WHO IS THIS FOR?

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DESPITE BEING THE STAR OF THE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKOURM, K2 IS JUST THE BEGINNING FOR FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS TRIPS TO REMOTE & HIGH ALTITUDE OBJECTIVES. OUR UNIQUE LOGISTICS, EXPERIENCE & RELATIONSHIP WITH THE AUTHORITIES MEANS WE HAVE ACCESS TO PLACES NO ONE ELSE DOES – AND THIS ATTRACTS CERTAIN TYPES OF PEOPLE

HIGH ALTITUDE EXPERTS

FOR SOME CLIMBERS THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 IS WHERE IT STARTS. EAST OF K2 ARE THE OTHER 8000m PEAKS OF GASHERBRUM I & BROAD PEAK, SURROUNDED BY LOWER PEAKS – INCLUDING DOZENS AROUND 6500m ACROSS THE KARAKORUM & KUNLUN RANGES – THAT OFFER IMENSE HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBING POTENTIAL FOR THOSE WHO WANT IT. THESE ARE PEAKS REMOTE EVEN BY K2 STANDARDS, SO NEED SIGNIFICANT EXPEDITION PLANNING, AND OUR UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE XINJIANG & CHINESE MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATIONS GIVE US THE PLATFORM TO DO IT.

THE OLD-SCHOOL ADVENTURER

XINJIANG IS SYNONYMOUS WITH NAMES LIKE AUREL STEIN, SHIPTON & FLANNERY FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF EXPLORATION AND IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN STILL ARRANGE CAMEL TRAINS TO GO LOOK FOR LOST CITIES – AND POTENTIALLY FIND ONE. THIS IS THE PLACE FOR THOSE WHO LIKE OLD MAPS, OLD LANGUAGES & FINDING THINGS THE REAL WAY – ON YOUR OWN FEET, GATHERING INFORMATION AS YOU GO. THIS SORT OF THING STILL TURNS UP STRANGE SHRINES IN THE GOBI & VILLAGES OF PEOPLE SPEAKING OBSCURE LANGUAGES. THE DAYS OF ON-THE-GROUND EXPLORATION ARE ALIVE & WELL IN XINJIANG.

THE HISTORY FANATIC

IT SEEMS HALF OF HISTORY HAS TAKEN PLACE IN XINJIANG SO PEOPLE TAKEN BY THINGS LIKE THE SILK ROAD, THE GREAT GAME, EARLY DAYS OF BUDDHISM & FORGOTTEN EMPIRES LIKE THE TOCHARIANS. GOING CLIMBING IN XINJIANG MAKES CONFRONTING HISTORY COMPULSORY ALONG THE WAY; THE ROADS FOLLOW OLD TRADE ROUTES, THE MOUNTAINS FORM OLD BORDERS, THE NAMES OF PLACES HINT AT WHAT’S OUT THERE & THE PEOPLE WE MEET ALL HAVE SEEN HISTORY BEING MADE IN THEIR OWN LIFETIMES.

THE-NEXT-BIG-THING CLIMBERS

IT SEEMS FOR YEARS XINJIANG HAS BEEN THE NEXT BIG THING BECAUSE IT CONTINUES TO REVEAL NEW THINGS TO BE THE NEXT OF. ONCE IT WAS BIG WALLS IN THE TIEN SHAN, THEN THE GRANITE MULTI-YOSEMITES IN THE FAR NORTH, THEN NORTH SIDE OF THE CHANG TANG, THEN THE EASTERN TAKLAMAKAN….

CLIMBING IN XINJIANG BEGINS WHERE EVERY OTHER PLACE ENDS, WITH EVEN THE MOST POPULAR DESTINATIONS SEEING VERY FEW OUTSIDERS. EVEN WITHIN RELATIVELY EASY DISTANCES FROM MAJOR CITIES THERE ARE RANGES WITH 6000m PEAKS BARELY DOCUMENTED & RUMORS OF WALLS, FACES & FEATURES SEEN FROM AFAR.

‘BIG LANDSCAPE’ CHASERS

THESE ARE THE CLIMBERS, KAYAKERS, TREKKERS & EXPLORERS ATTRACTED TO THE VASTNESS OF XINJIANGS DESERTS, STEPPE & MOUNTAINS. THE OBJECTIVE HERE USUALLY CENTERS ON COVERING BIG DISTANCES TO GET TO REMOTE OBJECTIVES, WITH XINJIANG BEING DOTTED WITH 7000m PEAKS REQUIRING LONG APPROACHES THROUGH HIGH ALTITUDE DESERT – SOMETIMES USING BOATS TO NAVIGATE LAKES ABOVE 5000m.

XINJIANG ALSO HAS THE LARGEST ALTITUDE DIFFERENTIAL ON EARTH IN A SINGLE AREA WITH THE DROP FROM K2’S 8611m TO 150m BELOW SEA LEVEL IN THE TURPAN DEPRESSION – A JOURNEY OCCASIONALLY DISCUSSED BUT AS YET UNATTEMPTED DUE TO THE 1400km OF SAND DESERT & MOUNTAINS BETWEEN.

THE FREAK-GEOGRAPHY HUNTERS

SOME FOLKS SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON GOOGLE EARTH RESEARCHING XINJIANGS BIZARRE LANDSCAPES – OF WHICH THERE’S A NEVER ENDING SUPPLY. AWAY FROM THE TORUIST STUFF FOUND IN RESERVES, XINJIANGS GEOGRAPHY HIDES ALL SORTS OF STRANGE FORMATIONS FROM VOLCANIC CONES TO COLOURED LAKES, MINERAL STREAKED VALLEYS & DRAMATIC DESERT TOWERS LIKE SHIPTONS ARCH, AND STRANGE PEAKS & RAVINES CARVED BY LONG-DISAPPEARD RIVERS.

XINJIANG IS REKNOWNED FOR IT’S ENDORHEIC BASINS WHERE SEASONAL & OCCASIONAL WATER COURSES RUN NOT INTO OTHER RIVERS, BUT INTO LAKES & BASINS THAT NEVER REACH THE SEA. FROZEN FOR MUCH OF THE YEAR, THESE BASINS ARE EACH UNIQUE IN THEIR CHARACTERISTICS OF MINERAL CONTENT, SALINITY, COLOUR, WILDLIFE & ALTITUDE, AND AS OBSCURE AS THEY SOUND ACTUALLY MAKE UP A HUGE PERCENTAGE OF THE WORLD NON-OCEAN WATER, MANY BEING FED BY ICE-AGE GLACIERS AND ONLY MINIMAL ANNUAL PRECIPITATION.