Spantik Peak Expedition

Overview

The Spantik that is also called the Golden Peak is the part of the mountain chain, which forms the boundary between Nager and Arandu Valley Baltistan; Spantik is one of the quieter parts of the Karakoram. Conway named it the Golden Parri, which means Golden Fairy. The first attempt to climb the peak was made in 1899 via the Southeast ridge by famous American couple Dr. and Mrs. William B Workman climbed from Chogolungma Glacier Arandu side, which remained the highest record in mountaineering for women. They ascended up to 330 meters of the summit.

The same route was used by five German climbers headed by Kramer when they made the first ascent in 1955. Some teams have used snowshoes to cross the flat and titanic plateau higher up. British climbers Mick Fowler and Victor Saunders climbed the Northwest golden pillar of Spantik in 1987, but they returned via the imminent Southwest spur. Most recently Spantik 7027 has been a favorite for climbers to train themselves for higher elevation.

Lying to the south of the great Hispar glacier and standing above upper Chogolungma, the approach path to the beautiful campsites along the Chogolungma Glacier offers vistas of mountain scenery with innumerable high peaks. The climb along the Southeast ridge is easily achievable amongst 7000m summits in the Karakorum, with several safe campsites along its 8-km length. The Skardu Arandu side of the mountain offers a route to the summit via the relatively easy South East Ridge — known as the normal route.