Few hunters have been going to Pakistan recently because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and general unrest in the region due to the ongoing global war against terrorism. However, my friend Christian Kunz and I will be going there in February in search of a Himalayan ibex. We both feel safe and confident about the hunt. It will take place up north, near the town of Skardu. The exact area is called Hushey, and it is about a six-hour drive north of Skardu.
The first few days we will stay in a hotel on Lake Satpara and then go onward into the mountains, where we will stay in tents. Transportation from Islamabad to Skardu will be by air, then on jeeps and some on foot. The altitude of the hunting area is around 9,000 feet, but there are peaks in the area that soar far higher - for example: Broad Peak (26,394 feet); Masherbrum (25,652 feet); K2 (28,244 feet); Gasherbrum IV (25,987); Gasherbrum II (26,354 feet); and Hidden Peak (26,463 feet). Glaciers such as Masher- brum, Gandoro and Baltoro are also in the same vicinity.
Himalayan ibex afford the least expensive hunt in the stunning mountains of Northern Pakistan. They are probably the most abundant mountain species in the country, inhabiting the high alpine and sub-alpine zones throughout the mountain systems in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Northern Areas of Pakistan. They are fairly common in the high mountains of Karakoram, Hindu Kush and the western Himalayan ranges. The highest populations are found in Baltistan, upper Hunza and Ghizer District in the Northern Areas (NAs); and in Chitral District in NWFP. Their numbers in some valleys are said to........(continued)
