Pakistan Mountain Climbing Season Heats Up at the Karakorams

Time has come to mark your name on a rock in the "other Himalaya" where the first edition of the Karakoram expedition list is up: 30 expeditions are lined up already for the Pakistan peaks and new ones are listed almost by each day. The great earthquake didn't scare climbers off from Pakistan and that's a good thing. The country needs all the business it can get in the aftermath of the horrible winter it just survived. The 50% concession in royalty fee continues into 2006. The K2 climbing permit is 6000 USD for a team of seven, with 1000 USD for each additional climber. A bargain compared to Everest. As of yet, 8 expeditions have announced plans to climb the peak this season (2 to be added in a few days). In addition, Pakistan Government has decided that only 10% royalty will be taken for mountains situated in Chitral, Gilgit and Ghizar.