THIS SUMMER Don Bowie (Canada) and Alexey Bolotov (Russia) return to the the Gasherbrum mountain range in Baltoro, Pakistan. The two alpinists will decide on particular objectives based on specific conditions in the region, and have secured a few seperate permits to keep their options open. Of the 6 main peaks comprising the Gasherbrum massive, 4 are of interest to Don and Alexey:

GASHERBRUM I (also known as Hidden Peak or K5) is the 11th highest peak on Earth, located on the Pakistan-China border in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. Gasherbrum I is part of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakoram region of the Gasherbrum is often claimed to mean "Shining Wall", presumably a reference to the highly visible face of the neighboring peak Gasherbrum IV; but in fact it comes from "rgasha" (beautiful) + "brum" (mountain) in Balti, hence it actually means "beautiful mountain."

GASHERBRUM II (also known as K4) is the 13th highest mountain on Earth, located on the border of Pakistan occupied Kashmir - China. Gasherbrum II is the third highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakoram range of the Himalaya.

GASHERBRUM III, at 7952m (26,088ft), and GASHERBRUM IV, at 7925m (26,000ft) are respectively the world's 15th- and 17th-highest peaks. Completely overlooked in the rush to the fourteen 8000m peaks, G3 has had only 2 ascents, both by the same route, which put 7 people on its summit; G4 is rather better known for its singular elegance and for its extreme difficulty, as a result of which its true summit has still seen only 9 pairs of feet (on 4 expeditions between 1958 and 1997)