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takes us on the 26-ho) r drive up the Karakoram Highway to Skardu. As we follow the Indus River northward Brent tells me he comes by his mountain love pretty honestly since his dad traveled t e world extensively, climbing and studying mountain geography during his career at the ational Geographic Society. Climbing ropes were his playthings when he was a kid .IOnc , he tied a couple loops between the bathroom door and a ban ister when his baby-sitt r was on the toilet. "I kept her there all, evening," he recalls. "You know, typical Cal 'n and Hobbes stuff." That impishness hasn't disappeared entirely, even though tt wheels and jangling c ains hanging from the bumper. This piece of folk art on wheels � e' now a father himself. We finally arrive in Skardu, the capital of Baltistan and a mere eight-hour jeep ride away from where we start walking. Baltistan is technically part of Pakistan, but because of a long-standing border dispute with India, remains in a political netherworld where its citizens don't have representation in the Pakistani parliament. The Balti people, who came from Tibet some 600 to 800 years a�o, have about as much trust in Pakistani institutions as, say, Texan mIli tiamen do in the federal government. A few days later we ride on a road that drops off 250 feet to the Braldu River below. It's three inches wider than the wheel base of our Jeep. We spend the night in Askole, pick the porters who will be part of our roving training and cleanup group, and begin the trek to the Baltoro glacier. At camp that night, we start our nightly sessions with the porters. As the sun sets, each introduces himself: what village they're from, how many children they have, how many times they've been on expeditions. Brent tells them that he wants to talk about hygiene, crevasse rescue, first aid, Western cultures, the need to keep the area clean so more trekkers will want to come. It's a short session. Afterward, Brent and Greg brain storm the next few sessions. It's becoming clear that training these porters on the trail may not work all that well since everybody is tired and cold at the end of the day. While picking up tins, they decide to hold two big train ing seminars at fixed locations. The good news is, Brent's mission comes before the area has been completely overwhelmed by