Skardu
I bounce on the back of a motorcycle through bustling Skardu. Fida expertly navigates through the maze of livestock, motorcycles, cars, buses and tractors hauling huge loads of gravel. My senses jolt to life: the dust, diesel smells, horns and sounds of daily life consume me. These are the experiences that I crave. Those that are so different than my everyday on-demand unlimited American lifestyle. Things are slower. They’re simpler. And certainly a bit rougher around the edges.
I’m back in the Karakoram for another season to practice my mountain craft. I’ll continue working on a lifelong project that began in earnest in 2010 with my first high altitude climbing expedition. Since then, I have spent a total of a year and a half on the world’s biggest mountains. And on this, my 14th expedition, I am once again attempting to climb an 8000m peak (one of the world’s 14 highest mountains) without using supplemental oxygen.
Tomorrow, our team departs Skardu for Askole, the last village before beginning the weeklong trek to K2. While I’ll be living in K2 basecamp for a month, I’m actually attempting nearby Broad Peak and Gasherbrum II, the world’s 12th and 13th highest mountains.
People here are warm and generous. Fida offered to buy me a piece of climbing equipment. A pharmacist gave me an item as my 1000 rupee note (approximately $8) was far too large of a denomination for him to break. A boy approached me with friendly conversation to practice his English. And when my necklace broke, a man ran after me to return it. Let’s hope this spirit of cooperation carries into the mountains. It will require a team effort to solve of these enormous icy puzzles.
