The expedition set sail on April 14 from New York to Bombay via Europe. They reached Rawalpindi on May 9 and drove just north of Srinagar to Wayul, at that time at the end of the road. Then it was a case of trekking over the Zoji La to Skardu and on via Askole to K2 Base Camp, a distance of . At Srinagar they had met with the six Sherpas they had hired in advance and who had travelled from Darjeeling. Sherpas are of Tibetan and Nepali origin but those seeking a career in mountain guiding based themselves at Darjeeling in India where pre-war British Everest expeditions had always done their recruiting. A Sherpa was attached to each sahib - Pasang Kikuli, who had been with Houston on the British-American Nanda Devi Expedition in 1936, was again with Houston and was the sirdar (chief Sherpa). The other Sherpas were Pemba Kitar, Tse Tendrup, Ang Pemba, Sonam, and Phinsoo. Three Kashmiri shikaris (huntsmen) were appointed to maintain Base Camp: Ahdoo the cook, a major-domo and a valet.