Maps: routes taken by various explorers
Who was the first westerner to venture onto the Baltoro Glacier? It appears that Godwin-Austen (1861) can claim that title although it is probable that Adolph Schlagintweit made his way to the terminus back in the summer of 1856. Godwin-Austen only made it up the first third of its length; it was up to William Conway & Co. to trek the entire length of this body of ice in 1892. A number of the names for various glaciers and surrounding peaks that we use today were coined by Conway. The first party to make it to the base of K2 were the members of the infamous 1902 Eckenstein Expedition. MAP link
The largest glacier in the Karakoram is the Siachen, which is linked to several other large bodies of ice, covering an enormous area. The glacier is the headwaters of the Nubra River; due to the nature of the river valley and volume of water, it is difficult to gain access to the lower section of the glacier via the terminus. Most explorers made their way onto the Siachen via the Bilafond Pass from tributary glaciers. Since 1984 the Siachen has been occupied by the Indian Army as they continue their decades old stalemate with the Pakistani Amry. MAP link