Chogolisa expedition
Overview
A thirty-six-day expedition to Chogolisa at 7,668 m, the long-ridged mountain that closes the south side of Concordia. Known to the surveyors as Bride Peak, it is one of the most elegant shapes in the Karakoram and one of the more serious seven-thousanders commercially offered.
The ridge
Chogolisa is a snow mountain with a very long summit ridge, and the ridge is the whole difficulty. It is corniced, it is high, and it holds weather. The mountain is not technically severe by Karakoram standards, which is exactly what makes people underestimate it.
Hermann Buhl
Buhl died here in 1957, walking through a cornice on the summit ridge in poor visibility, weeks after the first ascent of Broad Peak. His body was never found. It is worth knowing before you go, not as drama but as the clearest possible statement of what the ridge asks for: visibility, patience and a turnaround time that is kept.
What we ask of you
A verified record at the seven-thousander band, or a very strong six-thousander record with sustained snow and altitude on it. Comfort in crampons on a corniced ridge, roped, for a very long day.
When it runs
June to August. The approach is the Baltoro to Concordia, which doubles as acclimatisation and is itself a fortnight of the trip.
What is inside the price
Peak royalty, climbing permit, liaison officer, Central Karakoram National Park fees and insurance for every member of the crew. Guides on our own payroll, at the ratios we publish. If this is a step too far, Spantik is the usual first seven-thousander. Base camp and high camps, cook and all meals, fixed rope and group hardware, satellite comms and dedicated weather forecasting, and an evacuation plan that assumes the helicopter may not come. See the rest of the Baltoro and Concordia and our other Karakoram expeditions.
- Duration
- 30 – 36 days
- Trek days
- 14
- Maximum altitude
- 7,668 m
- Grade
- Extreme
- Group size
- Max 8
- Guides
- 1:2 above base camp, 1 WFR
- Season
- June – August
- Starts / ends
- Islamabad / Islamabad
- Accommodation
- Hotels either side, base camp and high camps on the mountain
- Chogolisa at 7,668 m, the Bride Peak closing the south side of Concordia
- A long corniced summit ridge, which is the whole difficulty and the whole danger
- The Baltoro approach to Concordia, which doubles as the acclimatisation
- A serious seven-thousander that is rarely offered commercially
- A published turnaround time, kept — which on this ridge is the entire safety case
Private departures and group pricing
Your party, your dates. The per-person figure falls as the party grows, because the guides, the vehicles and the camp cost the same split more ways. Everything in the inclusions list applies, and the safety standard is the one published above.
| Party size | Price per person | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | USD 6,600 | A full crew for two people |
| 3 – 4 | USD 5,550 | |
| 5 – 8 | USD 4,600 | Second guide joins at six |
Deposit is 30% of the trip price. The payment schedule and the cancellation terms are published and sent with every quote, before you pay anything.
Day by day
Buffer days are built in, not padding. If the weather takes them, nothing downstream collapses and you are not charged twice.
01 Arrive Islamabad Hotel · 540 m
Met inside the terminal. Expedition briefing, permits confirmed, full kit inspection.
03 Islamabad to Skardu Hotel · 2,230 m
By air when the weather allows. Loads made up and weighed.
05 Skardu to Askole Camp · 3,000 m
Up the Braldu by jeep with the full expedition load.
06 Askole to Paiju Camp
Three days up the Braldu to the foot of the Baltoro.
09 Paiju to Urdukas Camp
Onto the glacier. The approach is the first acclimatisation.
12 Urdukas to Concordia Camp · 4,600 m
Into Concordia, with Chogolisa closing the valley to the south.
14 Chogolisa Base Camp Base camp
Camp established. Puja, load sorting and the rotation plan.
17 Route assessed and fixed Base camp
The lower route read and fixed by our own crew.
20 Rotations Base camp and high camps
Rotations through the high camps, sleeping higher and returning to base.
28 Summit window High camps
The push, on the forecast and the lead guide's call. Visibility decides as much as wind.
31 Clear the mountain Base camp
High camps stripped. Nothing stays that we carried up.
32 Walk out to Askole Camp · 3,000 m
Four days back down the Baltoro.
35 Askole to Skardu Hotel · 2,230 m
Out by jeep. Crew settlement and debrief.
36 Skardu to Islamabad, and home —
By air or road, with buffer, and the airport.
What is included
- Visa sponsor letter
- Peak royalty, climbing permit and liaison officer
- All park fees and NOCs
- Met inside the terminal, all transfers
- Our own 4x4s and drivers
- Guides on our own payroll, and insurance for every member of the crew
- Base camp, high camps, cook and all meals
- Porter crew under our published charter, loads weighed
- Fixed rope, group climbing hardware and supplementary oxygen where the plan calls for it
- Medical kit, and a doctor at base camp where the team size requires one
- Satellite comms, weather forecasting and a daily message home
- International flights
- Visa fee itself
- Travel insurance covering high-altitude evacuation and repatriation
- Personal climbing equipment and clothing
- Personal supplementary oxygen beyond the published allocation
- Summit bonuses, if you choose to pay one
- Tips
If our price is wrong for you we will move you to a lower tier or remove a named inclusion. We do not discount a published price, and we do not cut the crew.
Fitness and difficulty — read this honestly
A verified record at the seven-thousander band, or a very strong six-thousander record with sustained snow and altitude on it. You need to be comfortable in crampons, roped, on a corniced ridge, for a day that is very long even by expedition standards.
The physical demand is five weeks, of which a fortnight is the Baltoro approach and walk out. The real requirement is temperament. Chogolisa is not technically severe, and that is precisely what has killed people on it — a ridge that feels walkable in good visibility is a different proposition in cloud. If you are the kind of climber who argues with a turnaround time, this is the wrong mountain and we are the wrong operator.
Kit list
The full list with quantities is sent with your quote. Rental is available in Skardu for most of it, priced separately. Your kit is checked item by item in Islamabad, not the night before the trek.
Group — we provide
- Base camp and high-camp tents, mess, kitchen and toilet
- Fixed rope, snow stakes and group climbing hardware
- Supplementary oxygen, masks and regulators where the plan calls for it
- Base camp medical kit, and a doctor where the team size requires one
- Satellite comms, weather forecasting and a daily message home
Personal — yours
- Double boots rated for the altitude band
- Down suit, and a separate insulated jacket for base camp
- Harness, ascender, descender, carabiners, ice axe and crampons
- Sleeping bag rated to −30 °C or better, plus a warmer base camp bag
- Glacier glasses and goggles, both with a spare
- Headtorch with spares, and a power bank
- Personal medication, and a full declared medical history
Safety, evacuation and insurance
Helicopter rescue in the Karakoram is not guaranteed. Weather, altitude, daylight and clearance all decide whether a helicopter flies, so every stage carries a named drive-out or walk-out plan. Your insurance must cover helicopter evacuation and repatriation to the maximum altitude on your itinerary, and we verify the certificate before the trip starts.
A graded medical kit sized to the trip, oxygen, a portable altitude chamber, a satellite phone and a messenger, and a wilderness first responder in the crew.
The lead guide’s decision to turn back is final. Not a guest, not an agent, not this office — whatever has been paid.
Getting there
Islamabad
Met inside the terminal by a member of our team, not a driver with a sign outside it. Briefing the same evening, SIM and cash sorted.
Islamabad to Skardu
A short flight that is weather-dependent, or two days by road that are not. We build buffer days either way and quote both.
Skardu to Askole
Seven to nine hours by jeep up the Braldu valley on a road that is regularly blocked by landslide. Our own 4x4s and our own drivers.
From Askole
On foot. There is no road beyond it and no vehicle access at any point on the trek.
Questions people actually ask
How hard is Chogolisa compared with an eight-thousander?
Technically easier and in some ways more dangerous. It is a snow mountain with a very long corniced summit ridge, and the ridge holds weather. People underestimate it precisely because it is not severe.
How long is the expedition?
Thirty-six days door to door, of which about a fortnight is the Baltoro approach and the walk out. The approach doubles as acclimatisation and is a serious trek in its own right.
What experience do you require?
A verified record at the seven-thousander band, or a very strong six-thousander record with sustained snow and altitude. Comfort in crampons on a corniced ridge, roped, for a very long day.
Is this the mountain Hermann Buhl died on?
Yes. He walked through a cornice on the summit ridge in poor visibility in 1957, weeks after the first ascent of Broad Peak, and his body was never found. We mention it because it is the clearest possible statement of what the ridge asks for.
What permits and royalty does it need?
A peak royalty, a climbing permit, a liaison officer, Central Karakoram National Park fees and crew insurance. All of it is in the price and itemised. Royalty bands were revised recently and published figures disagree, so we quote the live schedule at enquiry rather than from memory.
What does it cost and what moves the price?
Team size, because the royalty is charged per team with a per-member addition. Then the length of the Baltoro approach, which carries a full expedition load a long way. Deposit is 30 per cent above 6,500 m.
When does it run?
June to August. The approach begins in June and the summit window, if there is one, usually comes in July.
What are the chances of summiting?
We do not publish a success rate, because we have not run enough departures on this peak to quote one honestly. On Chogolisa the honest answer is that visibility decides, and a ridge that is walkable in clear weather is not attempted in cloud.
If this one is not quite right
The commonest reason a trip is wrong is that it is too hard or too easy, not that it is in the wrong place.
- A step easier Diran expedition
You have already chosen the region, which is the harder decision. These run from the same roadhead.
- Baltoro & Concordia · Trek Four 8,000 m base camps
- Baltoro & Concordia · Trek Five 8,000 m base camps — the Big Five
- Baltoro & Concordia · Climbing Trango Towers — Nameless Tower
If this one is not right
Khosar Gang — first 6,000 m peak
Gasherbrum I expedition — Hidden Peak
Rakaposhi expedition
Very hard
Hushe & Charakusa · Expedition