After a seven days’ march we finally viewed base camp, located on a massive lateral moraine. There was not a blade of grass or bit of moss to be seen, just a couple of ravens and crows. It was a marvellous sight. The destination of our trek--G II—towered to the north.
Impatient after waiting out a suitable period of acclimatisation, we fi nally set out for the peak. The trail that leads to Camp “I” or “ABC“ passes through a massive glacier that slides down from Gasherbrum into a huge basin surrounded by Gasherbrum’s six peaks. As we arrived, the early morning sun brought a massive avalanche thundering down the south face of the mountain. This year the trail to Camp II (6500 metres) runs along the foot of the south-western ridge known as Banana Ridge, so we managed to stear clear of the gigantic south face and its avalanche path.
We got an early start and made quick progress up the sheer cliff faces. Camp II is wedged in amongst the seracs on a little plateau on Banana Ridge. At fi ve o’clock the next morning we reached Camp III, which stands at 6,950 metres. We made rapid progress with the set ropes and reached the next campsite, again in the early afternoon. We decided against a camp at 7,500m, choosing instead to set off for the peak directly from camp III.
