Looking towards Masherbrum (7821 meters) in the Karakoram range, from the Hushe village. This is one of the most isolated villages in Pakistani Baltistan and was totally impoverished and lacking schools, health care, sanitary facilities of any kind. More recently international climbers come in increasing numbers to tackle K2, Masherbrum…and a host of other 7-8000+ peaks. Thus there have been some improvements for locals, but it is still very much a simple subsistence living in a very harsh, elevated environment. It is difficult of access and women here are still wary and turn away and cover faces when strangers or men are about.
The blokes, meanwhile, jostle to be photographed. Many of them supplement income with work as porters and cooks for international climbers, while the women work all day in the fields, and endlessly in their very simple homes.
Without irrigation channels like these, which carry glacier and snow melt, all of these very elevated valleys in North Pakistan would be quite barren, as they are otherwise high altitude desert,

Have a cracker of a weekend
D ❤️