K2 and Broad Peak — double-header expedition
Overview
A sixty-five-day expedition to Broad Peak at 8,051 m and K2 at 8,611 m in one season, from base camps a short walk apart on the Godwin-Austen glacier. Broad Peak first, as acclimatisation and as an objective in its own right; K2 second, if the mountain and the climber are both ready.
Why this order, and why one trip
Climbing Broad Peak first puts a genuine eight-thousander summit into your legs before K2 is attempted, which is a far better acclimatisation plan than rotations alone. It also means that if K2 does not give a window — which is the normal outcome rather than the exception — the season is not empty.
Bolting a second peak on at base camp rarely works. The permits, the royalty, the oxygen allocation and the crew rotation all differ, and a plan made in Skardu in June beats one made on the glacier in July.
What we ask of you
A verified climbing record: a previous eight-thousander, or a very strong seven-thousander record with technical ground on it. We check it rather than take your word for it, and if it is not there the answer is no. That is not a sales position — it is the difference between an expedition and an accident.
The commitment
Nine to ten weeks, most of it waiting. The approach and the walk out are a fortnight between them. The rest is rotations, weather, and one or two summit pushes if the mountains give them. Nobody enjoys all of it.
What is inside the price
Two peak royalties, two climbing permits, the liaison officer, park fees, and insurance for every member of the crew. Guides on our own payroll rather than contracted for the season, at the ratios we publish, working to turn-back criteria the office cannot overrule. Base camp and high camps, cook and all meals, fixed rope and group hardware, supplementary oxygen to the published allocation, 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
- 55 – 65 days
- Trek days
- 14
- Maximum altitude
- 8,611 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
- Two eight-thousanders in one season from base camps a short walk apart
- Broad Peak first — a real summit as acclimatisation, not just rotations
- A season that is not empty if K2 gives no window, which is the normal outcome
- Both royalties, both permits and the liaison officer inside one price
- Guides on our own payroll, and a turnaround policy the office cannot overrule
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 73,450 | A full crew for two people |
| 3 – 4 | USD 61,450 | |
| 5 – 8 | USD 51,200 | 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 in Skardu.
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 doubles as the first acclimatisation.
12 Urdukas to Concordia Camp · 4,600 m
Into Concordia, with K2 at the head of the Godwin-Austen.
14 Broad Peak Base Camp Base camp
Camp established. Puja, load sorting and the first rotation plan.
18 Broad Peak rotations Base camp and high camps
Rotations through Camps 1 and 2, sleeping progressively higher and returning to base.
30 Broad Peak summit window High camps
The first summit push, on the forecast and on the lead guide's call.
35 Rest at base camp Base camp
Recovery between the two mountains. This is why the trip is long.
38 Move to K2 Base Camp Base camp · 5,150 m
A short move up the Godwin-Austen. Fixed rope and the Abruzzi assessed.
42 K2 rotations Base camp and high camps
Rotations onto the Abruzzi Spur. Steep mixed ground and the House Chimney.
55 K2 summit window High camps
If the mountain gives one. The decision belongs to the lead guide and is final.
60 Clear the mountain Base camp · 5,150 m
High camps stripped. Nothing is left on the mountain that we carried up it.
61 Walk out to Askole Camp · 3,000 m
Four days back down the Baltoro.
64 Askole to Skardu Hotel · 2,230 m
Out by jeep. Crew settlement and debrief.
65 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
- High-altitude porters carrying oxygen, tents and food to the high camps, insured and equipped under our porter charter
- Fixed rope and group climbing hardware
- Full high-altitude service: summit oxygen for every climber, with mask and regulator, to the published allocation
- 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
We do not take people onto K2 on the strength of a fitness test. The requirement is a verified climbing record — a previous eight-thousander, or a very strong seven-thousander record with technical ground on it. We check it. If it is not there the answer is no, and no amount of training between now and the season changes that.
For those who have the record: nine to ten weeks, most of it waiting, with rotations on steep mixed ground and two summit pushes if both mountains cooperate. Arrive already fit — base camp is where fitness is lost, not gained — and arrive prepared to go home without either summit, because that is the commonest outcome on K2 and always will be.
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
- Summit oxygen, masks and regulators for every climber, to the published allocation
- 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
Why climb Broad Peak before K2?
Because a genuine eight-thousander summit is better acclimatisation than rotations alone, and because if K2 gives no window the season is not empty. It is also the order the base camps make easy — they are a short walk apart on the same glacier.
How long is the expedition?
Sixty-five days door to door, of which about a fortnight is the approach and the walk out. Most of the rest is waiting, which is the part nobody writes about.
What experience do you require?
A verified record: a previous eight-thousander, or a very strong seven-thousander record with technical ground on it. We check it rather than take your word for it, and if it is not there we say no.
What permits and royalty does it need, and are they in the price?
Two peak royalties and two climbing permits, a liaison officer, Central Karakoram National Park fees and insurance for every member of the crew. All of it is in the price and itemised. Royalty bands were revised recently, so we quote the live schedule at enquiry rather than from memory.
What does it cost and what moves the price?
Two royalties rather than one is the largest single difference from a single-peak expedition, and royalty is charged per team with a per-member addition, so team size moves the per-head figure a great deal. After that it is oxygen allocation and the length of the season you hold. Deposit is 30 per cent above 6,500 m.
When does it run?
June to August. The approach begins in June, Broad Peak is usually attempted first, and the K2 window if there is one tends to come late July into August.
What are the chances of summiting both?
We do not publish a success rate, because we have not run enough departures on these peaks to quote one honestly. Anybody quoting you a percentage is quoting somebody else's season. Plan for Broad Peak and treat K2 as the mountain deciding.
Who decides when to go up?
The lead guide, on the forecast and on what the mountain is doing. That decision is final and cannot be overruled by a climber, an agent or this office. It is written into your contract.
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