THE THIRD POLE
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6000m PEAKS
FROZEN LAKES
HIGH PLATEAU
REMOTEST TIBET
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EVERAL YEARS AGO SOMEONE INVENTED THE IDEA OF A ‘THIRD POLE’ AND LOCATED EVEREST AS IT’S LOCATION – BUT EVEREST IS NOWHERE NEAR WHAT COULD BE CALLED THE ‘POLE OF TIBET’. SITTING RIGHT ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL EDGE AND REQUIRING NO TRAVERSING OF THE PLATEAU TO VISIT, THE ONLY TIBET THOSE TRIPS COVER ARE THE DUBIOUS TOURIST TOWNS AIMED AT SHUTTLING YOU IN AND OUT AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. JUST AS YOU CANT CLAIM VISITING THE SOUTH POLE IF YOU ONLY VISITED THE PENGUINS AT THE SHORE, YOU CANT CLAIM ‘THE THIRD POLE’ BY DROPPING BY EVEREST, CLIMBING IT OR NOT.
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WHAT MAKES A POLE
THE TIBETAN PLATEAU IS A CLEARLY DEFINED GEOGRAPHY AND AS CHEESY AS THE TERM IS, THE REALLY DOES HAVE FEATURES THAT QUALIFY IT AS A POLE AND A DISCERNABLE CENTRE, ESPECIALLY WHERE EXPEDITIONS ARE CONCERNED.
THE TIBETAN PLATEAU HAS A PROMINENCE WHERE RIVERS RUN OFF IT, AWAY INTO THE DESERTS, STEPPE AND LOWLANDS SURROUNDING, FED BY BOTH ANNUAL SNOW AND GLACIAL MELT FROM THE THOUSANDS OF ICE AGE LAKES. AWAY FROM THE EDGES THE ALTITUDE AND ABSENCE OF CONNECTING WATERCOURSES CREATES SEMI-FROZEN SEMI-ENDOHERIC LAKES THAT ONLY CONNECT WITH OCCASIONAL SNOW, WITH SIGNIFICANT ICE LOCKED AWAY LONG TERM ON THE SCATTERED MASSIFS THAT RISE TO ABOUT 6000m
AS EXPLAINED IN THIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE HERE THE PEAKS OF THE PLATEAU DONT FOLLOW RANGES PUSHED UP BY COLLIDING PLATES, INSTEAD THEY ARE ERODED ISLANDS OF WHAT WAS RECENTLY A TRUE ICE CAP THAT SHED ITS ICE AND WATER BY MELTING IT OFF THE SIDES. LIKE THE TRUE POLES, ITS ONLY REALLY SUSTAINABLE TO LIFE AROUND THE EDGES, THE INTERIOR TOO EXTREME TO SUPPORT MUCH. THE FURTHER YOU GO INTO IT THE MORE DEMANDING SURVIVAL BECOMES. WHICH IS WHY IT’S THE PERFECT PLACE TO RUN EXPEDITIONS INTO
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WHAT MAKES A CENTRE
ADD ALL THIS UP AND THE TRUE THIRD POLE CAN BE DEFINED AS THE GEOGRAPHICAL CENTRE OF THE PLATEAU. DETERMINING THAT IS A LITTLE SUBJECTIVE, BUT WE SAY ITS EVERYTHING ABOVE 4000m, WHERE THE CATCHMENTS ARE GLACIAL FED AND THE RIVERS ARE NOT YET CHANNELED BY MORE RECENT RANGES. DRAWN ON A MAP THIS CENTRES ON AN AREA AROUND THE QINGHAI-XIZANG BORDER NOT FAR FROM THE LARGE LAKE WEST OF TANGGULASHAN THAT IS FED BY THE MASSIFS EITHER SIDE. THIS LAKE REMAINS FROZEN MOST OF THE YEAR, AND IS THE PARENT LAKE FOR MANY OF THE OTHER LAKES AROUND IT AND IF THERE IS A TRUE THIRD POLE THIS IS IT.
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TRIPS
TRIPS TAKE PLACE LATE SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER AND REQUIRES 4 WEEKS, STARTING AND ENDING IN XINING, THE CAPITAL OF QINGHAI PROVINCE AND ONE OF CHINA’S MOST CULTURALLY DIVERSE CITIES. FROM THERE IT’S 2 DAYS ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLATEAU VIA THE HUGE QINGHAI LAKE, ONTO THE INCREASINGLY ARID HIGH DESERT.
GETTING OUT TO THE POLE IS A SELF-SUPPORTED TREK, NAVIGATING BETWEEN WATER SOURCES AND THE RANDOMLY ARRANGED PEAKS AND LAKES THAT ARE SCATTERED ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE. SEASON TO SEASON THESE FEATURES CHANGE, GUARANTEEING EACH TRIP IS UNIQUE. WHAT THE REAL POLES HAVE IN COLD, THE THIRD POLE HAS IN ALTITUDE