Laila Peak and Hushe objectives
Overview
Laila Peak is a 6,096 m spire above the Gondogoro glacier in Hushe, and the most photographed mountain shape in Pakistan — a scythe of rock and ice that leans. Twenty-eight days, graded very hard, and genuinely technical: the north-west face runs at forty-five to sixty degrees and the summit is a corniced blade.
What climbing it involves
You drive to Hushe and trek up the Gondogoro glacier to base camp at around 4,500 m, with a high camp placed below the face. The climb is a single sustained push on snow and ice at angle, fixed where the ground or the conditions call for it. The upper face steepens and the final ridge is narrow and corniced — exposed in a way photographs do not convey.
This is not an altitude trip. At 6,096 m the mountain is low by Karakoram standards. It is a steep-ground trip, and it wants someone who is genuinely comfortable front-pointing at fifty degrees with a long drop below.
How often does it actually get climbed?
Less often than its fame suggests. Conditions on the face decide it, and in a warm or thin season the ice is not there. We plan a summit attempt and a weather and conditions reserve, and we tell you what the face looked like rather than what we hoped.
Who we take
Alpine ice experience at AD or above, confident on steep ground, with references. Previous altitude helps but is less important here than ice technique. Fitness without ice competence is the wrong combination for this mountain, and we would rather have that conversation at enquiry.
When it runs
May to July, earlier than most of our catalogue, because the face holds better ice before the deep summer heat strips it.
What is inside the price
Peak royalty and permits, the visa file, all transport on our own vehicles to Hushe, the Gondogoro approach under our published porter charter, base camp and high camp with cook and mess, our own fixed rope and hardware on the face, a high-altitude guide per two climbers, oxygen held for emergency use, satellite comms and a written evacuation plan naming the walk-out and drive-out from both base and high camp.
- Duration
- 26 – 30 days
- Maximum altitude
- 6,096 m
- Grade
- Hard
- Group size
- Max 10
- Guides
- 2 certified, 1 WFR
- Season
- June – September
- Starts / ends
- Islamabad / Islamabad
- Shorter technical climbs with Hushe guides, for teams not committing to a full 8,000 m season.
Fixed departures
These prices are per person on a fixed departure, and they are the price — we do not discount a published figure. Deposit is 25%; the payment schedule and cancellation terms are published and sent with every quote. For your own dates, see the private pricing below.
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 | [PRICE] | Private guide and vehicle for the two of you |
| 3 – 4 | [PRICE] | |
| 5 – 8 | [PRICE] | Second guide joins at six |
| 9 – 12 | [PRICE] | By arrangement, season permitting |
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 Islamabad Hotel · 540 m
Met inside the terminal. Briefing and gear check.
02 Islamabad — permits and formalities Hotel · 540 m
Ministry briefing where required. Kit inspection.
03 Fly to Skardu, or drive Hotel · 2,230 m
Weather-dependent flight, or the road.
04 Skardu to Hushe Guesthouse
Through Khaplu and up the valley. Crew and loads organised.
05 Hushe to Shaicho Camp
The first walking day.
06 Shaicho to Gondogoro base Camp
Up the Gondogoro glacier.
07 To Laila base camp Base camp
Camp built below the face.
08 Base camp — rest and skills Base camp
Acclimatisation, and ice technique on the lower face.
09 Acclimatisation carry Base camp
A carry onto the face and back down.
10 Rest Base camp
Recovery and checks.
11 Rotation — high camp Base camp
A night higher on the mountain, conditions allowing.
12 Rest and weather window Base camp
Waiting for the face to be in condition.
13 Summit push — high camp High camp
Push begins. Turn-back criteria restated.
14 Summit day, or turn back High camp
Sustained steep ground, a long single push, and the descent. The descent is the dangerous half.
15 Descent to base camp Base camp
Off the face.
16 Weather reserve Base camp
Held for a second attempt.
17 Weather reserve Base camp
Held for a second attempt.
18 Base camp to Shaicho Camp
Down the glacier.
19 Shaicho to Hushe Guesthouse
Out to the roadhead.
20 Hushe to Skardu Hotel · 2,230 m
By 4x4. Kit return and debrief.
21 Buffer day Hotel · 2,230 m
Held against the flight.
22 Skardu to Islamabad Hotel · 540 m
Flight or road.
23 Islamabad, and home —
Airport transfer.
What is included
- Visa sponsor letter
- All permits, park fees and NOCs
- Met inside the terminal, all transfers
- Our own 4x4s and drivers
- Certified guides and insured crew
- Camp equipment, cook and all meals on trek
- Medical kit, oxygen where the route calls for it
- Satellite comms and a daily message home
- International flights
- Visa fee itself
- Travel insurance covering evacuation and repatriation
- Personal equipment
- 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
[WRITE THE HONEST FITNESS NOTE FOR THIS ROUTE BEFORE PUBLISHING.]
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
- Sleeping, mess, kitchen and toilet tents
- Group first aid and the medical kit
- Satellite phone and messenger
- All cooking and camp equipment
Personal — yours
- Sleeping bag rated to −20 °C or better
- Insulated jacket and waterproof shell
- Walking boots, worn in before you arrive
- Trekking poles
- Sun hat, glacier glasses and high-factor sunscreen
- Headtorch with spare batteries
- Water bottles or bladder, two litres minimum
- Personal medication and a declared medical history
Technical — yours, rentable in Skardu with notice
- Mountaineering boots, crampon-compatible
- Crampons and ice axe
- Harness, belay device, two locking carabiners, prusik
- Helmet
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, local 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 and quote both.
On the ground
Our own 4x4s and our own drivers from Skardu onward.
Questions people actually ask
Is Laila Peak a trekking peak?
No, and the short approach misleads people into thinking so. It is sustained steep snow and ice at angle. We decline bookings where the alpine record is not there.
What experience do I need?
Previous alpine climbing on steep snow and ice, competent with an axe at angle and on fixed rope. Altitude experience as well as technical ground.
Why is it rarely climbed?
The face is sustained and the conditions on it are often not good. Many expeditions go in and come home without an attempt, which is a legitimate outcome and one you should price in before you book.
How long is summit day?
A long single push on sustained ground, and the descent is where the risk concentrates. The turn-back time is set early for that reason and it holds.
How short is the approach really?
Days from the roadhead at Hushe rather than a fortnight from Askole. That is the trip's main practical advantage and it leaves time for a second attempt.
Do you fix rope on the face?
We carry and place our own rather than relying on what a previous party left. Old rope on a face is a hazard that looks like a handrail.
What are the chances of summiting?
Lower than on a 7,000 m snow peak, because conditions on the face decide it more than fitness does. We do not publish a figure we cannot stand behind.
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 Broad Peak expedition
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