Gondogoro Peak Climb

The British operator KE Adventure says its very first trekking-peak holiday, in 1986, climbed Gondogoro Peak from a base camp at Khuspang. No earlier ascent has been recorded.

From 7 to 10 May, Dick Renshaw, Jon Tinker, Mark Miller, Simon Yates, Michael Searle and Craig Kentwell all climbed Gondogoro Peak, which they reported in the American Alpine Journal as about 5,700 m.

British trekkers climbed the peak the day after crossing the Gondogoro La from the Baltoro, the combination that operators still sell today.

On 2 September Saba Haleem of the LUMS Adventure Society reached the top with the veteran climber Rozi Ali, reported as the first Pakistani woman to climb Gondogoro Peak.

Gondogoro Peak is about 5,650 m high. That is the figure given by SummitPost, by the UK and Pakistani operators who run the climb and in most itineraries, and it is the one we use. The peak has never been formally surveyed, so other figures exist: the British climbers who reported an ascent in the American Alpine Journal in 1987 called it about 5,700 m, one local Hushe operator says 5,750 m, and one UK company's headline gives 5,695 m. There is no source for the 5,800 m or 5,900 m that sometimes appear in marketing. Either way it is a little higher than the Gondogoro La, the 5,585 m pass right beside it, and well below the 6,500 m threshold for peak royalty in Pakistan. Do not confuse it with Gondogoro Ri, a separate peak of about 6,810 m.

Gondogoro Peak is not very technical. The UK operator that has run it since the 1980s grades it PD minus, and SummitPost describes little technical difficulty or objective danger. The route has three parts: a scramble up moraine from camp to the snowline, roped glacier travel on easy-angled snow with a few crevasses, then a narrowing snow ridge of 30 to 45 degrees to the summit. Only the last 100 to 200 m is steep, and our guides fix three to five pitches of rope there, which you climb with a jumar and descend by abseil or on a safety line. You will use crampons, an ice axe, a harness, a jumar and a descender. The real challenge is the altitude and the early start, not the climbing, which is why the peak is a popular first summit in the Karakoram.

You do not need previous mountaineering experience to climb Gondogoro Peak, but you do need solid trekking experience at altitude. The ideal climber has done multi-day treks above 4,000 m, is fit enough for a summit day that starts around midnight, and has ideally worn crampons before. We spend a full day at Khuspang base camp teaching the skills you need: walking roped together on a glacier, using crampons and an ice axe on snow, climbing a fixed rope with a jumar and abseiling or descending on a safety line. Our guides stay with you on the rope throughout the climb. If you have never been above 4,000 m, we recommend a trek such as the Gondogoro La or a Hushe valley trek first, or adding extra acclimatisation days to the itinerary. Many people use Gondogoro Peak as their stepping stone to 6,000 m peaks.

Gondogoro Peak is at the head of the Gondogoro glacier above the Hushe valley, in Ghanche district of Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan, inside Central Karakoram National Park. It sits right beside the Gondogoro La, the 5,585 m pass that links the Hushe valley with Concordia and the Baltoro glacier; from the summit the pass looks like a flat snowfield just below you. The nearest village is Hushe, at about 3,050 m, reached by jeep from Skardu through Khaplu in about 5 to 7 hours. From Hushe the approach takes four days, via Saicho, the Gondogoro herders' huts and Dalsampa, to Khuspang base camp at about 4,600 to 4,700 m. Laila Peak, Masherbrum and Chogolisa all rise around the same glacier, so the walk in is one of the most spectacular in the Karakoram.

On a clear day you can see the summit of K2 from Gondogoro Peak, but only as a distant view. The closer panorama from the top takes in Masherbrum, Chogolisa, Gasherbrum I, also called Hidden Peak, Trinity Peak and Laila Peak, with the Gondogoro glacier below. The famous close-up view of K2, Broad Peak and the Gasherbrums in one sweep is from the Gondogoro La itself, the pass right beside the peak, which is one reason many climbers combine the two. If you approach from the Baltoro side as part of a K2 Base Camp trek, you cross the La at dawn with that view behind you, rest a day at Khuspang and then climb the peak. If you climb from Hushe only, you can walk up towards the La from Khuspang for the view, conditions permitting.

There is no peak royalty for Gondogoro Peak and no liaison officer, because Pakistan only charges royalty and assigns liaison officers for peaks above 6,500 m. The area around it does need a permit. The Gondogoro glacier is in a restricted zone, so foreign climbers need a trekking permit issued through a licensed Pakistani operator, a licensed guide and the Central Karakoram National Park fee, and the operator completes the formalities with the Ministry of Tourism before you head north. Because the Gondogoro route is on NADRA's list of restricted treks, you should apply for a mountaineering and trekking visa with the operator's sponsorship letter rather than a tourist visa, and allow about four weeks for it. All permits and park fees are included in our price, so you do not have to pay anything at a checkpost.

Our Gondogoro Peak climb from Hushe takes 16 days from Islamabad to Islamabad. That allows two days to reach Skardu, a day's jeep to Hushe, an acclimatisation day, four days walking in via Saicho, the Gondogoro huts and Dalsampa to Khuspang, a rope-skills day, summit day, a spare weather day, two days walking out and two days back to Islamabad, plus a spare day in case the Skardu flight is delayed. UK operators run a similar trip in 14 to 15 days with less spare time. If you combine the peak with the K2 Base Camp trek and a crossing of the Gondogoro La, the whole trip takes about 23 days, and you reach the peak already well acclimatised from the Baltoro. Tell us which version you want and we will plan the dates around it.

Our Gondogoro Peak climb costs from $2,400 per person, Islamabad to Islamabad, over 16 days. That includes the restricted-zone trekking permit and the Central Karakoram National Park fee, the jeep from Skardu to Hushe and back, porters, a licensed guide and climbing guides for summit day, tents and camping equipment, all meals on the trek and the climb, and group climbing gear including the fixed rope. It does not include international flights, travel insurance, personal climbing equipment such as boots, crampons, harness and jumar, or personal expenses. Because the peak is below 6,500 m there is no royalty to add. Combining the climb with the K2 Base Camp trek and the Gondogoro La costs more because the trip is longer, so contact us for a quote with exact dates and group size.