I am a relatively young guy (34 yrs old) who is in decent shape and is considering joining a group trek possibly to K2 basecamp within the next 5 yrs.
How realistic is it for someone like me to make the trek?
To give you an idea of my level of fitness, I’ll be making a solo trek for 22 km, and that same distance back again the next day, this coming April, along one of the most beautiful and remote beaches in the Bahamas (NE point Great Inagua if anyone was curious). While on that trek, I’ll be carrying about 25 kilograms on me, and am not concerned at all about successfully completing it, despite it being hot and humid, with strong sun reflecting off the sand and water.
If I can do this relatively easily, how realistic would it be for me to trek to the base of K2?
On the one hand, this K2 trek is harder because I will not only be walking on soft sand most of the way, but I will also be solo and have no one else to turn to when it comes to making command tactical decisions, on the spot, that involve my safety (weather, lightning, heat exhaustion, dehydration, etc). Furthermore, I would be carrying a lot more weight since there is NO freshwater to fill up with along the beach.
On the other hand, the Bahamas trek might be easier than K2 basecamp, because not only is it just 22 km compared to 90+, but I will of course be breathing in sea level air the whole way, instead of 4000-5500m air with just 55-60% as much O2 as at sea level.
So if I can do the Bahamas trek as I described, how much harder will a trek to K2 basecamp be in your opinion?
I know its probably apples to oranges, but hopefully someone could be able to give me a somewhat accurate perspective from each.
Readmore: Trekking to K2 base camp in Pakistan: everything you need to know