HUANG GUAN SHAN / THE CROWN
7295m CHINESE KARAKORAM
2022 EXPEDITION
IMAGE FROM THE JAN 1988 YAMAKEI MAGAZINE (JAPANESE)
FROM 2022 WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE GO AHEAD TO START RUNNING TRIPS TO HUANG GUAN SHAN*, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE CROWN, IN THE NORTHERN KARAKORAM IN XINJIANG. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES AND WITH A SIGNIFICANTLY DEVELOPED APPROACH THIS OBSCURE PEAK CAN BE ACCESSED AS AN IDEAL BRIDGE BETWEEN 7000 AND 8000m CLIMBING IN A TRUE HIGH ALTITUDE WILDERNESS.
BETWEEN 6000m AND 8000m PEAKS THERE’S A SURPRISING ABSENCE OF PEAKS IN THE 7000m RANGE THAT MAKE IT INTO COMMON INTEREST AMONGST CLIMBERS. ASIDE FROM SPANTIK, LENIN, KHAN TEGRI AND MUZTAG ATA MOST 7000m PEAKS ARE IGNORED AS TOO OBSCURE – NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO BE INTERESTING AS A LONG EXPEDITION, NOT LOW ENOUGH TO BE QUICK AND TECHNICAL – BUT WITH HUANG GUAN SHAN THERE’S AN OVERLAP OF GENUINE EXPEDITION CLIMBING ON A TIMELINE THAT MAKES IT MORE DOABLE. FOR CLIMBERS WANTING AN INSIGHT INTO KARAKORAM NORTH SIDE STYLE – SOMETHING LEADING TOWARDS THE CHINA SIDES OF K2, G1 AND BROAD PEAK AND OTHER OXYGEN-LESS ASCENTS – THIS IS IT.
.
HUANG GUAN SHAN HAD A SERIES OF ATTEMPTS IN THE 1980’s BEFORE BEING SUMMITED IN 1993 BY ONE OF THE DOMINANT UNIVERSITY TEAMS COMING OUT OF JAPAN AT THE TIME (WHO MADE ALL SORTS OF OTHER FIRST ASCENTS IN THE NORTHERN KARAKORAM INCLUDING THE NORTH RIDGE OF K2). SINCE THEN THE ENTIRE REGION DROPPED OFF THE RADAR, AS PAKISTAN AND NEPAL OPENED UP MORE AS COMMERCIAL DESTINATIONS, LEAVING THE CHINESE KARAKORAM IN A TIME CAPSULE FREE OF THE EFFECTS OF THE LAST 30 YEARS OF ADVENTURE TOURISM.
SITTING BACK FROM THE CHINA-PAKISTAN BORDER, HUANG GUAN SHAN IS A CLOSE NEIGHBOR OF K2 BUT SHIELDED SLIGHTLY BY BEING TOTALLY WITHIN THE KARAKORAM RAIN SHADOW. ACCESSED ALONG THE SAME ROUTE AS K2 FOR THE MOST PART HUANG GUAN SHAN HAS SEVERAL POSSIBLE ASPECTS FROM RIVER VALLEYS EITHER SIDE, WITH THE SOUTHERN FACES BEING THE OBJECTIVES OF PREVIOUS ASCENTS.
.
TRIPS TO HUANG GUAN SHAN REQUIRE A 5-6 WEEK SCHEDULE THAT GIVES AROUND 3 WEEKS MOUNTAIN TIME AND MAKES IT AN EXCELLENT FIRST TRIP FOR CLIMBERS EXPERIMENTING WITH ASCENTS MINUS SUPPLEMENTARY OXYGEN.
HUANG GUAN SHAN’S TOPOGRAPHY PRESENTS AN ARRAY OF CLIMBING OPTIONS FROM THE OBVIOUS SOUTH EAST RIDGE TO THE THE UNATTEMPTED WESTERN AND NORTHERN ASPECTS THAT ARE BEING REAPPRAISED WITH CONTEMPORARY ADVANCES IN CLIMBING STYLE AND SUPPLIES.
TO TRULY STREAMLINE THIS EXPEDITION WE USE OUR PREACCLIMATION PROGRAM IN EASTERN TIBET TO ARRIVE AT HUANG GUAN SHAN’S 4600m BASECAMP ALREADY ACCLIMATED TO +5000m AND READY TO CLIMB.
*NOTE THIS IS NOT THE OTHER HUANG GUAN SHAN, THE 6000m PEAK LOCATED IN EASTERN TIBET.
