Pakistan and the Spantik Expedition (Part 2)

After the trek and a few days of rest at the base camp, it was time to start climbing the mountain. Spantik is typically climbed in four days, using three campsites above the base camp, which are aptly named Camp 1, Camp 2, and Camp 3. To acclimatize to the altitude prior to our summit climb, we first took a two day trip to Camp 1 (at 16,800ft) and Camp 2 (at 18,000ft), and then returned to the base camp. Here’s a photo of Camp 1, in which the summit is the tallest peak to the right of the camp:

And a photo of Camp 2:

Our acclimatization climb to Camp 2 went smoothly, with excellent weather and no signs of altitude sickness amongst anyone on the team. Some photos:

Upon return to the base camp, the weather forecast dictated a summit departure in four days time. We mostly passed the time with the various base camp activities described in the prior blog, but on one of the days, we went back to Camp 1 for additional acclimatization. Luke (our guide) wasn’t feeling well, and left Zakir in charge for the day. As I mentioned previously, Zakir is a “High Altitude Porter,” which is the Pakistani equivalent of a Nepali climbing sherpa. A fun fact about Zakir, apart from the fact that he’s a ridiculously strong climber, is that he loves creating content in the mountains. Our outing to Camp 1 was no exception:

Here’s some of our content (my climbing partners, Pierre and Hugues, planned to ski from the summit, hence the presence of skis in the content):

Here’s some of our more serious content:

And even more content of Zakir learning to ski. Per the audio, he would like to ski back to base camp, if possible:

We returned to the base camp with a little more acclimatization and a lot more content, rested for one day, and then set off on the four day summit climb. We had planned to sleep for one night at each of the three camps as we ascended, but at Camp 2, Pierre developed symptoms of altitude sickness. In hopes that he would recover, we slept a second night at Camp 2, which left us with two full days to kill halfway up the mountain. To pass the time, we obviously created more content, such as this Tik Tok from Zakir, which I’d recommend viewing with audio:

Luke and Zakir also conducted a “self arrest” simulation. In other words, we practiced not sliding to our deaths should we fall on the mountain:

Apart from content creating and self arresting, we also did a lot of chilling at Camp 2. Here’s some content of the team chilling:

Unfortunately, Pierre did not recover at Camp 2, and Luke sent him back to base camp with Zakir. The rest of the team (Luke, Hugues, myself, and our other High Altitude Porter, Dilawar) continued to ascend. Our climb to Camp 3 took about 7 hours, most of which were spent clipped to the mountain on a fixed rope that Zakir and Dilawar had installed for safety. Some photos of the climb to Camp 3:

When we reached Camp 3, the four of us piled into a single tent for a few hours of rest before the summit climb, which would begin at midnight. I was nearly certain that I’d reach the summit, since I had yet to struggle with the altitude. But as we lay in the tent at 20,600 feet, I began to go the way of Pierre. I first developed a debilitating headache, and by midnight, was also nauseas and severely exhausted, well beyond the high level of exhaustion warranted by the circumstances. I informed Luke of what had become inevitable: I had altitude sickness, and physically could not climb higher.

Here’s where things got mildly dramatic. Altitude sickness can quickly turn deadly, so Luke insisted that I descend immediately, while I was still capable of doing so. But it was the middle of the night and I truly felt awful, so naturally, I refused to get out of the tent. Luke wouldn’t let me stay in the tent, and we were in a stalemate for quite some time. In an understandably harsh tone, he eventually said to me: “So instead of climb the mountain, Hugues and I are just going to sit here because you refuse to get up?” He had a point: I wasn’t being a great teammate for Hugues, who was awake and ready to climb, waiting for Luke who was waiting for me. I finally got up.

Once up and out of the tent, I needed help with basic tasks like packing my sleeping bag, which probably validates Luke’s point that it was time to descend. Concerned for my safety, Dilawar configured a rope system, such that I was tied to both him and the mountain in about four different ways. The two of us then embarked on an absolutely miserable day of descent. Around 4AM we reached Camp 2, pitched a tent, and slept a few hours:

In the morning, Luke and Hugues joined us at Camp 2 after their successful summit, and the four of us descended back to base camp, which we reached at 9PM. I was utterly depleted upon arrival, both physically and emotionally, but our expedition was far from over. We were still a multi-day trek, a 6 hour jeep ride, and a flight from Islamabad. We also had 3 more days at the base camp, waiting on the porters to arrive for our gear. Once again, Pierre and I passed the time on our makeshift veranda. I asked if he felt psychologically tortured by what had happened to us both on the mountain, and he cut me off before I could finish the sentence: “oh absolutely.” Then we sat for awhile, listening to Bob Dylan and contemplating our respective battles with high altitude.

After 3 days, the porters arrived and we began the arduous journey back to Islamabad. Our return to the capital went relatively smoothly, apart from anti-terrorist protests that blocked the roads on our drive to Skardu:

Once back in Islamabad, we wanted to drink. Problem is, it’s nearly impossible to purchase alcohol in Pakistan. I say “nearly” because we’d soon learn of a key loophole: the embassy of a very random country (which will remain unnamed) sells beer and homemade whiskey to those who turn up after hours. So we turned up after hours, and had ourselves a night with the embassy employees and two local Pakistani musicians who seemed to embrace Muslim counterculture.

After three nights in Islamabad I flew to Nepal to sort out my next moves, which will most likely involve a combination of travel through Nepal and a return to the mountains. For now, I’m hanging around Kathmandu cafes, writing blogs and helping Luke with obscure projects (yesterday, I made him a Wikipedia page). Thanks for following!