Wow! Amazing trip and and some excellent story telling as well! It was really amazing seeing the photos and reading the story of your climb up the Badawi Pass. Yes, I subsequently picked up the correct name from various maps and google earth, though our guide's "do teer" reference still sounds refreshing.....
While the photos of the top are quite similar to what I remember, the status of the track is indeed quite another story. On our accidental trip across the pass in late 2010, the region was recovering from the severe floods that year and Dir-Kalam road through the pass was initially the main link through which the Kalam area was reacheable as about 40 kms ofthe Bahrain - Kalam road had been washed away by the river. Hence I guess that the track was kept in very good shape by the locals up until that point. So much so that leaving Kalam quite late in the day at around 1pm, we got to Thal at around 6pm, not experiencing any major glaciers along the way as it was late November.
Its a bit saddening to learn that the track is not jeepable at this stage as overall its quite a wide track by all standards and perhaps not all that difficult to maintain I would think for the locals with some help from the Army. I hope that things will come around and it will be serviced next year...
Anyhow, god bless you for sharing this thread and all the best for your future endeavours!
