ESTABLISHED ASCENT TRIPS

TCHIBURONGI OR ‘LITTLE GONGGA’ ISN’T REALLY SO LITTLE. AT ALMOST EXACTLY 6000m THIS IS THE COOLEST 6000m PEAK AROUND AND A GOOD OBJECTIVE EITHER ON IT’S OWN OR AS PART OF THE K2 PIPELINE. A STRAIGHTFORWARD APPROACH, SURROUNDED BY BIG WALLS & GLACIERS, STEEP BUT RELATIVELY SAFE, TCHIBURONGI IS A FAR MORE INTERESTING OBJECTIVE THAN THE CROWDED ‘SAFARI PEAKS’ AND YET ALMOST NO ONE’S HEARD OF IT.

TCHIBURONGI REQUIRES TWO – THREE WEEKS, OCTOBER-DECEMBER IS THE IDEAL SEASON AND TRIPS PRICE WELL WITH DECENT PEAK FEES MAKING THIS ABOUT THE BEST DEAL IN TIBET.

THIS IS PROPER TIBET-STYLE CLIMBING, AND A HANDFUL OF PREVIOUS ASCENTS MEANS THERE’S STILL LOTS OF POTENTIAL FOR NEW ROUTES IN DIFFERENT STYLES. THE CLOSE PROXIMITY OF DOZENS OF OTHER 5000 – 6000m PEAKS MAKES MULTI-PEAK TRIPS DOABLE.

TCHIBURONGI FILLS THE GAP BETWEEN 8000m EXPEDITION CLIMBING AND OLD STYLE 6000m OPTIONS IN NEPAL & THE ANDES.

IF YOU’RE STUCK AT THE ‘ISLAND PEAK’ STAGE OR WANT TO SKIP IT ENTIRELY AND PROGRESS DIRECTLY TO ACTUAL EXPEDITION CLIMBING TCHIBURONGI TICKS ALL THE BOXES FOR REMOTENESS, STRATEGY, EXPOSED TERRAIN, APPROACHES & TECHNICAL CLIMBING.

AT 6070M LAMOSHE IS A TIBETAN ALPINE CLIMBING TEST PIECE FOR GREATER THINGS. ALL THE OBSCURITY OF A FULL EXPEDITION, SIMPLE ACCESS, ROUTE OPTIONS SPANNING THE EASY TO THE HARDCORE, THIS IS A GOOD 6000M PEAK FOR ANYONE WANTING TO AVOID THE CIRCUS OF THE KHUMBU OR MAKE THE LEAP TO INDEPENDENT EXPEDITIONS.

WE LIKE LAMOSHE TO WORK OUT ACCLIMATIZATION, ALPINE AND TECH CLIMBING ELEMENTS WE WILL TAKE TO THE KARAKORAM. THIS IS THE PLACE TO TRY OUT HIGH ALTITUDE GEAR, FAST & LIGHT TECHNIQUES AND UNSUPPORTED METHODS BEFORE COMMITTING TO BIGGER, LESS FORGIVING PEAKS.

WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE OF TOWN, LAMOSHE IS DOABLE WITH STRIPPED DOWN LOGISTICS, ARRIVING IN GOOD CONDITION AND MINIMIZING SOME OF THE APPROACH RISKS COMMON TO MANY 6000M PEAKS ELSEWHERE AND THIS TRANSLATES TO MORE CLIMBING TIME ON-MOUNTAIN AND THE POTENTIAL FOR MORE ATHLETIC ROUTES.

SHADOWED SOMEWHAT FROM THE SNOWS THAT CAN HIT GONGGA, YAMU IS BOTH MORE RELIABLE & LESS VISITED, HAVING DOZENS OF NEW ROUTE OPTIONS THAT INCLUDE BUTTRESSES AND SUB-PEAKS WITHOUT FIRST ASCENTS – OR SO THEY SAY. THE SPIRITS OF FOWLER & BOSKOFF STILL PERVADE THE PLACE AS MORE THAN ONE CLIMBER HAS FOUND, THINKING THEY WERE ON UNCLIMBED TERRAIN, ONLY TO FIND AN OLD PITON OR TWO QUIETLY WAITING OUT THE AGES, A NOD OF APPROVAL FROM THE VISIONARIES THAT HAVE GONE BEFORE.

IN RECENT YEARS WE HAVE SPENT TIME IN THE WESTERN APPROACHES, ON ROUTES FACING INTO INNER TIBET, ON VERY FAST WINTER ASCENTS THAT ARE DEVELOPING NEW STYLES OF CLIMBING.

XIALONGREZHA IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE NEW GENERATION OF PEAKS BEING CLIMBED IN EASTERN TIBETAN AND IS SO UNEXPLORED THAT UNTIL IT SAW IT’S FIRST ASCENT IN 2016 THERE WEREN’T EVEN IMAGES OF IT. IT IS THE WESTERN-MOST PEAK CLIMBED BEFORE THE CLOSED INNER TIBETAN BORDER, WITH IT’S STEEP FACES AND DISTINCT LINES, THE PEAK IS USUALLY COLD, STABLE & A SIMILAR TECHNICAL PROFILE TO K2’S NORTH RIDGE.

AS FAR OUT ONTO THE EASTERN PLATEAU AS WE CAN GO, TRIPS HERE GET TO SEE WHAT REAL EXPEDITIONS ARE ALL ABOUT, GOING THROUGH ISOLATED TIBETAN VILLAGES THEN FAR UP INTO YAK PASTURES AND INTO GLACIERS. XIALONG REZHA STILL HAS SEVERAL OBVIOUS LINES AWAITING FIRST ASCENTS, MAKING THIS A GOOD DEAL FOR CLIMBERS WANTING TRUE EXPEDITION CLIMBING WITHOUT THE COSTS OF FULL FIRST ASCENTS.

GANGGA IS SYNONYMOUS WITH NORTH-EASTERN TIBET CLIMBING. WHILST THE GONGGA RANGE GETS MORE ATTENTION DUE TO IT’S PROXIMITY TO CHENGDU & IT’S LONG HISTORY OF ASCENTS, ANYONE WHO FOLLOWS CLIMBING IN TIBET WILL KNOW ABOUT GANGGA.

FOR YEARS GANGGA WAS MOSTLY OFF LIMITS DUE TO POLITICS & SIMPLE ACCESS ISSUES – IT USED TO TAKE 3 LONG DAYS TO GET THERE VIA DETERIORATING ROADS – AND FOR MOST WAS NO CLOSER THAN THE BACKDROP AS THEY LEFT GANZI FOR OTHER PLACES. CLANDESTINELY OF COURSE CLIMBERS WERE MAKING IT IN, SOMETHING WHICH GROUND TO A HALT WITH THE DEATHS OF CHRISTINE BOSKOFF & CHARLIE FOWLER ON GENYEN TO TH SOUTH IN 2006 THAT ALSO BEGAN THE END OF PIRATE-STYLE CLIMBING IN THE REGION.

TODAY GANGGA IS OPEN & ACCESSIBLE, BUT STILL RETAINS IT’S REMOTENESS DESPITE IT. APPROACHES ARE STEEP AND SOMETIMES GLACIATED AND THE TRAILS INTO THE CENTRAL MASSIF ARE AS COLOURFUL AS THE CLIMBING ITSELF, WITH THE KNOTWORK OF DOZENS OF 5000-6000m PEAKS DOWN FRACTALISH VALLEYS, BIG WALLS & FACES.

GANGGAS MAIN PEAKS LOOKS OUT OVER THE RANGE AND IS STILL SURROUNDED BY AN ENIGMA, WITH IT’S MULTITUDE OF NEW ROUTE OPTIONS & FLUCTUATING ACCESS ISSUES FROM BOTH THE AUTHORITIES AND THE MONASTERY AT ITS BASE.