this way that you can hire as porters. You'll be at their mercy regards how many stages they ask for the trek. I've thought about trekking this route myself.

Regarding guides, many of the good Shimshali guides are often not in Shimshal during summer as they are often hired for high peaks. You're therefore best trying to arrange something in advance. You could try contacting this shimshali although he's currently part of a winter Broad Peak attempt:

http://www.summitpost.org/user_page.php?user_id=31068

Some British went this way many years ago. They included Steve Razetti who has some good photos on his website:

http://www.razzetti.com/splash.php

They climbed Bradu Brakk if I remember, which is the peak by the Braldu Pass.

Just in case you're considering it, I wouldn't do the trek in the opposite direction. The Hispar porters are often a bit of a nightmare just trying to get up the Hispar Glacier without problems and strikes.

thx for the info!

want to join us?

we are allready 3 people (1 women, 28 ys, 2 men, 29 ys).

we arrive in Islamabad on 12 July 2009 (flying from London)
we return on monday 10 August.

Thanks for the offer but I've not enough time off work. I'd like to one day go to Braldu primarily to do some climbing. Would also like to climb to the adjacent pass on the Chinese border (Skam La?). Hope you have a good trip. A guy called Bruno I know also went to Braldu in 2006. You can probably get his email via his website http://www.blankonthemap.free.fr.

a team from my university successfully attempted skam la in 2003....i could upload some pictures if anybody is interested....as far as the braldu pass is concerned, some faculty members from my university successfully completed it last august...they started off in shimshal and finished in skardu after crossing the snow lake and the biafo glacier....i'm sure i can ask them about the guides and/or porters they used (shimshalis usually play both roles), as far as i've heard, you do NOT need a permit to do this route....Another thing to keep in mind is that this part of the karakoram has recieved very heavy snowfall this winter, so it might be a better option to go slightly later in the season (august)

a team from my university successfully attempted skam la in 2003....i could upload some pictures if anybody is interested....as far as the braldu pass is concerned, some faculty members from my university successfully completed it last august...they started off in shimshal and finished in skardu after crossing the snow lake and the biafo glacier....i'm sure i can ask them about the guides and/or porters they used (shimshalis usually play both roles), as far as i've heard, you do NOT need a permit to do this route....Another thing to keep in mind is that this part of the karakoram has recieved very heavy snowfall this winter, so it might be a better option to go slightly later in the season (august)