On the slopes of Karakorum the "Balti" people have their summer quarters. These people live on agriculture and stock-raising in winter whereas, in summer, for the last ten years or so, they have found a new occupation as porters. The film follows an expedition to an altitude of 8000 m on Gasherbrum, but the aim of the film is not the conquest of the peak but to follow the life of the porters and show the reality of this rural society still dominated by a strict form of Islamism and time-honoured traditions.