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the route: west face and north ridge (1957 austrian route)

Base Camp - Camp 1 (5300m)
When we leave Broad Peak Base Camp at an altitude of approximately 4700m, the first obstacle that we will encounter is an hour long walk through soaring ice fins traversing along glacial rivers.

After continuiung upward via an awkward rocky shoulder, we will reach a bergschrund, which is the second obstacle to face whilst trying to gain the lower slopes of the west face route. Early in the season this crevasse is crossable by a snow bridge but it becomes more demanding as the snow melts resulting in either an exposed climb through the icefall or a short abseil into the bergshrund itself. The slopes leading up to Camp I can range from deep snow in June, to rock and ice by the end of July, and the constantly changing nature of these slopes during each day will necessitate early starts to take advantage of the firm ground conditions.
After nearly 8 hours of effort the platforms of camp I at 5300m will no doubt be a welcome sight!

Camp 1 - Camp II
The climbing above Camp I will require extreme care, as we will encounter some of the steepest climbing of the expedition which has several rocky sections leading up to Camp II
Above the rocky steps, the ground levels out providing an almost flat camp site, which will have stunning views down the Baltoro Glacier and across to K2.

Camp II - Camp III + IV (altitude 7200m)
We will then leave Camp 2, and follow the crest of the ridge to gain our first close up views of the uppermost slopes of Broad Peak. We will ascend the ridge over mixed ground of rock / ice before reaching the couloir which empties out onto a broad snowfield. Our route takes the snowfield to regain the crest ridge, where we will then follow it to the summit slopes. At the base of this slope, with the summit rocks in clear view, we will establish Camp 3 at about 7200m. A higher camp may be established (Camp 4) to provide a shorter summit ascent day and also provide a camp that is closer to reach in the event of retreat.

Broad Peak Col (7800m) & Summit Ridge (8047m)
When we leave Camp III / IV, we will head for the prominent col between the Central and Main summits on ground that is around 30° , working our way through ice steps and seracs. The final 50m to the col at about 7800m is on steep ground of around 50°. This col can frequently be heavily corniced providing quite an obstacle to negotiate.

The summit ridge meanders steeply upwards, and after about 90m whilst the angle eases a bit, small rock spires will still need to be negotiated, before a final short and level walk to the summit. Although this level walk is only 500m long, at 8000m+ it will prove to be very demanding indeed. This will take anything around 14hrs from Camp III.