My travel diaries
Snowshoes and Shipton
An ascent of Muztag Ata in the Chinese Pamirs. July/August 2007.
"The dazzling-white dome ... crowned with a shimmering field of eternal snow," was how the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin described the Father of the Ice Mountains. The 20th century explorer and mountaineer Eric Shipton was unimpressed, describing Muztag Ata much more soberly as, "an isolated peak somewhat resembling a volcanic cone in appearance."
Yet the great man failed to reach the summit after walking for several hours in thick snow trying to find it, vomited from exhaustion on the way down, and got back to his tent with frostbite which left him unable to walk for several weeks afterwards. The man famous for his many expeditions to Everest later said he'd never felt so cold on a mountain in his life.
Undettered by Shipton's failure, I thought I'd have a go at the mountain myself. Despite its gentle appearance, Muztag Ata reaches a staggeringly whopping height of 7546m. It presents no particular technical challenges, but the steep slog through snow for several days is a true test of physical endurance at such an extreme altitude.
I'd never been so high in my life before and wasn't sure whether I'd manage it. Here's how I got on ...
CONTENTS
Sunday 29 July, 2007 - Islamabad, Pakistan
Monday 30 July, 2007 - Chilas, Karakoram Highway, Pakistan
Tuesday 31 July, 2007 - Sost, Karakoram Highway, Pakistan
Wednesday 1 August, 2007 - Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China
Thursday 2 August, 2007 - Subash, Xinjiang, China
Friday 3 August, 2007 - Muztag Ata Base Camp, Xinjiang, China
Saturday 4 August, 2007 - Muztag Ata Base Camp, Xinjiang, China
Sunday 5 August, 2007 - Base Camp and Camp 1, Muztag Ata, China
Monday 6 August, 2007 - Muztag Ata Base Camp, Xinjiang, China
Tuesday 7 August, 2007 - Camp 1, Muztag Ata, Xinjiang, China
Wednesday 8 August, 2007 - Camp 1 and Base Camp, Muztag Ata, China
Thursday 9 August, 2007 - Muztag Ata Base Camp, Xinjiang, China
Friday 10 August, 2007 - Camp 1, Muztag Ata, Xinjiang, China
Saturday 11 August, 2007 - Camp 2, Muztag Ata, Xinjiang, China
Sunday 12 August, 2007 - Camp 2, Muztag Ata, Xinjiang, China
Monday 13 August, 2007 - Muztag Ata Base Camp, Xinjiang, China
Tuesday 14 August, 2007 - Muztag Ata Base Camp, Xinjiang, China
Wednesday 15 August, 2007 - Camp 1, Muztag Ata, Xinjiang, China
Thursday 16 August, 2007 - Camp 2, Muztag Ata, Xinjiang, China
Friday 17 August, 2007 - Camp 3, Muztag Ata, Xinjiang, China
Saturday 18 August, 2007 - Camp 3 to the summit, Muztag Ata, China
Sunday 19 August 2007 - Muztag Ata Base Camp, Xinjiang, China
Monday 20 August, 2007 - Muztag Ata Base Camp, Xinjiang, China
Tuesday 21 August 2007 - Muztag Ata and Kashgar, Xinjiang, China
Wednesday 22 August, 2007 - Kashgar, Xinjiang, China
Thursday 23 August, 2007 - Kashgar, Xinjiang, China
Friday 24 August, 2007 - Kashgar, Xinjiang, China
Saturday 25 August, 2007 - Islamabad, Pakistan
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