<story><title>A Nepali team has made the first winter ascent of K2</title><url>http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web21w/newswire-k2-first-winter-ascent</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>PopeDotNinja</author><text>I’m an American, and I visited Pakistan on a whim back in September.  I was able to spend a few days in the north.  I can only say the north of Pakistan is incredible.  There’s nothing that prepares you for seeing 8000+ meter mountains for the first time.&lt;p&gt;There’s no shortage of people offering tours, but I made my own plans.  I rented a Toyota Hilux 4x4 for 4 days at $50&amp;#x2F;day, and they insisted I hire a driver because they didn’t trust me to drive solo (which in retrospect was wise of them because of language barriers, road conditions, police&amp;#x2F;military checkpoints, etc.). The driver quoted me a rate of $3&amp;#x2F;day (not a typo).  I drove from Islamabad to Hunza and back in 3 days (I could only get one day off work, lol).  It was way too much driving, but the trip was still incredible.&lt;p&gt;To make the trip extra fun, I had the worst case of food poisoning w&amp;#x2F; diarrhea that I’ve ever had for the entire time.  I developed that the night before I was scheduled to drive off.  So in the morning I picked up some Imodium and baby wipes, and just stopped every hour or two.  I somehow managed to avoid shitting in my pants, but I don’t know how.  Nearly every bathroom in Pakistan, which might just be a hole in the ground, has a handheld bidet, which is a power washer for your backside.  No matter how messy it got, I also walked away from a pit stop with a fresh backside.&lt;p&gt;Here’s some pictures of the traveling, sans pit stops...&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;photos.app.goo.gl&amp;#x2F;tZ3scbSFbPbxQCpG7&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;photos.app.goo.gl&amp;#x2F;tZ3scbSFbPbxQCpG7&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>m23khan</author><text>As a Pakistani living abroad, here is my suggestion to avoid diarrhea:&lt;p&gt;Simply avoid eating food from outside anywhere besides KFC. No, not even McDonalds or Pizza Hut. Doesn&amp;#x27;t matter how fresh or clean the food or restaurant or bakery look.&lt;p&gt;I love meat and dairy - avoid these both things while in Pakistan (KFC is alright). Only drink canned cold drinks (Try to do as locals -- they prefer &amp;#x27;white&amp;#x27; &amp;#x2F; transparent cold drinks over coca cola.  Only drink boiled water (or mineral water from some large supermarket&amp;#x2F;pharmacy&amp;#x2F;hotel). And avoid eating salad after sunset -- don&amp;#x27;t know why, just don&amp;#x27;t.&lt;p&gt;If you can, take dried instant oats&amp;#x2F;ramen noodles&amp;#x2F;etc. and chuck them into bowl of boiled water. Fruits and veges are good - just make sure you wash your fruits such as apples and grapes thoroughly with cooled boiled water &amp;#x2F; mineral water before eating them.&lt;p&gt;Finally, if you do get diarrhea in Pakistan, DO visit the local clinic and get some medicine prescribed. It will help you feel better much faster then trying to &amp;#x27;brave it out&amp;#x27; or relying on some simple medications from back home.</text></comment>
<story><title>A Nepali team has made the first winter ascent of K2</title><url>http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web21w/newswire-k2-first-winter-ascent</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>PopeDotNinja</author><text>I’m an American, and I visited Pakistan on a whim back in September.  I was able to spend a few days in the north.  I can only say the north of Pakistan is incredible.  There’s nothing that prepares you for seeing 8000+ meter mountains for the first time.&lt;p&gt;There’s no shortage of people offering tours, but I made my own plans.  I rented a Toyota Hilux 4x4 for 4 days at $50&amp;#x2F;day, and they insisted I hire a driver because they didn’t trust me to drive solo (which in retrospect was wise of them because of language barriers, road conditions, police&amp;#x2F;military checkpoints, etc.). The driver quoted me a rate of $3&amp;#x2F;day (not a typo).  I drove from Islamabad to Hunza and back in 3 days (I could only get one day off work, lol).  It was way too much driving, but the trip was still incredible.&lt;p&gt;To make the trip extra fun, I had the worst case of food poisoning w&amp;#x2F; diarrhea that I’ve ever had for the entire time.  I developed that the night before I was scheduled to drive off.  So in the morning I picked up some Imodium and baby wipes, and just stopped every hour or two.  I somehow managed to avoid shitting in my pants, but I don’t know how.  Nearly every bathroom in Pakistan, which might just be a hole in the ground, has a handheld bidet, which is a power washer for your backside.  No matter how messy it got, I also walked away from a pit stop with a fresh backside.&lt;p&gt;Here’s some pictures of the traveling, sans pit stops...&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;photos.app.goo.gl&amp;#x2F;tZ3scbSFbPbxQCpG7&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;photos.app.goo.gl&amp;#x2F;tZ3scbSFbPbxQCpG7&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Agingcoder</author><text>Fifteen years ago I spent three weeks in Pakistan (as part of a significantly longer trip) - entered from the Indian side not far from Amritsar, went to Lahore, spent some time in rawalpindi then off to the Hunza. I also got the nastiest bout of diarrhea I had ever had in my life, most likely caused my bad meat (I still remember the faulty kebab...).&lt;p&gt;The locals where very friendly. When I was in the bus on the karakoram highway, we had a brief stop (bathroom break, food, etc). I was chatting with someone who was asking where I came from, when suddenly he snapped his fingers. A can of coke appeared on his hand, and he handed it to me, saying &amp;#x27;welcome to Pakistan!&amp;#x27;.&lt;p&gt;As to the landscape, I still remember it many years later.&lt;p&gt;A truly extraordinary place.</text></comment>