From Paiyu Camp - Shigar River Valley, Pakistan

Turning a corner to reveal the Trango Group is like walking into the realm of science fiction.

Paiyu camp is dug into the side of the hill, under the flanks of the peak whose name it bears, midway up a slope in a sheltering copse of trees. In order to attain a cleaner perspective on the Trango and Cathedral Group up the valley, to really line it up, I had decided to hike down to the river to be as close as possible to the middle of the valley.

Down here was the entry point to the other world - the giants looming on the horizon, the clouds boiling and reforming, the small plants gripping into the bed of the humming Shigar. I was mesmerized by the interplay of light and shadow on the iconic walls ahead, beyond the snout of the Baltoro Glacier.