Day 06 cntd...
(Night at Hispar pass overlooking Snow lake)
The view as i mentioned in my previous post was quite dramatic here... though sky was not completely clear but it was not fully cloudy so there was hope to see moon... which would be almost full tonight (it was 12th of Shaw'wal) another thing my mind had been thinking ever since i planned my trip....
You can see some of the beauty we were blessed with Alhamdulillah.
Here i have put a snapshot for your understanding what is 'what' we see in the pictures here.....
Waheed checked the area around and approved a few meters radius free of crevasses to stay inside.
While the camp was being set up... it was already getting darker... I tried to capture some more pictures befor eit finally gets dark.
The light was very low so i had permanently set up my tripod which stayed there till next morning. Though i was much more exhausted and we had traveled today without any major breaks but still the scene injected a lot of lost energy back in me.... even height, lack of oxygen nothing mattered there...
Moon was sighted where the great Ogre peak was hiding itself in clouds... it was another beautiful sight.
کھلی جبکہ چشم دل ہزیں
تو وہ نم رہا نہ تری رہی
ہوئ حیرت ایسی کچھ آنکھ پر
بےاثر کی بے اثری رہی
Sir John Muir's saying looked completely true there... 'In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.'
Being there, sighting that still was unbelievable... this was our reward... for last 3-4 days of tiring walks..... hectic planning of the trip..all those arrangements... this was the reward of our desperation... passion to have just one sight of this beautiful queen.... and there we were... The view was a complete meditation, you can sit there watch it.. watch the clouds moving over lake.. this huge snow basin... and its sky high guards embracing the lake from both sides.
I cant agree more with Sir Martin Conway who gave it this name and exclaimed in awe... "beyond all comparison the finest view of mountains it has ever been my lot to behold, nor do I believe the world can hold a finer."
It was already dark and food was being made. I had air inflated mat which performs well over snow and in critically cold situations, situation in kitchen tent was a little hard for the team.. team and porters were traveling with limited gear which was all wet, their socks, trousers, shoes etc. I transferred some of the extra items from my bag to the mess tent. Team was in general happier to have done a big part of the trek. After finishing my food and tea, i came back to where my camera and tripod were fixed. That day i made my first time lapse video ever (will be shared soon).
There was enough light even at night but the cold wind and overall temperature had dramatically gone down after the sun went down... it was difficult to stay out of camp for long time, i captured with my camera and my eyes what best i could and went in side the camp.
I think by 10.30 pm i was inside my sleeping bag trying to take a long nap. Sinking down to sleep was not difficult and i dont recall any problem then... but what happened next is still fresh in my mind.
At around 1 AM, i woke up to some strange sound and uncomfortable breath. There were 2 problems:
One, I saw with every breath of mine, the camp shrinks in and out like a plastic bag, and i felt severe suffocation. Reason i packed my camp too much with little or no space for fresh air to let in. Opened the lid of my camp a little which relieved my breathing problem.
2nd thing was more worrying. What i recognized and as i recall it now it was sound of something walking over the snow just beside my camp on right side. Kitchen tent was set up on left and it was distant, i dont expect anyone would come this far for anything at that time. So this could be either an animal, a beast or something else... may be a yeti....?!! These thoughts made me scared and curious (though curiosity < scarcity). I had nothing with me no knife nothing so in case if something dangerous outside i had nothing to defend myself with... So i limited my movement and even breathing and tried observing it carefully. I was more than sure of something wandering beside my camp... sound was exactly same as what it made under our feet all the day.... it (whatever) stayed there, (let's assume..) walking, for another 20 minutes and then there was complete silence. I was awake for next 30 minutes to be sure and then again dipped in sleep thanks to all the fatigue which didnt let the fear waste my night.
In same context next day there were a lot of talks. A local famous story that was told by waheed about some foreign tourist who disappeared at Nanga Parbat a few years ago. The guy before losing his satellite contact made last call to his family..... his words were something like " I have just seen an unusual THING outside my camp that i have never seen or heard of before.... it seems its waiting for me to.... i dont know if we will talk again?!" and after that he disappeared. Please note I doubt its authenticity just sharing as was heard 
Hope you have enjoyed the travelogue so far.
