WE DID OUR FIRST RIVER TRIP IN XINJIANG IN 2017 AND IMMEDIATELY SAW THE POTENTIAL FOR GOING INTO UNEXPLORED TERRAIN. SOME OF THE MOST ENIGMATIC WATERWAYS ON EARTH, THE RIVERS DESCENDING FROM THE KUNLUN COMBINE 6000m ASCENTS, GLACIER & DESERT TRAVEL, PACKRAFTING AND NAVIGATING ONE OF THE WORLDS REMOTEST REGIONS.
ARGUABLY THE LEAST EXPLORED RANGE ANYWHERE, THE KUNLUN MOUNTAINS ARE THE WATERSHED BETWEEN THE VAST DESERTS OF TURKESTAN AND THE HIGH PLATEAU OF TIBET’S QIANG TANG WITH PEAKS REACHING 7000m. DRAINING OF THE NORTHERN SLOPES INTO THE TAKLAMAKAN DESERT ARE SEVERAL RIVERS THAT START AS GLACIAL MELT AND DESCEND GRADUALLY, DRAWING THE ONLY LINE OF GREEN THROUGH OTHERWISE SAND DESERT, WITH MOST RIVERS SIMPLY DISAPPEARING INTO THE SANDS NEVER TO REACH THE SEA.
VIRTUALLY UNEXPLORED, TRIPS TO THESE AREAS REQUIRE EXPLORATORY APPROACHES AND 6000m STYLE CLIMBING TO FIND THE HIGH POINTS, THEN EXTENDED DESCENTS – USUALLY THE FIRST – USING PACKRAFTS UNTIL WE METT THE OASIS TOWNS OF THE SOUTHERN SILK ROAD. IF ‘EXPEDITION’ HAS A DEFINITION IT WOULD BE CLOSE TO THIS.
THESE TRIPS KICK OFF IN THE SPRING OF 2022
