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21 Apr 2011

TRANGO TOWERS – Best Rock Climbing Places in Pakistan

TRANGO TOWERS

INTRODUCTION & LOCATION

When you see around the world you find a number of impressive and difficult rock features and rock towers. Some of these rocks are really dangerous and deadliest that’s why are hard to climb. If someone wants to know that which rock peak is the most challenging and dangerous then not other than the Trango Towers will get the maximum votes. The reason behind the fact that it is one of the most difficult and significant climbs ever is the total height of the routes and the steepness of the rock. Gilgit-Baltistan province in Pakistan has number of world’s greatest peaks like K-2 which is the 2nd highest mountain in the world. Trango Towers are one of these great peaks and are the catalyst for the tourist attraction of Pakistan. Trango towers are located in the Baltistan district of the Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan. These towers are on the north side of the Baltoro glacier. These towers are infact group of granite peaks. These are some of the largest cliffs and offer the most challenging rock climbing in the world. Like other great mountains and peaks in Pakistan, trango towers are relatively easy to reach. The reason is that it is near the population area.

trango towers pakistan

trango towers pakistan

FORMATION OF TRANGO GROUP

This part would definitely help the readers to know the exact facts and figures about the trango towers. Trango towers lie on a ridge which is between the Trango glacier and the Dunge glacier. These glaciers are on the west and east sides of the towers respectively. This beautiful formation consists of five summits which have sharp ridges and are almost vertical.

trango towers

trango towers

The names of the summits which are part of the Trango group are Great Tango Tower, Nameless Tower, Trango Monk, Trango Pulpit and Trango Castle. The highest of all the peaks is the summit of Great Trango Tower which is 6286 m (20608 ft). the second highest is Trango Tower which is called Nameless Tower is 6239 m high. In the North of trango tower there is Trango Monk. Trango Pulpit is in the southeast of the Great Trango which is 6050 m high. Then there is Trango Castle which is further south to the Great Trango.

rock climbing in pakistan

rock climbing in pakistan

CLIMBING HISTORY

Although the whole group of trango towers is really a difficult task but the climbers have done this task with great courage. First climbing was of Trango Tower which is called Nameless Tower which was back in 1976. this achievement was went to the names of Joe Brown, Mo Anthoine, Martin Boysen and Malcolm Howells. Then the Great Trango Tower was climbed in 1977 by Galen Rowell, John Roskelley, Kim Schmitz, Jim Morissey and Dennis Hennek. Great Tango Tower has also some tragic moments when two climbers with the names Hans Christians Doseth and Finn Daehli were died on the descent. Trango Pulpit was first climbed in 1999. in the recent attempts Josh Wharton and Kelly Cordes climbed the Great Tango from a longer route from the southwest ridge. In 2005 two Slovak climbers climbed and discovered a new route which they named Aslaam-Alaikum.

more views of trango towers

more views of trango towers

This is really the masterpiece of nature and the mountain lovers must have a visit to this great place. Although it is one of the most difficult sites to climb then again this challenge must be taken by the mountaineers and collect the amazing memories of life.

 

Category: Pakistan, Rock Climbing, Tourism Guide, TRANGO TOWERS  Tags: , , , , , , , ,  Leave a Comment
04 Apr 2011

k2 – best mountaineering Places To Visit in pakistan

“SAVAGE MOUNTAIN”

INTRODUCTION

God has created mountains to support and hold the earth. But these mountains are the beauty of the earth as well. Sky high mountains always inspire the people and are one of the main tourist attractions around the world. Mountains are changing into tourist resorts and mountaineering is getting attention all over the world. Pakistan is a very rich country in terms of mountains. There are highest mountain ranges of the world. Karakaram is one of the famous mountain ranges in Pakistan. It has four mountain peaks which are eight thousand meters or more higher. There are fourteen highest mountain peaks in the world out of which five are in Pakistan. Among the highest mountains, there is K-2 (Godwin Austen) which is the second highest mountain of the world after Mount Everest. Its elevation is 8611 meters (28251ft). K-2 is the part of Karakaram range. It is located in the Gilgit Baltistan province of Pakistan. In local language it is called Chogori which means the “Big Mountain”. It is also called Godwin-Austin Mountain. Readers of this article may have question that why not Everest is in discussion. The reason is that it is easy to climb the Everest, but it is very difficult to climb K-2 because it has no straight routes to climb. K-2 has the second highest fatality rate after Annapurna. Due to the high fatality rate it is called the Savage Mountain. It is interesting that no one has climbed K-2 in winter yet.

Empire Of the Mountains

Empire Of the Mountains

CLIMBING HISTORY

A surveyor Thomas Montgomerie and his team, who visited the mountain in 1856, suggested the name K-2 for the mountain. The first serious attempt to climb the mountain was made in 1902 by Oscar Eckenstien and Aleister Crowley. At that time means of transportation were not so good so it took 14 days to reach to the foot of Mountain. In total it took 68 days to climb 6525m. This expedition was resulted in the sickness of the climbers. The next attempt was in 1909 by Prince Luigi Amedeo who was given the title of Duke of Abruzzi. The prince and his team climbed upto 6250m (20505ft). The route they used was given the name Abruzzi later on. Continuous tries and failures discouraged the Duke and he declared that K-2 can never be climbed. There was no expedition until 1938, then Charles Houston and his team started an expedition and climbed 8000m (26247ft). Another American expedition was started in 1958 lead by Charles Houston again. This time they climbed 7800m (25591ft). They had to stay at 7800m for ten days which made one member of the team, Art Gilkey ill who was later on killed. Finally the mountain was climbed in 1954 by an Italian team led by Ardito Desio. This expedition included very famous names of mountaineering like Walter Bonatti from Italy. In 1977 the mountain was climbed second time by Ichiro Yoshizawa from Japan and Ashraf Aman  from Pakistan. Then in 1978, 1982, 1983, 1986 were the successful attempts.

pakistan

k2

TRAGIC DEATH TOLL

It is believed by many of the climbers that K-2 is the most difficult and dangerous mountain in the world to climb. It is said that 77 persons have died so far in climbing attempts. In 1986 K-2 disaster brought death to 13 people. Recently in 2008 a group of climbers went missing which claimed 11 deaths. In 2010 Fredrik Ericsson  was killed. Its climbing difficulty can be understood with the fact that just 302 have completed the ascent do far while on the other side 2700 people have completed the ascent of Mount Everest.

A movie poster about k2

A movie poster about k2

Empire-Of-the-Mountains.jpg

Empire-Of-the-Mountains.jpg

ROUTES

As location of K-2 is shared by Pakistan & China, so it has climbing routes on both sides. But it is climbed from the Pakistan side where is actually the base camp. There are two main routes to climb the mountain, one is called the Abruzzi Spur and the other is called North Ridge. North ridge is a difficult route to climb because of the Shaksgam River, which have to cross. Abruzzi spur is a comparatively easy route and is preferred by almost all climbers.

If you are not a professional climber or mountaineer even then the place needs to have a visit. It’s a marvelously beautiful place to see.

 

 

Category: k2 peak, Pakistan, worlds highest mountain  Tags: , , , , , ,  One Comment