Pakistan
Askole
Civilisation's last outpost before the glaciers where porters load supplies for the walk to K2.
The village smells of baking bread and apricot wood. Stone houses cling to the hillside above the Braldu River, and on their rooftops, apricots dry in the sun — the last fresh food you will see for eight days. Beyond the final field, the gorge narrows and the granite closes in. Ahead is only glacier.
Askole is the last inhabited settlement before the Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan, making it the mandatory starting point for every expedition to K2, Broad Peak, and the Gasherbrums. The village of roughly 500 people sits where the Braldu River gorge narrows to a few metres — the beginning of the Karakoram's deepest canyon. Balti porters, many with multiple Himalayan expeditions behind them, are hired directly from village families. Local bakeries produce the dense round bread that trekkers carry for up to two weeks across the glacier, because no resupply exists beyond this point. The village has been the launching point for Karakoram mountaineering since the Duke of Abruzzi passed through in 1909.
Solo
Every serious trekker or mountaineer passes through Askole. Solo travellers join expedition groups or hire local porters for the walk in — the village is practised at assembling teams for the journey ahead.
Friends
The shared ritual of stocking supplies, hiring porters, and baking bread for the trek ahead turns Askole into a threshold moment. Everything after this point is earned together.
- Every expedition bound for K2, Broad Peak, or the Gasherbrums passes through Askole — the last supply point before the glaciers.
- The Braldu River gorge narrows to a few metres immediately beyond the village, the beginning of the Karakoram's deepest canyon.
- Local Balti porters, many with multiple Himalayan expeditions behind them, are available for hire directly from the village.
- Village bakeries produce the round Balti bread that trekkers carry for up to two weeks — no resupply exists beyond this point.
Village bread baked in clay ovens — stock up, there's nothing ahead but glacier.
Dal and rice cooked by expedition cooks who know how to feed at altitude.
Apricots dried on rooftops, shared freely with passing trekkers as trail fuel.
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