Khosar Gang — first 6,000 m peak
Overview
A fourteen-day expedition to Khosar Gang, the snow peak on the ridge above Skardu. It is the most accessible 6,000 m summit in Pakistan: two days from the airport to base camp, no technical climbing, and a view over the whole Skardu valley from the top.
Why it is the right first peak
Short approach, modest objective hazard, and a route that is a snow climb rather than a mountaineering problem. You learn crampon work, roped glacier travel and the rhythm of an expedition on ground that forgives a slow learner. For a trekker who wants to climb, this is where to start — and Mingli Sar is the natural next one.
And why short does not mean easy
The approach is short, which means you arrive high with very little acclimatisation. That is the real difficulty of this peak and the reason we build in days that a two-week itinerary appears not to need. Summit day is long and it is at 6,000 m, where a fit person who has not acclimatised properly will fail regardless of fitness.
Below the royalty band
At around 6,400 m the peak sits below 6,500 m, where no peak royalty is charged, which is why a real 6,000 m expedition here costs less than many treks.
When it runs
June to September, the longest season of any climbing objective we offer.
What is inside the price
Permits and local fees, transport on our own vehicles, a hotel in Skardu either side, base camp and high camp, cook and all meals, a porter crew under our published porter charter, guides on our payroll with rope and group hardware, satellite comms, our published acclimatisation and turn-back criteria, and an evacuation plan that assumes the helicopter may not come. Pair it with the Baltistan forts on either side. See the rest of Skardu and our other Karakoram expeditions.
- Duration
- 11 – 14 days
- Trek days
- 5
- Maximum altitude
- 6,400 m [confirm]
- Grade
- Hard
- Group size
- Max 8
- Guides
- 1:3 above base camp, 1 WFR
- Season
- June – September
- Starts / ends
- Skardu / Skardu
- Accommodation
- Hotel in Skardu, base camp and a high camp on the mountain
- The most accessible 6,000 m summit in Pakistan — two days from the airport to base camp
- A snow climb rather than a mountaineering problem, with no technical ground
- Crampons, rope and glacier travel taught properly on forgiving terrain
- The whole Skardu valley and the Indus from the summit
- Below 6,500 m, so no peak royalty is charged
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 3,650 | A full crew for two people |
| 3 – 4 | USD 3,050 | |
| 5 – 8 | USD 2,550 | Second guide joins at six |
Deposit is 25% 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 Skardu Hotel · 2,230 m
Met at the airport. Briefing, permits confirmed, full kit inspection.
02 Skardu — acclimatisation walk Hotel · 2,230 m
Up to Kharpocho and above it. Height gained gently on the first day, deliberately.
03 Skardu to base camp Base camp
Jeep to the roadhead and up on foot. Loads carried by the crew, camp established.
04 At base camp — technique Base camp
Crampons, rope, glacier travel and crevasse rescue, taught properly and practised.
05 Acclimatisation walk above base camp Base camp
Up toward the high camp and back down to sleep low. The part that makes the summit possible.
07 Move to high camp High camp
The carry up, an early meal and an early night.
08 Summit day High camp
Very early start on snow to the summit and back down. Eight to ten hours.
09 Reserve summit day High camp
Held in case the first attempt is turned back by weather. This is why the trip is fourteen days.
10 Clear the mountain Base camp
High camp stripped. Nothing stays that we carried up.
11 Base camp to Skardu Hotel · 2,230 m
Down and out by jeep. Kit return and debrief.
12 Skardu — buffer day Hotel · 2,230 m
Held against the flight. Yours if it is not needed.
14 Skardu, and onward —
By air or road, and on to whatever comes next.
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
Five walking days and a long summit morning at 6,000 m. You need to be able to do consecutive six-hour hill days carrying a daypack, and then a very early start and eight to ten hours on snow.
The short approach is the trap. You arrive high with very little acclimatisation, and that — not fitness and not technique — is what turns people back on this mountain. A strong runner who has not slept high will fail here and a moderately fit person who has acclimatised will not. We build in days that a two-week itinerary appears not to need, and we check pulse and oxygen saturation every evening from base camp upward. If you have never slept above 4,000 m, tell us at enquiry.
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. Briefing the same evening, SIM and cash sorted.
Islamabad to Skardu
A short flight that is weather-dependent, or a long road that is not. We build a buffer day either way.
On the ground
Our own 4x4s and our own drivers from Skardu onward.
Questions people actually ask
Can this be my first 6,000 m peak?
It is the one we recommend most often for that. No technical climbing, a short approach, and ground that forgives a slow learner while you pick up crampon work and roped travel.
What experience do I need?
No previous summit. You need to be a competent hill walker who can do consecutive six-hour days, and be willing to learn rope and crampon technique at base camp.
How long is it, and when does it run?
Fourteen days door to door, including a reserve summit day and a buffer against the Skardu flight. June to September — the longest season of any climbing objective we offer.
How high is Khosar Gang?
Around 6,400 m. Two sources give 6,400 and 6,401, but both are operator marketing rather than survey data, so it prints with a marker until we have something better.
Why is the short approach a problem?
Because you arrive high with very little acclimatisation, and that is what turns people back here rather than fitness or technique. We build in days a two-week itinerary appears not to need, for exactly that reason.
Do I need a climbing permit and is there a royalty?
No peak royalty — it sits below the 6,500 m band. Local and trekking fees apply and we obtain everything required. Your Pakistan visa is the paperwork that matters and we send a sponsor letter for it.
What does it cost and what moves the price?
No royalty and a short approach make this the cheapest real climbing objective in the catalogue — less than many of our treks. Party size moves most of what is left. Deposit is 25 per cent.
What happens if I do not summit?
A reserve day is built in, so one bad morning does not end the trip. If both are bad, we come down. There is no refund for an unused portion, which is on the payment and refunds page before you pay.
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 harder Diran expedition
You have already chosen the region, which is the harder decision. These run from the same roadhead.
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If this one is not right
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