Pakistan, a ski crossing between Shimshal and Skardu

While the days when maps still showed "blank" spaces are certainly gone, and technology now lets us experience adventure differently, the spirit endures. We are convinced that exploration and adventure, so dear to the values of Expeditions Unlimited are boundless. Our team reflects this desire to confront the reality of travel, to put in the effort and endure the discomfort, the better to savour the encounters, to build connection and to give meaning to what we undertake. This is what Barbara Delière, Pamir and Pakistan area manager, shares with us, having set off in spring 2021 with Laurent Boiveau on a ski-and-pulka expedition between Shimshal and Skardu, in complete self-sufficiency. Expeditions Unlimited offers its ski-and-pulka expeditions in Pakistan, a country lying between the Himalaya and Central Asia that both know well, as guides and experts of its regions. Passionate about wide-open spaces and committed journeys, they cannot picture adventure any other way than in the field. Essential, in order to guide better and to share what filled them with wonder and moved them…

New sensations

What I experienced in April 2021 pushed back the limits of everything I had known across my many journeys. My experience came down to a kind of sporting, itinerant meditation, in which walking, the vehicle of every emotion, every encounter and discovery took on its full meaning.

On skis, in Pakistan, on glaciers untouched by any trace, this new way of moving on foot meant a whole other universe and world of sensations for me. Similar in principle yet so different in practice, immersing yourself in the world of cold and snow resonates like total isolation! A crossing with no familiar landmarks, not a sound, not an animal, not a soul, just the rock, the snow, the sky and us.

Bivouac atmosphere below the Lukpe La © Laurent Boiveau

High mountains on the Biafo glacier © Laurent Boiveau

Thinking big and leaving room for the unexpected

On paper, a crossing on foot, on skis and pulka from the isolated village of Shimshal, in the Hunza, to the village of Askole, in Baltistan, to roam the corners of the Karakoram, rarely visited in winter and celebrated by the two explorers Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman between 1939 and 1948, who defined the Karakoram as "the most fantastic mountain region on the globe".

Laurent's original plan was not the one we ended up living, but the result is all the better for it. Far from the initial objective, ideal and well thought out, it meant setting off with quite a few unanswered questions, and a fierce willingness to do without answers. We left without them, our questions placed in the hands of "the gods" and the gifts of the sky. Confident in our ability to adapt, we awaited the twists of the journey and they were there, right on cue!

On the Biafo glacier © Barbara Delière

Parting at the snowline © Laurent Boiveau

From earth to glacier

First clue: no snow in January and February, but a capricious sky between March and April, never seen before! From the village of Shimshal (3,050 m) to the Pamir pass (4,735 m), a route I know well, greyness was everywhere, a few bursts of light on the dizzying, white-dusted switchbacks — a magic that helps you keep going, motivated, and warm up in the little huts where, all piled in together, we took refuge each evening. It was no small matter for our guide and our team of porters; our valiant Shimshali friends came despite the previous day's snowfall. Without them, nothing was possible. Such as breaking trail, sometimes sunk to the hips, in the biting cold of an early-morning start at 4,300 metres to reach the pass, giving a long and tiring descent, but the promise of a warmer night and a well-earned rest day.

On the trails of Shimshal © Laurent Boiveau

Descent towards the Braldu valley © Laurent Boiveau

Finally, the last days of earth and moraine before contact with the Braldu glacier, which leads up to the Lukpe La pass. Finding the "snowline", that longed-for boundary marking the transition to constant snow, where footsteps give way to glide. On our feet, little gems crafted by a Chamonix artisan, Peter, whose company "Rabbit on the Roof" chimes with our idea of the project. Exceptional skis, made of wood and of rare quality, in an exceptional place, one of the most preserved and remote regions in the world.

Servicing our skis © Barbara Delière

The white paradise

After 7 days of trekking as a team, here we are, alone. Surrounded by a bleak, bare chaos, pierced by dark spikes that contrast sublimely with the bluish-tinged penitentes. Icebergs on an ocean of rock. On the plus side, the air is crisp and the weather fine, but this unusual year's climate leaves us facing an almost non-existent "snowline".

Day 1, we take the white corridors, and we love feeling that all-too-heavy pulka glide despite everything. Day 2 and the following days, the snow moves in and we reach the pass after 11 days of slog, 7 more than planned. Piling up the tricks and challenges: whiteout days and altitude "seasickness", guessing which side of the "glacier's spine" to pass, heads bowed against the icy wind, climbing for an hour at half-load, then coming back for our gear left in a heap, to haul that pulka over fresh snow that had turned it into an anvil!

Spine of the Braldu glacier © Laurent Boiveau

Whiteout day on the glacier © Laurent Boiveau

At the pass, at 5,620 metres, we are, for once, superbly acclimatised. All that's left is to admire and savour the return of the great blue sky. So small in such immensity. We leave the many Chinese summits behind us and plunge deeper into Pakistan, onto the Sim glacier, which gives access to Snow Lake, our new objective…

Bivouac atmosphere © Barbara Delière

Back to life

The warmth, a delight. Even if the contrast, once the sun is hidden, is striking. Three colours; white, blue, black, the tricolour flag of this vast and empty space.

Silence. We are alone, and yet there is a speck on the ground. A shadow glides overhead, an eagle, the only living being in these 12 days. Then, the next day, colours appear, there, beneath the Hispar pass that reveals itself as we pass the Baintha Brakk, the majestic "Ogre". Tents, people, and an unexpected reunion for Laurent: encounters never seem to happen by chance when travelling. The group of experienced skiers was filming their second film — no matter, we feed above all on exchange, on smiles, dear to the spirit, and given to us by the world of the living.

At Snow Lake © Laurent Boiveau

Encounters at Snow Lake © Laurent Boiveau

Snow Lake, a glacial plateau of great beauty, is larger still in winter. It is by the Biafo glacier that we return, after 17 days of skiing, an "exit" that never seemed to want to appear and supraglacial streams, one last challenge to remind us of our condition as human beings on legs. We sink in. We stop for the day; I am exhausted!

The next day, I come back to life at the sight of our porters, whose raised arms set them apart from the black dots that are the rocks. For two days they lead us through boulders on the moraine, whose path, impossible to find without them, ends in a track leading to the village of Askole. A magnificent Balti village, calm and peaceful, tuned to the rhythm of the seasons, our way out to reach Skardu, and the gateway for those who venture each year onto the Baltoro glacier and to the feet of the Karakoram giants.
 

Return towards Askole © Laurent Boiveau

The village of Askole © Laurent Boiveau

What a beautiful adventure, just the two of us, on this route of rare beauty, a journey that runs through my mind like something self-evident, to be set up in summer, among the many treks still to be done in this region of northern Pakistan.

A few words and some images to tell of these moments that leave room for the unknown, and that give travel all its appeal. For stories to exist, don't they require their share of misadventures?

After 26 days of adventure © Laurent Boiveau

Setting off to Pakistan with Expeditions Unlimited

Expeditions Unlimited is a specialist in expeditions in Pakistan, one of the most beautiful and wildest places on the planet. Based in old Lyon, Expeditions Unlimited offers a rare, off-the-beaten-track selection of expeditions in Pakistan. Our experts will help you identify the itineraries that best match your wishes, your experience and your fitness.