HAZILY DEFINED, THE TIEN SHAN & PAMIR MOUNTAINS MAKE UP THE BULK OF HIGH ALTITUDE TERRAIN IN WESTERN XINJIANG. STRETCHING FROM THE CLUSTER OF PEAKS IN THE EXTREME SOUTH WEST, THE PAMIR BUTTS AGAINST THE KUNLUN WHILST THE TIEN SHAN EXTENDS THOUSANDS OF KILOMETERS NORTH EAST AND SPLITS AROUND NORTHERN XINJIANGS DZUNGARIAN BASIN, TAILING INTO THE RELATIVELY SMALLER RANGES IN THE ALTAI REGION.
THE PAMIR
THE MOST WELL-KNOWN PEAK IN THE CHINESE PAMIR IS MUZTAGH ATA, THE HEAVILY TOURISTED PEAK NEAR THE KARAKORUM HIGHWAY. SUBJECT TO UNIQUE PERMITS & RULES, FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS DOESN’T ORGANIZE TRIPS THERE, BUT WE HAVE BEEN GOING TO THE NEARBY 7000m PEAKS OF THE KONGUR SHAN SINCE 2001.
THESE ARE SERIOUS PEAKS THAT SEE LITTLE ATTENTION DESPITE BEING SO ACCESSIBLE FROM KASHGAR. COMPLEX TOPOGRAPHY MEANS THERE ARE STILL MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR NEW ROUTES, AND TRIPS HERE COULD FORM A BIG PART OF PREPARATION FOR OBJECTIVES LIKE K2.
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THE TIEN SHAN
THE TIEN SHAN HAS SO MANY SUB-RANGES SPREAD ACROSS SO LARGE AN AREA THERE IS ESSENTIALLY NO SINGLE ‘TIEN SHAN’ OUTSIDE OF FOREIGN CONVENIENCE. TALKING TO THE PEOPLE OF XINJIANG, THOSE ALONG THE KYRGYZ BORDER HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT THE PEAKS EAST OF URUMQI, NOR DO THE KAZAKHS AROUND THE SAUYR RANGE CONNECT THEIR LOCAL PEAKS TO THE MOUNTAINS AROUND KHAN TENGRI.
LIKEWISE THE GEOGRAPHY OF EACH AREA HOLDS UNIQUE CLIMBING OBJECTIVES FROM BIG WALLS TO GLACIATED MASSIFS, 7000m PEAKS WITH DEEP SNOW COVER & THE RELATIVELY STRAIGHTFORWARD 5500m PEAKS LIKE BOGEDA FENGA JUST A FEW HOURS OUT OF TOWN AND POTENTIALLY DOABLE IN A LONG WEEKEND.
