Who carries the load?

PAKISTAN | Monday, 14 January 2013 | Views [572] | View Smaller Image

Porters wearing typical Balti attire drink from a pool on the glacier. While wages are fixed, competition to keep prices down for clients means companies frequently cut corners by not supplying adequate equipment to the men, who work in little more than cotton shalwar kameez and plastic shoes which afford them little protection from the elements.

BALTISTAN, northwest Pakistan: Porters crossing the Upper Baltoro glacier. Trekkers and climbers come from across the world to this isolated corner of the globe to experience some of the highest mountains in the world. To access this remote region requires porters to carry supplies. The local men are eager for a source of income as portering is one of the few alternatives to a life of subsistence agriculture.

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During a break, porters eat a typical meal of chapatti and tea. The grueling work at high altitude means adequate nutrition is extremely important. Foreign clients are served three hot meals a day and snacks but the porters prefer to save their food allowance and subside on a diet of unleavened bread and black tea.

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Who carries the load?

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