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Essays and Travelogs

This category contains 18 posts

Camping at Deosai

In the summer of 2013 I was lucky enough to land an internship in Skardu, of all places. Skardu, the hub of the picturesque Baltistan region of Pakistan, is a small town nestled amongst towering peaks. During the two months I spent in Skardu I got the chance to visit many a tourist attraction in and […]

Trekking along the Wakhan Corridor

Just came back from a trek along the Wakhan Corridor. It was a fairly simple trek compared to LAS summer trek standards, however the management of the trek was tricky due multiple reasons. Below is a not-so-brief description of the trek: Getting there: Getting to the starting point (Kishmanja) was a long journey. We started […]

Skam La (2003)

This account is dedicated to the seven friends with whom I had the honour of crossing Skam La: Rizwan Bajwa Hasan Karrar Yasir Khokhar Raza Kazmi Hammad Qazi Hassan Zubair Ali Imran *** The following is still in progress and incomplete. I’ve typed out my journal entries for the most part unedited and what I […]

Situation Update of the Attabad (Hunza) Lanslide and Lake

Five months ago, on January 4th, 2010 in the remote Hunza River Valley of northern Pakistan, a massive landslide buried the village of Attabad, destroying 26 homes, killing 20 people, and damming up the Hunza River. As the newly-formed lake grew, authorities rushed to evacuate and supply those affected in the landslide area and upstream. The lake is now over 300 feet deep and 16km (10 mi) long, submerging miles of highway, farms and homes. Earlier this week, the lake reached the top of the natural dam, and began to spill out – rapid erosion of the landslide debris has authorities worried about a potential breach, and locals have been evacuated as officials monitor the developing situation. Special thanks to the Pamir Times for sharing their photos and coverage of this event.

Retrospective Travelogue: Concordia and Gondogoro La, 2006

I swore underneath my breath. The clouds had indeed been following us since Payiu. If they caught up with us, we were screwed. If the pass became unnavigable due to bad weather, we would all have to walk back down the West-Vigne and then the Baltoro which would take us about 6 to 7 days as opposed to the 2 days of trekking we would have to do once we were over the pass. Damn damn damn. My fever was getting worse, and my stomach had ditched nodding in favour of growling , screaming and raging. I wasn’t up for a 7 day walk down 2 glaciers and I was certain I couldn’t do the pass in my current condition either. Oh yeah, and we didn’t have food for 7 days. Short of a paralyzing fit, I could imagine nothing else that could give me the excuse I needed to avoid the pass tonight. Damn it.

“Is there lunch?” I asked, raising myself on my elbow inside my sleeping bag.

“Maggie noodles. It’s being prepared.”

I lay back waiting desperately for that one hot bowl of liquid. I was going to make it last as long as I could. But first I would hold it in my hands and feel the warmth. The soup/noodles took its time. I think Najam brought me a bowl after almost an hour – well it felt like an hour anyway – and I held on to the bowl, letting the warmth seep into my palms. And then my stomach growled. Crap. No pun intended.