Glacier Day

The Hopper Glacier, also known as Baltar Glacier, is a significant attraction in Hunza Valley, specifically within the Nagar Valley. It's a large, impressive glacier known for its accessibility, making it a popular spot for glacier viewing and photography. The glacier is situated in the Hopar Valley, which is about 10 km from Nagar Khas, the former capital of Nagar. - Wiki

The ride to the Hopper Valley was a spirited 90 minutes and during this day it appeared that the driver was gaining confidence in testing the laws of physics. Surrounded by soaring mountains and travelling through lush valleys all the while following the raging Hunza river made this trip incredible beautiful. 

The closer we got to the glacier, the narrower the roads became, while the few small bridges we narrow enough for one car only, and that did create a few interesting moments of "I am going first" with cars coming in the other direction. To that point, that is a huge cultural thing here, if I had not mentioned it before, the need to be first for everything. There is no queueing, no polite "after you" or simple common courtesy however where you learn to stand your ground the perpetration is quick to back off. It is not that they are being rude, it is just they do not know any better for "This is Pakistan."

We arrived and parked among the many vehicles parked haphazardly in what I guess was the designated parking area. I got out of the car and was blown away by the immediate view as I looked up the Hopper Valley, following the glacier to its start at the Bawalter Peak. I was more in awe at the sheer cliff face of the Bawalter Peak that was covered in ice and snow (it is over 7000M/23000 feet). The glacier creeped up to the base of the cliff face and then fell into the valley floor and extended to 28 KM long. It is considered the fastest moving glacier in the world, moving an average of 4 to 5 inches per day. The glacier was also black in appearance because of all the rock and sediment it carries, but that changed a bit when we hiked down to it. My three amigo traveling partners could not get their phones and cameras out fast enough. "We are going to create so much data today", by data I knew that Abad meant content.

Baltar Glacier in it's beautiful glory

The road along the Hunza River

My first tepid steps on Baltar Glacier

The hike down was a bit tricky but easy enough. The trails were well marked and as I looked ahead I could see families on the glacier. Then we watched as a group of well motivate and well equipped young guys rushed down the trails before us while we were having out "getting ready tea."  They were sure footed and reached the glacier fairly quickly and then went the opposite direction of those hanging out and started to "cross the glacier". I don't know much about glaciers but what I do know is they are moving, shifting and filled with crevices that you do not return from. The average depth on the Bualtar Glacier is 100 metres (300 feet) but there are areas where it is up to 900 metres (2900 feet). You do not return from that, but off they went anyways. We lost sight of them as we ventured down and it appeared they were half way across.

If you have done any hiking and for myself anyways, the downward hike is always harder than going up hill. It wreaks havoc on my knees but to no surprise the universe delivered to me a hiking stick. One of the families were on their way up, and the daughter gave me one of the two that she had. I just had to drop it off at the shop when I was done with it. The one major thing I have learned over the years is not to become "too dependent" on it. You have to use it much like a ski pole and just tap it to keep your balance and lean into it when necessary. If you use it as a crutch you will get yourself in to trouble somewhere along the way.

The face of Bawalter Peak that leads into Baltar Glacier

The Glacier is Moving!

The ice blocks are bigger than you think they are

The first thing you notice when you climb on the glacier from the rocky path is how quiet everything is. That is until you hear the glacier talk to you with the tell tale signs of ice cracking. Then there are the sudden small movements of stones that cause mini avalanches right on the boulder you are standing on as the the ice melts below you. I am talking pebbles and nothing to be concerned about and it was happening everywhere. "The glacier is moving" became our calling card.

We spent the better part of 2 hours wandering around and creating content, including more promotional videos that I thought possible. It was good fun and all for a good cause because the boys were trying to promote their tour companies all the while trying to show me a good time. 

Gemstone Vendors

Cold Fresh Glacier Water

The climb out was easy enough and we were rewarded with cold clean glacier water. We had yet another cup of tea, which I am starting to just accept as a part of everything here, much like stopping for a pint after some activity back home. The pint is better. There were some nice viewing platforms as well as a rustic terrace from which we drank our tea. The cool part of this location is that it is a trail head for two and three day treks into the interior for viewing of K2, Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak), Broad Peak, and Gasherbrum II, a few other 8000 metre peaks in the area. There was a small and very simple hut with two rooms that rented out for people to get a good night's sleep and an early start. This intrigued me and I have made a mental note. I did research about doing the K2 base camp trek which priced itself out at about $3000. This was more of a local experience and lasted 3 days and not 10. 

There were some gemstone tables setup with other assorted trinkets. I ended up buying a travel bracelet with blue unpolished aquamarine and a few peace signs for about $5. Aquamarine is my birthstone so it seemed logical to pick it up at the source. All in all, this was a very good day as it took my appreciation for the beauty of Northern Pakistan to a whole new level. I am just scratching the surface of this place but now I understand how other people talk about coming here for a couple of weeks and then end up extending their 90 day visas. I think you can add me to that list if I was to focus on Pakistan being my only stop on this trip.