In 2007 I got the immense pleasure of making an exploratory trip in a remote part of the Karakoram crossing the notorious Khurdopin pass under the professional guidance of Qudrat Ali and his Shimshali crew. We started from Shimshal, climbing Mingli Sar and Walyoo Sar before following the Braldu glacier and crossing Lukpe La. On the way to Snow Lake we made an excursion to the top of Sim La and then crossed Khurdopin pass. Then we followed the Khurdopin glacier back to Shimshal. Qudrat proved to be a skilled organizer of difficult journeys away from the beaten track showing a great experience in combining the required number of porters, bringing along enough food and gas and good quality of camping gear. The technical terrain made him exhibit his excellent climbing skills as a summiter of several eight thousand peaks and he even used the opportunity to train Abdul Joshi in ice climbing techniques on the steep walls of Khurdopin. I wish also to express my deepest regards to the strong team that, apart from Qudrat Ali and Abdul Joshi, made the crossing of Khurdopin possible after so many years of failed attempts: Bulbul Karim, Eid Mohammad and Laili Shah, and of course to all the other porters that accompanied us on the wonderful trip.
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My very first experiences in climbing and glacier trekking was with Shams Alpine. The climbing and trekking personnel (managed by Qadrat and Shaheen) are skilled and organised with substantial experience in many treks and climbs off the beaten path, not just the commercial 8000 peaks. They have plenty of experience in guiding (they run a mountaineering school in Shimshal) and indeed carry out their roles with care as well as being good communicators. The cooks and the driver are also good at what they do, considering some of the roads can get pretty hairy.It is notable that Shams is one of very few (if not the only) local outfits in Pakistan who are able to arrange everything and guide amateur climbers; just like the sherpa companies in Nepal.
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