FROM CHAKRAGIL TO THE KUNLUN

MORE IS KNOW ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS OF ANTARCTICA THAN THOSE OF XINJIANG, AND YET BEYOND THE KARAKORAM AND PAMIR THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PEAKS WELL ABOUT 6500m.

PEAKS LIKE CHAKRAGIL ARE SOME OF THE MOST MYSTERIOUS IN XINJIANG. GOING BACK TO IT’S FIRST ATTEMPT BY SHIPTON & TILMAN THEMSELVES. AT 6760m AND OFTEN DESCRIBED AS REMOTE, CHAKRAGIL IN FACT SITS WITHIN EASY ACCESS FROM KASHGAR IN A KNOT OF MOUNTAINS NO ONE REALLY KNOWS HOW TO DEFINE. TOO FAR NORTH TO BE THE KARAKORAM, TOO DISTINCT TO BE THE PAMIR, NOT DISTINCT ENOUGH TO BE THE KUNLUN AND A DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHY TO THE TIEN SHAN, CHAKRAGIL IS SOMETIMES GIVEN IT’S OWN RANGE CALLED THE KINGATA TAGH.

WE FIRST HEARD ABOUT THESE PEAKS VIA WORD OF MOUTH WHILST HANGING AROUND XINJIANG IN THE EARLY 2000’s, FOLLOWING AN INFAMOUS TRIP IN TRUE HAPHAZARD STYLE THAT BECAME A WARNING TO THE PIRATE OPERATERS AROUND CHINA AT THAT TIME. BEFORE THEN PEAKS LIKE CHAKRAGIL WERE KNOWN ONLY FOR RANDOM ASCENTS BY SHIPTON & TILMAN, FIRST ASCENTS BY JAPANESE TEAMS AND A SOLO ASCENTS BY SOVIET CLIMBERS, SO AFTER GAINING PERMISSION FROM THE XINJIANG AUTHORITIES WE FELT IT WAS TIME TO PRESENT THEM AS EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF ‘EAST PAMIRI’ CLIMBING.

THE REST OF THE KARAKORAM

WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE GO AHEAD TO START RUNNING TRIPS TO OTHER PEAKS IN THE KARAKORAM LIKE HUANG GUAN SHAN*, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE CROWN, NORTH OF K2. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES AND WITH GOOD APPROACHS THESE OBSCURE PEAKS CAN BE CLIMBED AS AN IDEAL BRIDGE BETWEEN 7000 AND 8000m CLIMBING IN A TRUE HIGH ALTITUDE WILDERNESS.

ASIDE FROM SPANTIK, LENIN, KHAN TEGRI AND MUZTAG ATA MOST 7000m PEAKS ARE IGNORED AS TOO OBSCURE, BUT WITH HUANG GUAN SHAN THERE’S AN ENTICING MIX OF GENUINE EXPEDITION CLIMBING, ON A TIMELINE THAT MAKES IT MORE DOABLE FOR CLIMBERS WANTING AN INSIGHT INTO KARAKORAM NORTH SIDE STYLE.

SITTING BACK FROM THE CHINA-PAKISTAN BORDER, HUANG GUAN SHAN IS A CLOSE NEIGHBOR OF K2 BUT TOTALLY WITHIN THE KARAKORAM RAIN SHADOW. HUANG GUAN SHAN HAS SEVERAL POSSIBLE ASPECTS FROM RIVER VALLEYS EITHER SIDE, WITH THE SOUTHERN FACES BEING THE OBJECTIVES OF PREVIOUS ASCENTS FROM THE OBVIOUS SOUTH EAST RIDGE TO THE UNATTEMPTED WESTERN AND NORTHERN ASPECTS THAT ARE BEING REAPPRAISED WITH CONTEMPORARY ADVANCES IN CLIMBING STYLE AND SUPPLIES.

*NOTE THIS IS NOT THE OTHER HUANG GUAN SHAN, THE 6000m PEAK LOCATED IN EASTERN TIBET.