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AFTER YEARS OF ASKING, FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED TO HAVE ACCESS AND PERMISSION TO CLIMB IN THE NORTH WESTERN CHANGTANG. THIS INCLUDES ALL PEAKS WITHIN THE XINJIANG PART OF THE CHANGTANG AREA, INCLUDING THE REMOTEST HIGH ALTITUDE PEAKS ON EARTH – ULAGH MUZTAGH, BUKADABAN FENG AND THE UNNAMED MASSIFS AROUND THEM.
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IN LATE 2024 WE CROSSED THE NORTHERN CHANGTANG ON THE WAY BACK FROM AKSAI CHIN, THE KUNLUN AND THE KARAKORAM. THIS LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR DISCUSSIONS WITH THE XINJIANG AUTHORITIES, THAT BASED ON OUR INTERACTIONS IN THOSE AREAS, HAS NOW GIVEN US UNPARALLELD ACCESS TO ALL OF XINJIANG. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY THESE AREAS ARE SO OPEN, NOT NEEDING LARGE SCALE GOVERNMENT LIAISON NOR ‘ALTERNATIVE’ METHODS. IN TANGILBE TERMS, IT IS THE OPENING UP OF THE LARGEST AREA OF HIGH ALTITUDE TERRAIN TO CLIMBERS IN CLIMBING HISTORY, NEARLY ALL OF IT UNDOCUMENTED.
FOR THE SAKE OF DEFINITION, WE DIVIDE THE CHANGTANG INTO THREE PARTS, BASED ON ACCESS – THE XIZANG CHANGTANG, THE QINGHAI CHANGTANG AND THE XINJIANG CHANGTANG, EACH IN THEIR RESPECTIVE PROVINCES, EACH WITH DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHY, BUREAUCRACY AND CULTURES, AND OF WHICH ONLY THE XINJIANG CHANGTANG IS CURRENTLY OPEN. FOR FURTHER DEFINITION WE CONSIDER THE CHANGTANG TO BE THE AREA EAST OF THE CHONGTAGH MASSIF, WHERE THE KUNLUN RANGE DIFFUSES FROM A DISTINCT RANGE INTO DISPARATE MASSIFS AND SUBRANGES, AND WHERE MOST WATER IS IN ENDOHEIC LAKES RATHER THAN RIVERS.
THIS IS AN AREA ABOUT THE SIZE OF GERMANY, THAT ASIDE FROM THE ALMOST 7000m PEAKS OF ULAGH AND BUKADABAN, HAS DOZENS OF PEAKS ABOVE OR AROUND 6000m. ACCESSED FROM THE NORTH, THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF THE TAKLAMAKAN DESERT, MEANS CROSSING THE KUNLUN RANGE THAT HAS HUNDREDS OF UNCLIMBED PEAKS, MAKING EXPEDITIONS HERE ON PAR WITH EXPEDITIONS A CENTURY AGO IN REGARDS TO BEING IN TRUE VIRGIN TERRAIN.
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SO WHAT’S THE PLAN?
THE CHANGTANG IS NO PLACE TO BE IN THE COLDEST MONTHS, SO THE SEASON WILL BE EARLY AUTUMN ie SEPTEMBER. AS THESE TRIPS ARE SELF-SUPPORTED BY DEFAULT, THEY ARE LIMITED TO WHAT A TEAM CAN CARRY, SO AROUND THREE WEEKS FOR THE CLIMBING AND ANOTHER WEEK OF TRAVEL.
PEAKS IN THE NORTHERN ‘KUNLUN’ AREA ARE STEEPER AND HAVE MORE TECHNICAL OPTIONS. PEAKS OUT IN THE ‘CENTRAL CHANGTANG’ LIKE ULAGH ARE MORE GLACIATED, HAVE LONGER RIDGES AND OFFER HIGHER BUT LESS TECHNICAL ROUTES. ALL CLIMBING IS EXPLORATORY, AS EVEN CLIMBED PEAKS HAVE ONLY ONE OR TWO ASCENTS – ALL OF THEM DECADES AGO – AND MANY OPTIONS EXIST FOR FIRST ASCENTS OF SECONDARY PEAKS IN THE HIGHEST MASSIFS. CONSIDERING THE SCOPE AND SCALE OF SUCH EXPEDITIONS, WE WOULD PLAN FOR MULTIPLE ASCENTS ON THE WAY TO A FINAL OBJECTIVE.
FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS HAS EXCEPTIONAL LOGISTICS FOR THIS AREA, DRAWING FROM A LARGE NETWORK OF LOCALS AND CURRENT INFORMATION FROM THE AUTHORITIES. ACCESS IS VIA TOWNS AND CITIES ALONG THE SOUTHERN SILK ROAD THAT ARE DEEPLY TRADITIONAL, AND WE WORK INTIMATELY WITH LOCAL ETHNIC GROUPS, ACROSS HALF A DOZEN LANGUAGES, AND HAVE ZERO INTERACTION WITH ANY TOURIST BUBBLE.
THOUGH THE GENERAL OVERVIEW IS STRAIGHTFORWARD, DETAILS ON THE GROUND INCLUDE A LOT OF UNKNOWNS, MAKING THIS SERIOUS EXPLORATION, NAVIGATING INTO AREAS BEYOND ROADS THAT REQUIRE FULL SELF-SUFFICIENCY. THIS IS A LEVEL OF EXPEDITION CLIMBING UNAVAILABLE ELSEWHERE, AND SUMMIT OBJECTIVES ARE ONLY ONE ASPECT OF WHAT ARE TOTAL EXPEDITIONS.
THE TERRAIN WILL BE UNLIKE ANY OTHER, THE PEOPLE UNIQUE, THE OBJECTIVES BEYOND ANYTHING THE COMMERCIAL CLIMBING INDUSTRY RECOGNIZES AND THE FOOD – AS ALWAYS – THE BEST YOU WILL HAVE ON AN EXPEDITION. BEYOND THE CHANGTANG, WE KNOW OF NOTHING HIGHER, REMOTER, LESS ENCROACHED UPON BY INDUSTRY AND MORE WILD AS WILDERNESS, AND LIKE ALL OUR TRIPS WE REVEL IN THESE ELEMENTS AND DO NOTHING TO ADULTERATE THEM.
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THE NATURE OF THESE EXPEDITIONS REQUIRES SIGNIFICANT ENGAGEMENT. THERE IS NO ‘CLICK TO BUY’ OPTION AND NO OFF-THE-RACK PERMITS, THESE TEAMS ARE REAL TEAMS, UNIQUE TO THEMSELVES.