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RECENTLY WE’VE HAD A SPATE OF ENQUIRIES ABOUT MUZTAGH ATA, JOINING TEAMS, GETTING PERMITS AND ARRANGING TRIPS. WE THOUGHT THIS WAS ODD, AS PREVIOUSLY WE WOULD SEE ABOUT ONE ENQUIRY A YEAR, SO WE LOOKED INTO WHAT’S GOING ON.

TO BE CLEAR – WE DO NOT RUN TRIPS TO MUZTAGH ATA, NOT BECAUSE WE CAN’T BUT BECAUSE WE CHOOSE NOT TO. DECADES AGO THE PEAK BECAME KNOWN AS AN EASY 7500m ASCENT CLOSE TO THE KARAKORAM HIGHWAY, AND WAS LEAP UPON BY THE SORT OF COMMERCIAL VULTURES WE DISDAIN. IT HAS BEEN A SERIES OF PROBLEMS AFTER ANOTHER, NONE OF WHICH INTERESTS US, AND ONLY COMPOUNDED BY ITS REPUTATION FOR BEING EASY. NOTHING CAN BE OFFERED THAT WILL GET US INVOLVED WITH ALL THAT, AND THOUGH WE APPRECIATE AND UNDERSTAND ENQUIRIES, OUR RESPONSE WILL NO.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS THAT A FOREIGN TEAM HAS BEEN FOUND CLIMBING ILLEGALLY, HOODWINKED BY A FALSE COMPANY THAT DIDN’T GET THE PERMITS. WHO THE CLIMBERS ARE, WHAT COMPANY IT IS AND WHERE THEY COME FROM IS NOT FOR US TO REPEAT, BUT THIS SORT OF THING IS NOT NEW ANYWHERE WITH HIGH MOUNTAINS, BUT WHERE SOME PLACES MIGHT EXPLAIN IT ALL AWAY WITH SOME BAKSHEESH AND JOHNNY WALKER, CHINA DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY.

THE RESULT IS THAT NO COMPANIES CAN NOW RUN TRIPS DIRECTLY, AND ALL CLIMBERS WHO WANT TO GO TO MUZTAGH ATA MUST APPLY DIRECT TO THE CHINA MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION THEMSELVES. THE STATUS OF TRIPS ALREADY BOOKED WE DON’T KNOW, NOR THE DETAILS OF WHO TO CONTACT AT THE CMA. FOLLOWING OUR PROTOCOL OF NOT COMMENTING OR ADVISING ON TRIPS WE DO NOT RUN, THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO BEYOND PROVIDING THE INFORMATION YOU SEE HERE. GOOD LUCK.

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NOTE THAT NONE OF THIS AFFECTS FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS TRIPS AND INDEED AFFECTS NO OTHER PEAKS IN CHINA. WE ARE IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH THE XINJIANG, SICHUAN AND CHINA MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATIONS AS WE SPIRAL IN ON OUR EXPEDITIONS IN A FEW WEEKS TIME. WE HAVE DECADES OF TRUST AND ENGAGEMENT THAT WE WOULD NEVER LET NEAR FLY-BY-NIGHT OPERATORS, AND RUN EVERYTHING THROUGH THE HEADS OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS WHICH MEANS SERIOUS BUREAUCRATIC OVERSIGHT. WE DON’T DENY THAT PIRATE ASCENTS HAVE HAD THEIR PLACE IN MAVERICK ALPINISM, BUT ONLY THE GREEDY AND STUPID WOULD TRY AND PULL THAT OFF SOMEWHERE AS TOURIST-RIDDEN AS MUZTAGH ATA.

WE WILL LEAVE IT AT THAT. ALL REAL ENQUIRIES FOR ANY PEAK IN CHINA OTHER THAN MUZTAGH ATA HAPPILY RECEIVED.

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