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CHINA AND TIBET Activity was severely limited in Tibet and Chinaduring 2008: the Beijing Olympics saw to that, asdid the major earthquake in Sichuan. The year2009 was more productive, particularly ontechnical, lower-altitude peaks east of theHimalaya. We start our report by looking at onerange in Chinese central Sichuan.

SICHUANDaxue Shan, Minya Konka Range, 2008-2009The Daxue Shan is a long chain of mountainsrunning from north to south through centralSichuan, west of Siguniang National Park andChengdu. It is dominated by the Minya KonkaMassif. At 7,556m, Minya Konka (aka GonggaShan) is by far the highest peak in Sichuan, andthe most easterly 7,000m peak in Asia. It isnecessary to travel a long distance west to 7,782mNamcha Barwa in the Himalaya to find a highersummit. The first climbers to visit the range wereAmericans Richard Burdsall, Arthur Emmons, TerrisMoore and Jack Young, who had already spentsome time in China and were given almostcomplete freedom to travel the country, surveying,taking pictures and climbing. They arrived in theregion during the early autumn of 1932, decidedthe North West Ridge of Minya Konka lookedfeasible from the Yangzigou Valley, and climbed itas a lightweight team. In the end only Burdsall andMoore were fit enough to go for the summit, which

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Our report covers activities in Tibet during 2008, and in the Daxue Shan ofChina's Sichuan Province during 2008-09. In the Daxue Shan we look atnew routes or attempts on technical alpine peaks such as Riuche Gongga,Jiazi, E-Gongga (Edgar), Nyambo Konka, Ren Zhong Feng, and theRussian ascent of Pt 6,134m, which gained the pair the Russian Piolet d'Orfor 2009. This range still offers much potential for alpine style first ascentsof 5,000 and 6,000m peaks. In Tibet we record a multitude of first ascentson the Chang Tang (Tibetan Plateau) and sort out the complex issue of thevarious lines climbed on the north side of 8,027m Xixabangma.

PHOTODIAGRAMSMany of the photos show a wealth of unclimbed mountainsthat will attract future parties. There is a detailed sketch map ofthe Minya Konka Range and comprehensively annotatedpanoramas of this range, the Mayer Kangri and Jomo Ri.Route lines show the West Face of Jiazi, Pt 5,200m, Pt6,134m, Edgar, Ren Zhong Feng and Xixabangma. We evenreproduce a unique oil painting, based on the view from thesummit of Minya Konka.

The unclimbed South East Face of E-Gongga (aka Edgar: 6,618m) rises from a deep gorge above the Yangzigou Valleyin the northern Minya Konka group. It was the goal for two separate expeditions in 2009. Neither set foot on the face;one ended in tragedy. TAMOTSU NAKAMURA

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remained the highest climbed by Americans until 1958 (Gasherbrum I). It wasa remarkable climb for the era, and the peak has only received sevensubsequent ascents, all but one following the original route. Several 6,000mpeaks and many smaller summits in the range remain unclimbed. Althoughmountaineering visits have been sporadic (for more history of activity in thisrange see APRIL 2005 INFO), in 2008-2009 at least six parties attemptedclimbs in the northern and southern sectors of the range.

Riuchi Gongga and JiaziFrom late September to late October 2008, Sbastien Bohin, Sbastien Moattiand Pascal Trividic climbed in the north west sector of the Minya KonkaRange. They found access to this region quite straightforward: a permit ($800-1,500) can be obtained in just a few days and base camp reached in seven-eight hours from Kangding, itself only eight hours from Chengdu on acomfortable bus.

During the first half of their stay the weather was generally unstable, but `hpoint 6,200m) and North West Ridge (high point 6,100m) of their main goal,neighbouring Jiazi (aka Rudshe Konka: 6,540m: early explorers referred toJiazi as Djaze Gonkar, Rudshe Konka, or in the case of Josef Rock, RiucheKonka, and it would seem that to avoid confusion it might be best to refer toPt 5,928m as Tshiburongi).

Bohin and Trividic approached Riuchi Gongga from the Riuchi Glacier to thesouth west, climbing 400m of 50 up to a col on the South East Ridge, wherethey bivouacked. The next day they climbed the crest above, which wasgenerally 50-60 and often narrow. The climbing was mixed, with snow andice gullies up to 70-80 and rock to UIAA IV+. The overall grade was D.

The weather became colder and more stable during the second half of theexpedition, allowing all three climbers to attempt their main goal, a new route

A 360 panorama from the top of the South West Buttress of Pt 6,134m. (A) The summit ridge of Pt 6,134m. (B) Grosvenor (6,376m). (C) Jiazi (6,540m). The route of the first ascent in 1982 byAmericans reached the 5,700m Grosvenor-Jiazi col from the far side, then climbed the South (left skyline) Ridge . (D) Nannemgoungou (aka Nan Men Guen) Valley. In the far distance is thesnow-capped peak of Lamo-She (6,070m). (E) The North West Face of Edgar (6,618m). The route of the first ascent by Koreans in 2001 took the right skyline ridge. (F) Yangzigou Valley. (G)Zhong Shan (aka Sun-Yat-Sen: 6,886m). The second highest peak in the Minya Konka Range was climbed in 1981 by Swiss via the East Ridge. (H) Minya Konka (7,556m). The first ascentwas made in 1932 by Americans via the North West (right skyline) Ridge. (I) Daddomain (6,380m). The first ascent was made in 2004 by New Zealanders via the West Ridge. (J) Pt 5,962m(unclimbed). (K) Dogonomba (5,960m: unclimbed). ALEXANDER RUCHKIN STITCHED BY PEDRO DETJEN

Looking across the West Face of Jiazi (6,540m) from the South East Ridge of RiucheGongga. (1) The top section of the North East Ridge attempted in 1981 to 6,200m. (2)The North West Ridge attempted in 1981 to 6,100m. (3) The approximate line climbedin 1982 with eight bivouacs by Dave Stutzman and Jim Williams. They reached thesummit ridge but were unable to continue to the top. PASCAL TRIVIDIC

Sbastien Bohin on the South East Ridge of Riuchi Gongga (5,928m) during the firstascent. PASCAL TRIVIDIC

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on the West Face of Jiazi. After climbing 600m upa snow couloir towards the right side of the face,they bivouacked at c5,400m. Spindrift and rockfallproved troublesome during the night, and the nextmorning was no better, with cold winds and strongspindrift. They decided to retreat. Later, Moatti andTrividic explored the Tshiburongi Glacier north eastof Riuchi Gongga and climbed a granite ridge toan unnamed 5,200m rocky top.

The one and only ascent of Jiazi took place inthe autumn of 1982, when Americans Pat Callis,John Markel and Richard Nolting reached thesummit via the South Ridge. Dave Stutzman andJim Williams from the same expedition made analpine style ascent of a series of couloirs on the leftside of the West Face, reaching the summit ridgeafter eight bivouacs. A cornice collapse and adropped sack stopped them continuing along thecrest to the highest point, and they made adescent of the East Face in search of the sack.From the bottom, they headed north west,crossed a col on Jiazi's North East Ridge anddescended the Tshiburongi Glacier to base camp,so completing a remarkable round trip.

Pt 6,134mFirst to arrive in the Minya Konka Range during2009 were the accomplished Russian climbers,Mikhail Mikhailov and Alexander Ruchkin. The twoplanned to be in the area by mid-March, but weretold at the last minute that the Chinese hadcancelled their permit because of the 50thanniversary celebrations in Tibet. Fortunately, amonth later China reopened its doors and the twoflew to Chengdu. Their original goal was theimpressive South East Face of E-Gongga (Mt.Edgar, 6,618m), a large, steep, mixed granite wall,not dissimilar to the headwall on the North FaceDirect of Jannu, which Ruchkin had successfullyclimbed in 2004 (Mikhailov was also on thisexpedition but did not summit). However, they alsothought the peak was virgin, unaware of theKorean ascent in 2001.

After reaching Moxi to the east of the range byroad, and noting that the village was rapidly beingtransformed into a tourist resort, they travelled onlythree hours with horses up the Yangzigou, and onthe 22nd April reached an altitude of 3,150m.


The 1,600m West Face of Jiazi (6,540m). (1) North West Ridge, attempted in 1981 by a British Army expedition thatreached 6,100m. (2) West Face Couloir, climbed to the summit ridge in 1982 by Americans Stutzman and Williams. Acornice collapse and dropped sac forced them to abandon the summit and descend the East Face. (3) The 2008French attempt. Their high point was the bivouac at 5,400m, reached after 600m of climbing. (4) South Ridge followedby the 1982 American team to make the first and only ascent of the mountain. PASCAL TRIVIDIC

The granite ridge on the north side of the Tshiburongi Glacier,showing Pt 5,200m and route of the 2008 French ascent. Themain (pointed) summit remains unclimbed. PASCAL TRIVIDIC

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"Base Camp is here", said the horsemen, and, as they left, pointed vaguely tothe north and said, "and your mountain is somewhere up there". Locals alsotold them Koreans had climbed it some years ago.

The two Russians spent the next few days exploring in the mist and rain,examining the gorge that led towards the foot of the South East Face, whichremained invisible. With the weather still poor, they decided to go for a four-day acclimatization trip up valley, and it was during this time, through a briefclearing in the cloud, they saw the beautiful rock wall on the south side of Pt6,134m. This unclimbed summit lies north west of Edgar, close to Grosvenor(6,367m and first climbed in 2003 by Julie-Ann Clyma and Roger Payne).Deciding to waste no more time with a face on Edgar they had yet to see, andnow knowing there was a possibility that the mountain had already beenclimbed, they turned to Pt 6,134m, where the South West Buttress was steepenough to shrug off fresh snow.

Leaving base camp on the 4th May, they set up camp at 4,200m and overthe next three days' bad weather marked a route to the base of the wall. Onthe 8th they started up the lower spur and over three days climbed it in c13pitches, often on icy rock (generally 70-75). This section was climbed freeexcept for about five metres of aid, and led to the headwall, a rounded pillardividing the South East and South West Faces. After climbing a couple ofpitches on the headwall during the afternoon of the 10th, they completed theremaining nine from the 11th-13th. Despite the steepness (estimated 85-95),

the pair managed to climb mostly free, using rock shoes, at difficulties up to6b-6c. In fact more than 90% of the route was completed free, the restrequiring aid in short sections up to A2. They took no bolts but used a fullassortment of gear from copperheads up to large cams. The rock was notperfect and, indeed, parts of the climb involved delicate moves around largedetached flakes. The pair used a small tent (no portaledge), though on twonights they only had room for sitting bivouacs.

From the top of the buttress Mikhailov and Ruchkin traversed the ridge tothe North West Top, from where they planned to start the descent, but in zerovisibility were forced to pitch the tent. Next morning they descended thesnowy South West Face directly in 20 rappels to the glacier: again, badweather forced them to spend the night in the valley before reaching base. Onthe 15th they arrived back in camp after an absence of 12 days, to be greetedby a much-relieved Chinese cook and interpreter. The 1,100m route (1,250mof climbing) has been named Carte Blanche and despite a number of strongcontenders (such as Gorelik and Sokolov's daring new route on the NorthWest Face of Pik Pobeda), Mikhailov and Ruchkin were awarded the RussianPiolet d'Or in December 2009 for this ascent.

Looking south from Pt 5,200m above the Tshiburongi Glacier. (A) Edgar (6,618m). (B) Jiazi (6,540m). The North Face is bounded on the left by the North East Ridge attempted (with fixedroped) in 1981 to 6,200m, and on the right by the North West Ridge attempted (with fixed rope in 1981 to 6,100m. The col at the base of the North East Ridge maybe the one crossed bythe Americans after their descent of the East Face in 1982. (C) Grosvenor (6,376m). (D) Riuche Gongga (5,928m). PASCAL TRIVIDIC


The South West Face of Pt 6,134m above the upper Yangzigou Valley. The red line, withbivouac sites indicated, marks Carte Blanche (1,100m: 6b/6c and A2) climbed in 2009by Russians Mikhailov and Ruchkin. The green line shows their descent route.ALEXANDER RUCHKIN

Alexander Ruchkin (left) and Mikhail Mikhailov during their first ascent of Carte Blancheon the South West Buttress of Pt 6,134m, Minya Konka Range. ALEXANDER RUCHKIN

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E-GonggaThe third team to arrive in the area during the spring included the well-knownAmerican climbers Jonny Copp and Micah Dash. As reported in SEPTEMBER2009 News (Top American climbers killed in Sichuan), they sadly met withdisaster. Like the Russians, the two planned to attempt the South East Faceof E-Gongga (6,618m), and with filmmaker Wade Johnson, who was toremain at advanced base, left base camp on the 20th May to ascend thedeep gorge leading to the foot of the face. When they hadn't appeared fortheir return flights, the alert was sounded: subsequently Chinese alpinistsstarted a search during the first week of June. They soon found a body, whichwas positively identified a day or so later, on the 7th, as Copp. Johnson'sbody was found on the 8th. A huge avalanche in the gorge had caught thembefore reaching the face. The body of Dash has so far not been discovered.

Thirty-two-year old Dash was an impressive rock climber who climbedextensively in Yosemite, where he made free ascents of the Regular Route onthe North West Face of Half Dome and Freerider on El Capitan. He made firstfree ascents and new routes in the Tasermiut Fjord of South Greenland, a newroute on Cat's Ears Spire in the Karakoram, and the first ascent of the ShafatFortress in India.

Copp, who was three years older, had climbed extensively, makingimportant new routes in America (eg the Black Canyon of the Gunnison andAlaska) and Canada (eg the Bugaboo). In addition hed climbed many newlines in the Paine and Fitz Roy regions of Patagonia, several in the Karakoram(including the second ascent of the US grade VII Inshallah on Shipton Spire),and various attempts and ascents in India, including the Shafat Fortress withDash. Copp was also an Ambassador for Patagonia, and founder ofBoulder's Adventure Film Festival.

The E in E-Gongga stands for Edgar, by which this summit is morecommonly known. Huston Edgar was a New Zealand missionary andarchaeologist with the China Inland Mission. He visited this area in 1911 withthe British explorer FM Bailey, and was an important developer of thehistorical and topographical knowledge of the region.

The mountain was reconnoitred in 1981 by the British Army (see above),and then attempted the following year by Stuart Hepburn's British team,which tried both the West and South faces, before bad weather and poorsnow conditions forced them down. It was climbed, though went unreportedin the West, by a Korean team in 2001.

The Koreans came from Mokpo University Alpine Club and had attemptedthe highest mountain in the range, Minya Konka (aka Gongga Shan: 7,556m),in 1996, 1998 and 2000. Led by Kim Jae-myung, who made the first ascentof Minya Konka's North East Ridge in 1998, the University team returned in2001 and climbed Edgar by a predominately snow/ice spur on the West Face.Three camps were established, the highest at 5,900m, before the summitparty was able to cross a foresummit to reach the corniced main top. In 2004an approach from the north was inspected by a British expedition, which waseventually barred from reaching the North Face by a dangerous serac barrier.

Nyambo KonkaThe second team to arrive in spring had a permit to climb Nyambo Konka, avirgin 6,114m peak to the south of Minya Konka that one of the members,American Mark Jenkins, had investigated from the east a few years previous.This peak is not easily seen from most directions. Unfortunately, during theapproach in April, Lydia Bradey, Kenny Gasch, Penny Goddard (all from NewZealand) and Jenkins had disagreements with their liaison officer Chen ZhengLin from the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture MountaineeringAssociation (the team was also required have an additional, Tibetan, LO, afact they were only told once in the country). The team hoped to place basecamp towards the head of the Bawang Valley below the East Face, but theLO stopped just two hours into the valley at a Tibetan camp and couldn't bepersuaded to go higher, nor find porters. In fact he made the trip almostimpossible, but after two weeks (the last in April and first in May) of ferryingloads and making two camps in the valley, a third in the cirque below the EastFace and a fourth on the face itself, the four mountaineers were able to climbvia a line of snowy rotten rock to the crest of the North East Ridge, some

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Looking north across the Yangzigou Valley from the slopes of Minya Konka. (A) Jiazi(6,540m), (B) Pt 6,134m, (C) Pt 6,130m, (D) Pt 6,130m and (E) E-Gongga (6,618m). The2009 Russian route Carte Blanche climbs the steep rock buttress of Pt 6,134m, whilethe 2001 Korean first ascent of E-Gongga followed the upper section of the West (leftskyline) Ridge, the lower part being obscured by the snow-covered rocky ridge inmiddle distance. KOREAN ALPINE FEDERATION COLLECTION, SUPPLIED BY CHRISTINE PAE

An oil painting of the view looking more or less north from the summit of 7,556m MinyaKonka. Compare this with the accompanying Korean photo from the slopes of MinyaKonka. (A) Grosvenor (6,376m: first ascent in 2003 was via the North West Face to gainthe South West Ridge - the left skyline). (B) Pt 6,206m (unclimbed). (C) Pt 5,603m (N3036'15", E 10154'03"). (D) Jiazi (6,540m: first ascent in 1982 gained the snowySouth Ridge, facing the camera, via the West Face to the left). (E) Pt 6,134m (climbedby Russians in 2009 via the South West Buttress. (F) Lotus Flower Mountain 5,704m (N3016'07", E 10157'48"). (G) Pt 6,130m (unclimbed). (H) Pt 6,130m (unclimbed). (I)Edgar (6,618m: climbed in 2001 by a Korean team which followed the snowy WestRidge falling towards Pt 6,130m). (J) Part of the Lamo-She Massif. THE PHOTO OF THISPAINTING BY Y TANAKA WAS SUPPLIED BY TAMOTSU NAKAMURA

Looking north east from the vicinity of the 4,700m Zimei Pass. (A) Langge Manyin(6,074m). (B) Pt 5,946m. (C) Pt 6,394m. (D) Minya Konka (7,556m). (E) Pt 6,046m. (F)Nyambo Konka (6,114m). (1) North West Ridge climbed on the first ascent in 1932 byBurdsall and Moore. PEDRO DETJEN


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distance from the summit. At this point they foundthe way ahead dangerous and heavily corniced.Retreating, they were caught in two consecutivesnow storms, the first dumping 30cm while theywere on the face, forcing them to descendthrough the night to avoid being swept off byavalanche, and the second, while they were in thecirque, dumping 60cm, and again forcing a night-time descent. They advise future parties to steerwell clear of their LO, and recommend climbing invery late autumn (November), or possibly veryearly in the spring, for better conditions.Ren Zhong FengIn 2008 the intrepid Japanese explorer TomNakamura travelled to the Daxue Shan to inspectan unnamed and unclimbed 6,079m peak southof the Minya Konka Range at N 2918' E 10125'.No photographs had ever been taken of this peak,one of the few remaining unclimbed 6,000ers in

Sichuan. Nakamura enjoyed good weather (asnormal with his travels), was able to take photosfrom the south and north east, and proposed thepeak be named Ren Zhong Feng, as it lies in thevalley north of Ren Zhong Lake.

Nakamura's pictures were widely published andthe lure of this unknown and unclimbed 6,000erappealed to two parties, who made plans for theautumn of 2009. First to arrive were theHungarians Peter Csizmadia (37), VeronikaMikolovits (35), Balazs Pechtol (31) and KatalinTolnay (36), who set up base camp at 3,100m inthe relatively narrow Gangou Valley to the east ofthe mountain. All four left this site on the 17thOctober and established an advanced basefurther up valley at 3,900m. After that, no morewas heard of them, and they failed to return tobase on their scheduled date of the 31st. Theliaison officer reported them missing and a five-

man search and rescue team was launched.According to a representative from the SichuanMountaineering Association, the rescuers reachedan altitude of 4,400m in the valley, saw no trace ofthe climbers but much evidence of large ice falland avalanche activity. Later, a helicopter searchalso proved fruitless. This brought the total ofclimbers killed in the mountains of Sichuan to 11during 2008 (the three Americans on Edgar, thefour Hungarians, and in the Siguniang Massif twoRussians on Camel Peak and two Chinese).

Three alpinists from Denmark also had a permitfor Ren Zhong Feng but knew nothing about theHungarians until two weeks before departure forChina. Then one week before departure CarstenCooper-Jensen, Martin Ploug and Kristoffer Szilasheard that the Hungarians were overdue and thaton the 22nd October, the date of last contact asseen on their website, a large ice avalanche hadswept the upper Gangou.

The Danes also set up base camp in the samespot and an advanced camp at 4,500m. They tootook part in the search but felt the area above5,000m, in which the Hungarians were presumedto have disappeared, was extremely exposed toserac fall.

The Danes decided to climb the mountain viathe East Face to North Ridge alpine style.Because they were not able to acclimatize abovetheir advanced camp, Cooper-Jensen decided towait in order not to slow down the team. Plougand Szilas stayed on the right side of the valleyand then climbed a gully line on the East Face wellright of the summit. They made their first bivouacat 5,200m and then stayed there all next day toacclimatize. They then climbed to a secondbivouac at 5,500m, and on the following daybivouacked at 5,675m on the crest of the NorthRidge, one-and-a-half kilometres from the top ofthe peak. Summit day, the 25th November, waslong, with many false tops, though with relativelylittle altitude gain. Bad weather and bullet-proof iceon the ridge made for a tiring ascent and the pair


Martin Ploug leads a final ice wallon the East Face to gain the crestof the North Ridge of Ren ZhongFeng. KRISTOFFER SZILAS

Minya Konka Massif drawn by T Nakamura and Y T akeuchi


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only reached the summit at 5.30pm. On the wayback Ploug slipped while trying to place an icescrew and fell 30m down the c1,000m West Face.Szilas made the classic 'jump' down the otherside of the crest and held him. A bruised Ploug,assisted by a large quantity of pain killers,managed to continue down to the top bivouac,which the pair reached 18 hours after leaving.They rested here on the 26th and descended tobase camp on the 27th. The 1,300m route wasgraded TD WI 4 and M4, with most technicaldifficulties met on the East Face.

According to their altimeters and GPS readingson the summit, the height was c5,800m, wellbelow the official 6,079m. Pedro Detjen fromGermany, who has visited and published books onthe area, has checked satellite data; unprocessedSRTM and new processed ASTER data. SRTMhas no reading for the summit, but the highestpoint on the mountain that can be measured is5,876m. ASTER data, which in theory should bemore accurate, gives a peak height of 5,966m,though Detjen admits that the measurement ofhigh peaks still seems to present a challenge.

The Danes paid the Sichuan MountaineeringAssociation a peak fee for a virgin 6,000er: asexpected, they couldn't convince the SMA to givethem a refund when they said the height wasmore like 5,820m. They used the highlyrecommended Sichuan Earth Expeditions (as doesNakamura) for all their arrangements.

TIBET 2008Our brief report on activities in Tibet during 2008begins by clearing up confusion with regard toestablished lines on the North Side ofXixabangma, the lowest of the 14, 8,000m peaks

Xixabangma - Northern ascentsOver the years a number of different routes andvariants has been used to reach the Main Summit(8,027m) of Xixabangma from the north. In morerecent years climbers have become confusedabout the origins of which variant they have taken.The vast majority of 'ascensionists' follow theNorth Ridge throughout, terminating their ascenton the Central Summit (8,008m): those reachingthe true summit will have either continued alongthe connecting ridge, or traversed left across theNorth Face from some point on the North Ridge.

There has been much misinterpretation of theseestablished lines, both in publications and onwebsites, so a chronology of the various routesand variants follows, with route lines marked onthe accompanying photograph.

Chinese San Chen, Chang Chen-yen, Doji,Sodnam Doji, Wang Fu-zhou (first ascent of theNorth Ridge of Everest in 1960), Ching Hsu,Cheng Tien-liang, Migmar Trashi, Wu Tsung-yueand Yonten reached the summit on the 2nd May1964 for the first ascent. They were part of anexpedition of over 200 climbers and establishedseven camps on the mountain, the highest at7,700m on the North Ridge. Leaving this camp onthe summit day, they slanted left across the NorthFace to hit the ridge between the Central and

Main summits, and then followed the crest to thehighest point. The mountain was opened toforeign climbers in 1980 and that year, on the thirdascent of the mountain (the second, by Germans,having repeated the Chinese Route), AustriansEgon Obojes and Ewald Putz left the ridge at a farlower altitude. From approximately the point whereCamp 3 is now generally established (7,440m), thepair made a rising traverse across the North Faceto gain the start of a vague rib. Turning this on theleft, they climbed the slopes of the North East

Face to reach the crest of the East Ridge atc7,950m, then turned right and followed the ridgea short distance back to the summit. The datewas the 13th October.

On the 28th May 1981 Reinhold Messner andGottfried Mutschlechner left the North Ridge at ahigher point than the Chinese and traversed to theWest Ridge, reaching the crest at much the samepoint as the Chinese. The pair made the top in along day from a bivouac at around 6,800m. Thisand the Chinese traverse avoid the initial section of


The North West Face of Ren Zhong Feng. Marked is the route taken by the first ascensionists, who climbed the hiddenEast Face above the Gangou Valley to the crest of the North Ridge. From the point where the route joins the ridge, it isstill 1,500m in length to the summit. PEDRO DETJEN

Looking south west up the Gangou Valley in 2008. The upper valley is clearly threatened by large ice cliffs and it washere that four Hungarians went missing, presumed buried by a large avalanche. From the col in the centre of thepicture, the ridge rising to the right leads to the summit of Ren Zhong Feng, although the main top may not be visible inthis photograph. The Danish first ascensionists climbed the East Face in a hidden gully system on the far side of thenear rocky spur. This led to the North Ridge (right skyline), which they followed for one-and-a-half kilometres to thesummit. TAMOTSU NAKAMURA


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Martin Ploug on the North Ridge of Ren Zhong Feng. KRISTOFFER SZILAS

Difficult mixed climbing over snow covered granite atc5,100m on the East Face of Ren Zhong Feng.KRISTOFFER SZILAS

(M) Main Summit (8,027m). (C) Central Summit (8,008m). (W) West Summit (7,966m). (C3) The normal site for Camp 3 at7,440m on the crest of the North Ridge. (1) Russian, 2002. (2) Ochoa 2006. (3) Austrians 1980. (4) Chinese 1964. (5)Messner-Mutschlechner 1981. (6) Ecuador-Mexico-Poland 1987. (7) Esprit d'Equipe Couloir 1990 (stopped on CentralSummit). (8) Central Couloir 1987. (9) West Ridge 1987.


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the connecting ridge between the Central andMain Summits, which is sharp and often corniced:the latter half leading to the highest point isgenerally broader and more amenable.

On the 10th October 1982, Japanese MakatoHara, Hiro Komamiya and Hirofumi Konishi madethe first ascent of the 8,008m Central Summit byclimbing the North Ridge integrally. It appears theymost likely believed they were on the highest pointand did not continue along the connecting ridge tothe main top.

On the 18th September 1987, Artur Hajzer andJerzy Kukuczka made the first ascent of the WestRidge, crossing the previously unclimbed 7,966mWest Summit, continuing over the Central andalong the connecting ridge to the Main Top. Thiscompleted Kukuczka's collection of all 14 of the8,000m peaks, which except for Lhotse heclimbed either by new routes or in winter. Thesame day Elsa Avila and Carlos Carsolio fromMexico, Ramiro Navarette from Ecuador, WandaRutkiewicz and Ryszard Warecki from Poland, allclimbed the North Ridge to the Central Summit,and then continued along the connecting WestRidge to the Main. One day later Alan Hinkes andSteve Untch climbed a new route up the NorthWest Face, following the Central Couloir to reachthe Central Summit, then continuing along theWest Ridge to the highest point.

Although two more new lines were added to thenorthern flanks, the Esprit d'Equipe Couloir on theNorth West Face directly below the CentralSummit in 1990 by Benoit Chamoux, Yves Detry,Alan Hinkes, Josef Rakoncaj, Mauro Rossi, Pierre

Royer and Frdric Valet, and a couloir on theright side of the North West Face in 1994 by Jean-Christophe Lafaille, none of these climberscontinued to the Main top.

In 2002 Russians Sergei Bogomolov andVladimir Oleynik left the site of Camp 3 on thecrest of the North Ridge and made a long, quasi-horizontal traverse across the North Face, not farabove the traverse line used in 1981 by NewZealanders to make the first and only ascent ofthe 7,703m satellite peak of Phola Gangchen. Thetwo Russians climbed slopes well left of theAustrian line, and came back along the East Ridgeto the Main Top. The date was the 24th May. Twoyears later, on the 3rd October 2006, Iaki Ochoade Olza followed the initial section of the Russiantraverse and then cut straight up to join theAustrian Route at the vague rib, so creating aminor variant to the 1980 line. He climbed slopesup to 60 before reaching the summit ridge.

Of minor interest is a chronology of completeski descents from the Main Summit. The first tookplace on the 10th May 1985 when AustriansOswald Gassler and possibly also Peter Wrgtterdescended more or less on the line of the ChineseRoute. On the 20th May 1987 New ZealandersMike Perry and Mark Whetu skied from thesummit having ascended via the Chinese Route,while in the autumn of the same year Kukuczka,after his first ascent of the West Ridge,bivouacked on the summit and made his descentby ski. Georgio Daidola and Didier Givos made thefirst Nordic ski descent on the 6th September1988, while on the 4th October 2005 Nicolas Brun

and Jean Nol Urban made the first ski descent ofthe South West Face, along the line of the Original1982 British Route. For more information onascents of Xixabangma, and accurate, up-to-datehistory of all 14 of the 8,000m peaks, visitEberhard Jurgalski's website, www.8000ers.com

Tibetan Plateau Various AscentsThe following climbs were made during 2007 and2008. All are first known ascents, and Kangzhagri,Kukushili, Pulha Ri, Purog Kangri and Toze KangriNorth East have a prominence of more than1,000m. Names of the ascensionists are withheldand coordinates, approach, ascent routes andtype of terrain are only briefly detailed: the mainpurpose of this report is simply to inform futureparties that these remote peaks have beenclimbed. Other, unsuccessful, attempts on peakssuch as Qierlizuoke Feng, Sirengou and GuozhaKangri are not detailed. With regard to the peaksin the Changtang, the number of unsupporteddays on the approach specifies the time spent in awilderness situation beyond the last point ofcivilization.

Starting in the east Tibet Autonomous Region,Toze Kangri South West (official height 6,356m:GPS 6366m: N 3444'20", E 8219'51") wasclimbed via the North North West Ridge (glacierand snow to 35) after a one-week approach onfoot and mountain bike (German-Swedish party,4th October 2007). Toze Kangri North East(official height 6,356m: GPS 6,369mm: N3446'32", E 8221'52") was climbed by the West

The North Side of Xixabangma (8,027m) seen from the approach on the Normal Route up the Xixabangma Glacier. The route bends left and ascends a hidden glacier behind the highforeground mountains to reach a col on the North Ridge, where nowadays a final camp is generally established at c7,400m. The expanded photo of the top section of the face showsthe many different lines used to reach the Main Summit. RALF DUJMOVITS


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Face over glacier and snow to 35, two days lateron the 6th October (Swedish, solo). Toze Pyramid(GPS 6,329m: N 3441'44", E 8212'56") wasagain climbed by a Swede, solo, on the 8thOctober via the East Face and rock pillar (snowand ice to 45 and a vertical rock section) after atotal approach of nine days on foot and bike.

On the high Changtang Tibetan Plateau,Kukushili (aka Songzhi Ling, official height6,360m: GPS 6,388m: N 3539'48", E 8537'03")was climbed by the South Face (snow to 55-60)on the 28th June 2008 by a Canadian-Danish-Swedish party, after 36 days unsupportedapproach on foot and bike. Purog Kangri (akaPurog/Zangser massif: official height 6,436m: GPS6,438m, N 3425'00", E 8538'03") was climbedby the same party on the 9th July 2008 via theSouth Ridge/Face (snow to 35) after a 47-dayunsupported approach on foot and bike, whileKangzhagri (aka Kung Oscars Fjall: official height6,305m: GPS 6,323m, N 3533'25", E 8934'40")fell one year earlier to a Canadian-Swedish partyon the 26th June 2007. They climbed the WestSouth West Face (glacier and snow to 45)following 27 days of unsupported approach onfoot and bike.

In south Central Tibet, north of the Himalaya,and approached via the Friendship Highway,Jietanzhouma (official height 6,008m/6,052m:GPS 6,028m: N 2851'40", E 9008'10"), just

south of the Gyantse road and the Noijin Kangsangmassif, was climbed on the 12th March 2008 by aSwede, solo, via the East Couloir (snow/ice to 50)after a two-day approach on foot. Pulha Ri (akaMaphu Kangri, official height 6,404m: GPS6,424m: N 2858'06", E 8716'39") lies betweenTingri and Lhaze and is not far from Lhagoi Kangrijust east of the road. It was climbed via the SouthEast Ridge (snow/ice to 45) by the same Swede,solo, on the 6th April 2008 after a three-dayapproach on foot involving, at one point, a verticalicefall.

And for completeness we add to this list twomore peaks in Xinjiang, just to the east of the TibetAutonomous Region. Sirenshou (no height given:N 3549'33", E 7913'42") was climbed on the 2ndSeptember 2007 by an American-Swedish party viathe North Ridge (glacier, snow and scree to 30)after a three-day approach on foot. Jiao Feng (akaQierlizuoke South, no height given: N 3558'09", E7926'33") was climbed a week later on the 9thSeptember by the same American-Swedish partyvia the North West Ridge (snow to 55-60). Theymade a two-day approach on foot. Both peaks lieclose to the Mazar-Ali Shiquane road and have noheights on the official Chinese map.

Mayer Kangri MassifIn October Grzegorz Chowla from Poland madethe first ascent of Mayer Kangri I East (6,035m) in

the remote and previously unclimbed Mayer KangriMassif on the Chang Tang Plateau. He climbed viathe East Ridge and was accompanied as far as5,865m by Janusz Majer. A highly notedmountaineer and expedition organizer from the1980s, Mayer led trips to Broad Peak, LhotseSouth Face, Annapurna South Face andXixabangma, climbing most often with the likes ofJerzy Kukuczka and Krysztof Wielicki.

Travelling from Lhasa in two Toyota LandCruisers, the two Poles first tried to reach thevillage of Nyima via Shigatse and the Kiku La(5,120m, N 3014.941', E 8918.340') but werestopped on this pass by Chinese police, who toldthem the way ahead was closed to foreigners.They returned to Lhasa and a few days later took adifferent route, via the Lhasa-Golmud highway toNakchu and then west past Baingoin and SerlingTso (lake). On 1st October they crossed a 4,900mpass to reach the last inhabitation, the village ofRongma. After crossing a second pass they tookone of the vehicles and went to look for a suitablebase camp, which they found at 5,057m (N3324.776', E 8648.760') on the south east flanksof the Mayer Kangri Range. The highest peak isMayer Kangri I (6,266m) and the pair firstreconnoitred a route to the summit from a point at5,700m on the hills to the south. On the 5th theEast Ridge was ascended easily as far as MayerKangri I East and on the 6th the pair drove withnomads on motorbikes to look at the range fromthe north east.

Immediately south east of Mayer Kangri, acrossthe Kyarub Tsangpo, stands the Jomo Ri Massif.Four summits here are over 6,000m, with thehighest, Jomo I, indicated as 6,015m on theRussian map. On the 7th the pair made a triptowards these mountains to make a photographicsurvey. After their return home, the notedcartographer, Jerzy Wala, producedcomprehensive sketch maps to both ranges.

The Mayer Kangri and Jomo Ri rangesremained more or less unexplored before thePolish visit, though in 2008 Juntao Jiang fromChina made a cycle trip in the Jomo Ri region andpublished photos on Picasa web. No climbing hasever taken place in this area before 2008. MayerKangri I is referred to as Bonvalet Peak on Russianmaps and in Sven Hedin's 1909 book Trans-Himalaya, as the first foreign traveller to see itduring his travels on the Chang Tang in 1889-90was the Frenchman Gabriel Bonvalet (he also sawPurog Kangri, 300km to the east north east, whichhe named the Dupleix Mountains and estimatedthe height to be around 8,000m: in fact it is6,482m on the Chinese map and 6,435m on theRussian - this is a different Purog Kangri than theone close to Zangser Kangri noted above).Although expensive to reach, the Mayer Kangriand Jomo Ri groups hold much potential for firstascents of non technical 6,000m peaks.

INFO: Pedro Detjen/Mark Jenkins/EberhardJurgalski/Janusz Majer/Sbastien Moatti/TomNakamura/Kristoffer Szilas and the referencesources of the American Alpine Journal andJapanese Alpine News.

The highest peaks of Mayer Kangri Massif from the east. (A) Mayer Kangri IV (6,120m). (B) Mayer Kangri I (6,286m). (C)Peak 6,200m. (D) Peak c5,900m. (E) Mayer Kangri I East (6,065m). First ascent route, climbed in 2008 by GrzegorzChowla, is marked. (F) Mayer Kangri II South (6,165m). (G) Mayer Kangri II North (6,120m). JANUSZ MAJER

The highest peaks of the unclimbed Jomo Ri Massif. (A) Peak 5,600m. (B) Peak 5,800m. (C) Peak 5,480m. (D) Jomo RiIII (6,000m). (E) Jomo Ri II (6,010m). (F) Peak c5,900m. (G) Jomo Ri (6,015m). (H) Peak 5,800m). (KT) Kyarub Tsangpo.GRZEGORZ CHOWLA



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