Snow Lake

Snow Lake, known locally as Lukpe Lawo, is a 77 sq km flat basin of glacial ice at 4,700 m in the central Karakoram, feeding the Biafo, Hispar, Sim Gang, Choktoi and Panmah glaciers. It sits at the head of two of the world's longest non-polar glaciers, and the Biafo-Hispar traverse across it forms a 116 km continuous glacial highway between the Baltistan and Nagar valleys, unmatched anywhere on Earth outside the polar regions. This is not a tourist destination. It is a high-altitude glaciated wilderness, and reaching it requires a supported multi-week expedition with porters, a certified guide, and full glacier equipment.

The trekking season is mid-May to end of September, with July and August being the most stable weather window. May and June carry heavier snow at the pass and require more rope-work. September is the coldest but often the clearest month. Outside this window, the Hispar Pass is impassable and Snow Lake itself is inaccessible under fresh snow avalanche conditions.

The Khurdopin Pass at 5,790 m connects Baltistan to Shimshal via the crevassed 41 km Khurdopin Glacier and is a technical alternative to the Hispar Pass. It is a proper mountaineering objective rather than a trek and should only be attempted with a certified guide, ice-axe, crampons, ropes and prior glacier experience. Expedition length is similar (21 to 25 days) but the difficulty is a step higher.

Snow Lake and the Hispar-Biafo traverse fall in a controlled trekking area. Foreign nationals need a trekking permit issued through the Ministry of Tourism or the Gilgit-Baltistan Council, arranged 4 to 6 weeks in advance through an operator. A certified Pakistani guide, a designated cook and porters (typically 8 to 12 depending on group size) are mandatory. Pakistani nationals can trek independently but a guide is still strongly recommended given the technical crevasse fields. Rescue insurance covering helicopter evacuation is essential.

Camping only. There is no infrastructure on the trek, only rock-cairn campsites at the classic day-stages listed above. Bring or hire from your operator a 4-season tent, sleeping bag rated to minus 20°C, mattress, glacier boots, crampons, ice-axe, rope, harness and helmet. For the start and end, base in Skardu (Byarsa, Zhule, Serena Shigar Fort) or Hunza (any Karimabad property), and Askole and Hispar villages have basic homestays for a night on either side of the trek.

Altitude gain from Askole (3,000 m) to Hispar Pass (5,151 m) is significant and altitude sickness is a real risk, take at least one full rest day at Baintha and one at Snow Lake before crossing the pass. There is no phone signal past Askole for the duration of the trek, satellite communication only. Sun exposure on the glacier is extreme, use factor 50+ sunscreen and glacier sunglasses at all times. Temperatures at the Snow Lake basin drop below minus 10°C at night even in August. Water is meltwater filtered through porters, plan for iodine or purification tablets as backup.

Snow Lake was first mapped in 1892 by Sir William Martin Conway, the British explorer and the first foreigner to travel the Karakoram at length. He named it Snow Lake for the flat white basin it forms, deceptively resembling a frozen lake surface. Later expeditions by Eric Shipton and H.W. Tilman in the 1930s established the Hispar-Biafo traverse as one of the classic Karakoram routes. The basin sits at the meeting of five glaciers, an unusually dense glacial junction that has drawn glaciologists, cartographers and climbers for over a century. In Balti the name Lukpe Lawo means the flat white bowl, an accurate description of what you see when you reach it.