Now what?

We are happy (and relieved) that we achieved our objection of trekking in to Fairy Meadows, which lies at the foot of Nanga Parbat, Pakistan’s 2nd highest mountain and I think the 8th highest in the world. It was first climbed in 1954, by the Austrian Herman Buhl.

We set off from our luxury Serena Hotel on our bus. We stopped to see the confluence of the Gilgit river and the Indus, where the road to Skardu and K2 left the KKH. It was also the point where we could see three great mountain ranges - the Karakoram, the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush.

At Rakoit Bridge we left the KKH and also left our English guide Jude who said the scary jeep ride would be too awful for her to cope with. So we had Irfan to accompany us. He sorted the Toyotas. We travelled in the first one with a US woman Carol. Iain sat in front and I sat behind the driver on the side without the scary drops. The 2 hour drive was hairy - it was a single track, totally rough with big stones, and steep drops off the side, and blind corners. At one point we met a jeep coming down. Neither driver would give way. The down one attempted to pass but knocked off our wing mirror and crunched a bit of the front. Our driver let rip. Eventually he reversed a bit and the other vehicle scraped through. We met another further on but with less drama. We started at 2500 ft and they took us to 9500. This left 3000 ft for us to trek, from 9500ft to 12500ft.

We had some chapatti and Dahl at the road head then set off walking steeply up the track. They could have continued the jeep track but it was felt this would bring in too many visitors which would spoil the place. 3 women in our group decided to rent ponies to take them up. The rest of us walked. It was quite a challenge as the first hour was really steep, which I find hard at home, and very hot. Tantalising glimpses of Nanga Parbat showed themselves. The track was sandy mingled with rocky section. We plodded on, then when we reached the forest it was cooler and less steep for half an hour. The last section was steep again and I was very slow and puffed, but we made it in 2.5 hours. Lonely Planet says it takes between 2 and 3 hours so we were happy with our achievement. We were served green tea, then got our cabins. We got the end one which commands a superb view of the mountain and the moraine below. We had a short time to sit to enjoy the view before the sun disappeared behind the mountain. I’m glad I brought thermals and the new Rab puffy jacket as by 5.30 it had got really chilly. There’s plenty ventilation in the cabin - big gaps between the slats of wood that make the walls and a gap in the door.

Before supper the storm started with howling wind rattling the cabin and rain pounding down. Our silk sleeping bag liners were very cosy under two big heavy yak blankets. (We slept in thermals with our hats on.)

It is a magical place and hopefully we’ll manage the trek closer to the mountain tomorrow.