A Summer in the Karakorum Mountains

Expedition ti K2

Text and photos by Luis Miguel Lopez Soriano

I feel like a really lucky person. I am professionally dedicated to looking at the world through my camera, photographing and filming. I share a great passion for my job and at the same time for the place where I do my work: the mountains. It is not a stable life, where many long-term plans can be made. With an always uncertain future. Everything has a price, but I have always been willing to pay it.

Of all the settings where my work with the camera can be carried out, without a doubt, some of the most impressive and beautiful are the Karakorum mountains.

The first time I visited this mountain range was almost thirty years ago. At the age of 22 I had the opportunity to discover with my own eyes the universe of mountains and glaciers that rise between the borders of Pakistan, India and China, from the top of Hidden Peak (8,068 m). From that moment on I fell totally in love with this wonderful and exceptional corner of the planet.

I have returned on many occasions. Some working mainly in the highest mountains. But I have also enjoyed getting lost among its lesser-known corners. In 1999, a small group of friends made the first attempt at the unclimbing Muchu Chhish (7,453m). Through the Chinese territory of Xinjiang, the wildest slope of this mountain range, we explore Changtok (7,045m), staying very close to the top. I have visited and ascended barely visited mountains of Shimshal, Panmah, Chiring, Chapursan… The Karakorum, its mountains, towns and culture have always fascinated me.

In mid-February I received a message on WhatsApp from Alex Abranov, the director of the Russian agency “Seven Summit Club”. The text was brief and forceful: –“Hello Luis, we met last year at Broad Peak. This summer we want to make a movie at K2. Could you come to film at the summit?” I believe that not even the best mountaineer in the world could, nor should, close a professional agreement with the condition of carrying out his work on the top of a mountain like K2. My response tried to be as discreet and diplomatic as possible: – “I think I am physically, technically and mentally prepared, but K2 will have the last word.” In mid-June I headed to Islamabad to join a Russian group with the purpose of making a documentary. Among them was the mountaineer Sergei Bolomov, a living legend of Himalayanism.

My main function, within the filming team, was focused on filming at altitude. Although I also had to support the team of two operators who collected all the testimony of the expedition from the base camp. In addition to working with the camera, I had the task of recording with the drone. An essential tool that I have included in my backpack for years.

It was a season marked by unstable weather, with very few opportunities. But we were finally able to reach the summit on July 28. The day before, many people had climbed to the summit. We preferred to wait one more day, even though the weather was getting worse, to avoid crowds. For a few years now, K2 has also been affected by the commercial expedition system that has been imported, mainly, through Nepalese agencies. Sherpas, fixed ropes and the use of oxygen undoubtedly facilitate the activity. Despite everything, we must never lose the respect that this mountain deserves. The day before our ascension, Hassan, a Pakistani high altitude porter, died on the dangerous journey on the way to the summit. A great tragedy.

Beyond the excitement of completing an ascent like K2, my greatest satisfaction lay in having the feeling of having done a good job. After almost two months in the Karakorum, witnessing through my camera an environment as wonderful as the one that surrounds this mountain, I had managed to film, for more than half an hour, from the 8,611m of the second highest mountain in the Land.

Now I could answer, with more certainty and rigor, the message that Alex Abranov had sent me a few months before: “-…Yes, I can record from the summit of K2 for your film.”

Photo Trekking

But the end of the K2 expedition did not mean leaving Pakistan. After returning and resting for two days in Islamabad, the country’s capital, I found myself again on a bus, traveling along the Karakoram Highway towards the mountains.

In August I had the opportunity to accompany a group of Spaniards, organized by the Taranna Trek agency, to do a photographic trek through Baltoro, one of the most impressive glaciers on Earth. My steps led me back to the foot of K2.

One of the facets of my job that I like the most is training and dissemination. Sharing and transmitting the experience and passion for my work and the mountains with other people is always rewarding for me. On this occasion I had the opportunity to spend some wonderful days in the company of a group of friends, enjoying photography and the incredible spectacle offered by the different corners of Baltoro.

Bestard Mountain Boots

Summer hasn’t given much room for rest. Almost three months living, working and walking in the Karakorum mountains. In this period of time I have visited the Baltoro glacier three times. I have lived at the foot of K2 for weeks, climbing with my camera to its summit. All the material I have used, technical and photographic, has suffered the pressure of relentless activity.

Without a doubt, one of the parts of the body that has to withstand this intense exercise with the most resistance are the feet. Taking care of them, using the appropriate footwear at all times, is the key to being able to carry out this type of project successfully and without setbacks.

For years I have been lucky to have Bestard as one of my main and most important travel companions. Except for the specific boots for the activity at eight thousand meters, the rest of my footwear always comes from the Mallorcan house. Beyond the friendship and collaboration that unites me with them, I have to be grateful and recognize the good quality of their products. Appropriate footwear is the first link that must resist and function properly to support the rest of the chain.

Beyond the friendship and collaboration that unites me with them, I have to be grateful and recognize the good quality of their products

A few months ago I discovered the Bestard AT Quantic model, a semi-rigid boot that has pleasantly surprised me. It really is one of the most versatile boot models I have ever seen. It is a shoe that covers a large number of scenarios and times of the year: trekking, approaches, technical ascents, progression on ice and snow terrain…

It can be used with semi-automatic crampons, offering the possibility of progression on icy slopes with a very considerable inclination. I found them to be warm and comfortable shoes to wear while living in the K2 base camp (5,000m). Very comfortable and light for walking on rugged terrain like the Baltoro glacier, crossing passes like Gondogoro (5.585m)
After months of great activity, practically taking them off only to sleep, they continue to “survive”, barely showing any trace of the wear and tear they should have suffered.

I’ll keep messing with them!

Luis Miguel Lopez Soriano, Photographer, Filmmaker, and Alpinist