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New for 2009!
An Anniversary Follow the Leader Trip with Sergio Fitch-Watkins

The Karakoram, home to some of the world’s largest peaks, has been a destination for adventurous explorers since the ancient times of the silk trade—and yet the region’s glistening glaciers and mammoth summits remain pristine and virtually uninhabited. On this spectacular trip of a lifetime (offered by no other company but MTS!), you have the rare opportunity to traverse the old winter trade route through the Nubra and Shyok valleys, crossing the steep Saserla Pass—a place so notorious for taking the lives of pack animals that this route became known as the Skeleton Trail. Following seasoned guide Sergio Fitch-Watkins, who has been leading Mountain Travel trips for more than three decades, you’ll visit the source of the powerful Shyok River, cross the imposing Rimo Glacier, and arrive at the awesome Teram Shehr, a vast plateau of snow and ice guarded by dizzyingly high peaks. You will also travel across the Siachen Glacier—one of the longest glaciers outside the Earth’s polar regions. Don’t miss the chance to explore the Karakoram—one few places left in the world where you can still feel like a pioneering explorer!

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

• Trek a remote section of the ancient Silk Road—the Yarkandi Caravan Silk Route—in a part of the world that remains largely a blank spot on the map.
• See some of the world’s largest glaciers—including Teram Shehr, one of the last-remaining ice caps, and Siachen, which stretches over 70 miles
• Trek across the Col Italia—only the third crossing in history!—on a journey offered exclusively by MTS

Note: This trip is offered by special invitation only, as it is very strenuous and requires basic mountaineering skills. If you are interested and would like to be invited to join us, please contact us directly. Bookings will be taken only through December 2008, as the trip takes place in a sensitive area of India and requires special permits for travel.

This trip has been discontinued. Please call one of MTSobek’s travel experts at 888-831-7526 to learn about similar trips currently offered.

Day 1 - Arrive in Delhi, India and transfer to hotel.

Day 2 - Fly to Leh.

Day 3 - Visit the ruins and historic royal palace in Leh, once the capital of Ladakh.

Day 4 - Drive to Nubra Valley for evening visit to Samstaling monastery.

Day 5 - Drive along Nubra River from Kyagar to Sasoma, and begin our trek with a steep, rocky climb up Tulumputi-La (12,303 feet). En route to camp at Jingmoche, look for small stone huts once used as an army camp.

Day 6 - Cross Thangman tokpo (stream) several times on trek to fertile grazing valley of Skyangpoche. Views of Mamostong Kangri glacier from camp!

Day 7 - Climb gradually to Hankarshak and then walk steeply through a wild route strewn with corpses and heaps of pack-animal bones (the infamous Skeleton Trail).

Day 8 - Rise early for a difficult walk over glacier and scree to Saserla Pass, decorated with colorful prayer flags. Enjoy views of unclimbed peaks and descend to camp near Saser Brangsa.

Day 9 - Cross a delicate hanging bridge while equipment and food is pulled across the river in a box, then follow the river to Rongo Gorge. Climb to Chongtash (“big boulder”), a former trade staging post, and camp in Murgo—“Gateway to Hell.”

Day 10 - Enter the narrow Burtsa Rongo canyon to see Kalong Chumik, a picturesque spring, and then follow the Murgo Nala (nala means stream). Camp in Khizil Langar.

Day 11 - Climb to Depsang-La to the flat Depsang plateau for splendid views of the Rimo massif and the Chinese border.

Day 12 - Follow the Chip Chap River along trail through barren, open landscape with views of many peaks. Camp at Gapshan.

Day 13 - Rest day.

Day 14 - Walk over round stones of Shyok River bed to camp at the river’s source and the snout of a glacier. More fantastic mountain and glacier views!

Day 15 - Tough but rewarding climbing on the central Rimo Glacier to camp at Fillippe Lake (16,929 feet).

Day 16 - More glacier travel toward the China border; the famous Shaksgam Valley lies just beyond the ridge! Make Camp II on glacier.

Day 17 - Continue west on the glacier, passing the snout of North Rimo Glacier and camping opposite Gyalpo peak.

Day 18 - Slowly gain altitude climbing toward Col Italia, which was first crossed by Italian explorer Filippo de Filippi in 1929 and has been crossed only one other time—by an Indo-Japanese team in 2002.

Day 19 - Today is scheduled as a rest day, but we may alternatively use this day to make up time due to inclement weather. If we spend this day at the Col Italia Camp, we’ll have the option climb a 20,718-foot peak (no technical climbing involved).

Day 20 - Pass the central Rimo Glacier to Teram Shehr Glacier, one of the world’s few remaining ice caps. Camp at base of Laxmi Peak, with views of many peaks and the famous Siachen Glacier.

Day 21 - Negotiate simple crevasses on descent to Siachen Glacier, the longest glacier outside the poles.

Day 22 - Finally arrive at Siachen Glacier Camp III via route well-maintained by Indian army.

Day 23 - Descend to Siachen Camp II via army route.

Day 24 - Descend to Base Camp of Siachen and conclude trek.

Day 25 - Drive to Leh.

Day 26 - Fly to Delhi.

Day 27 - Free day in Delhi (day room available) until evening international flights home. Or join one of our extensions in India.

Detailed Itinerary - India: The Great Eastern Karakoram Trek

To get a copy of our detailed Itinerary for India: The Great Eastern Karakoram Trek you can:

1. Email us your itinerary request at sales@mtsobek.com

2. Or call us at 1-888-831-7526 (USA and Canada) or (510) 594-6000

We’ll email you a copy (Word or Acrobat document), fax, or mail you the itinerary as you prefer.

Photo Credits
©MTS Photo File