Biafo Glacier

The Biafo Glacier is a 63-kilometre river of ice in the central Karakoram that, joined with the Hispar, forms one of the longest continuous glacial systems outside the polar regions. It flows from the immense snowfield of Snow Lake down toward the Braldu valley, a boulder-strewn highway between towering granite walls.

Its significance is both scientific and scenic: the Biafo–Hispar system was mapped by early explorers probing the Karakoram's tangled glaciers, and its surface, cracked with crevasses and littered with medial moraines, is a landscape of raw glacial power beneath spires like the Ogre and the Latok peaks.

On the trail the glacier is walked as part of the Snow Lake and Biafo–Hispar treks, a serious multi-day journey on ice from Askole. Graded strenuous and technical, it requires roped travel, crampons, crevasse awareness and full expedition support; loose moraine, meltwater channels and the sheer distance make every day demanding at altitude.

Practical notes: a permit, a licensed agency and experienced guides and porters are required, and parties must be self-sufficient on the ice. July and August are the working months, when crevasse bridges are strongest and the weather most reliable; outside summer, snow cover and cold make the glacier hazardous and the approach valleys difficult to reach.