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.

Lukpe-La Crossed

A team of 6 from the Karakorams.com community successfully crossed Lukpe-La from Shimshal into Snow-Lake last year in July, photos, videos and essays are yet to be received from the team. Will post them up as soon as i receive them.

Shadow of the Giants by Rizwan Bajwa

Essay on the trip to Deosai Plateau near Skardu

Deosai Ramblings by Hasan Karrar

For seasoned Karakoram trekkers, we sure put on a dismal show on the morning of July first at the Daewoo bus station in Lahore. Still groggy from a late night at Yasser Hashmi’s, 8 o’clock in the morning found the dozen of us chasing packets of two-minute noodles as they floated in a Zen like [...]