ASIAN ALPINE E-NEWS
Issue No.7, July 2017
Asian Alpine Associates(left) Karejiang Main 7221m, (center) Kulha Kangri 7538m, (right end) Gangsha 6722m
Lake Puma Yumco 5,000m South Tibet

Contents(Page)

Notice from TIBET
China Tibet Mountaineering Association―SOUTH EAST ASIA―

2

New Route on Dragon’s Horn, Tioman Island―INDIA―

Daliu (Liyong)

3

Journey to Dharamsala and Kashimir 2017

Tom Nakamura
Viraf Mehta

13
34

Hengduan Mountains Club40

Sichuan University, Lecture June 2017
Jiulong –Exploring unknown mountains―YUNNAN―

Tom Nakamura
Tom Nakamura

48
53

Dulong River Valley and Minority People―SOUTH AMERICA―

Wuri Wusa

77

Derek Buckle

86

Ladakh – A century of rock art of explorations―TIBET―
Easternmost Rim of Himalaya―SICHUAN―

A tour of Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru
1

Editor’s Notes:
There are no restrictions of climbing permit in the mountains in Sichuan and
Qinghai Provinces.
2

DALIU (LIYONG)

New Route on the Southwest Face of Dragon’s Horn
Tioman Island, Malaysia

3Tioman Island’s southern mountains4Map of Tioman Island

Its beaches have been claimed to be depicted in the 1958 movie, South Pacific as Bali Hai
but available evidence suggests this is a false claim. In the 1970s, TIME Magazine selected
Tioman as one of the world's most beautiful islands.
Tioman Island (Malay language: Pulau Tioman) is a mukim and an island in Rompin
District, Pahang, Malaysia. It is located 32 kilometres (20 miles) off the east coast of thestate,[2] and is some 20 kilometres (12 miles) long and 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) wide. It haseight main villages, the largest and most populous being Kampung Tekek in the north. The
densely forested island is sparsely inhabited, and is surrounded by numerous coral reefs,
making it a popular scuba diving spot. There are also a lot of resorts and chalets around theisland which has duty-free status.
The island is served by ferries from the Malaysian mainland, Up to 2013, Berjaya Air
serviced the island with a propeller plane service from the Changi Airport in Singapore andnowadays, there is only one company operating the route from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah
Airport in Subang, Selangor to Tioman Island. The company are called Systematic Aviation
Services, and with a fleet of small single prop Cessna aircraft, the trip takes around 1 hr 15
minutes.

5

On April 8, 2017 a Malaysian-Chinese team set a new rock climbing route “Naga（thedragon）”on the south west face of Dragon’s Horn, Tioman Island.
This succeed expedition was led by Chinese climber Daliu（Liyong）with Chinese
mountain club members and also joint team from Malaysia.
Tioman Island is located at the southeast of Malaysia. Dragon’s horn is a 400 meters
granite sharp twin tower.
It’s very far from the mainland Malaysia, it normally takes two days to get to the last
Muslim village “Mukut”, from there, climbers need to hike over one to two hours to getthrough the hot& humid tropical jungle, then the giant wall suddenly appears in your
eyes.

6

2009, American climber Cedar set the first route on Dragon’s horn.
2011, Polish climber David Kaszlikowski and his wife Eliza Kubarska set the secondroute “Polish princess” 7b+,270m.
2012, Arnuld Petit, Stephone Booet (French), David Kaszlikowski (Polish) and Daliu(Chinese) made the first ascent of the third route “Daimo Sataos” 6C+,280m. Local
Malaysian climber Tom also joined the team in the first ascent climbing.
And after few years, there are six routes’ been down on this big wall. but there are still
very few climbers go to Tioman to try those amazing routes.
In early of this year, I had some contact with Tom again, we discussed about settingsome easy routes for more climbers.
On the first day of April, five members of Chinese mountain club led by Daliu arrived at
Kulala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. There, they met up with Malaysian climbers
Fizi lashak,Aril hasril and Apek Long Biru.
After whole night road trip, team arrived to Mersing, a small town at the very east of
Malaysian mindland. From here, we took 5 hours ferry boat to Geating port and thentransfer with a small boat to Si Mukut village. The whole trip took us 17 hours.
As soon as I saw Uncle Sam who was running the only resort in Si Mukut. I realized our
exciting adventure had started.
On April 3, all team members carry our equipment to the foot of the wall. Our plan was
finding a possible route on the south west face, we planned to set up a base camp on thefoot of dragon’s horn, and climbed the route ”free bird” at first, then check out somepossibility to open a route on the left of “free bird”. After two hours, we carried 200
meters ropes, some food and water, all our trad gears to a safe place under the route, we
hiked around the wall to make sure we were in the right place for our starting.
At 11:00 of next day, four of us, Fizi, Aril, Apek and I started climb the first pitch of “freebird”.it’s traditional climbing route, we finished first pitch with some slab climbing on
wet wall. Aril found a crack lead to a beautiful face, I followed his climbing and I findthe traverse he did was too long without any protection. After this 20 meters traverse,
we made a good anchor on a tree in the small ledge. From there, I found we werealready on the new route which we wanted to climb.
Then, Fizi started led next pitch, it was vertical face with some small crack but good forprotection, 40 meters later, he set the anchor, later on, four of us climbed up to theanchor. Sunset time was coming. We decided to descend back to ground, when we hiked
down to Si Mukut,it was already 22:00 at night.
7

We spent another day to clean the ropes on “free bird”, and then climbed up to the fifth
pitch, it was not easy climbing because we had to clean lots of loss rock and somevegetation on the route. All the members of the team tried to climb up to pitch fourwhich is 100 meters above the ground.
In the afternoon, we descend to lower part and we finished the first two pitches climbing.
The first few moves of the start made me feel exhausted.
The weather in South China Sea is like baby face, it changes every hour.
We stocked in our bungalow for two days since the endless rain. It reminds me a lot
when David and I caught the storm when we climbed the hard face climbing part on“Daimo Sataos” three years ago. We chilled out in the quiet Muslim village. Local people
are very nice and friendly, climbing dragon’s horn already became a big public topic inhere. Everybody gave us good wishes.
April 8 was the summit day. Aril, Fizi, Apek and I started to hike up at 10:00 in themorning, when we got to the wall, rain started, we had no choice, time almost runs out.
We had to wait until 12:50, then started climbed the new route. Aril had a ground fallfrom 7 meters above the ground. Fortunately, he could stand up and start climb again.
The wall was quite wet after raining. It made the route become harder to climb.
Four of us climbed very carefully.
The Malaysian climbers are very strong sport climbers, they had lots of passion on thisroute because it would be the first big wall route which is opened by local rock climbers.
When I was on the fourth pitch, rain became heavier. They gave me call of descending,but the anchor was just few meters higher than me, I insisted to move to the anchor.
And then they climbed up to me, we had short talking about the situation. At last, no
one wanted to give up. We decided to finish the route in the rain. As soon as we kept
climbing it, the rain stopped, we climbed the rest of the part with lots of cloud on our
back. It made us feel we were climbing in the paradise.
The rest part of climbing took us around three hours, because we have never been here
few days before. It was more difficult than I expected since the wall was very wet. But
we were relaxed on the last two pitches. At 19:30 on April 8, we stood on the top of
Dragon’s horn.
We walked to the famous Ketumbit rock. I saw the smiling face of these solid young
climbers. We luckily made the first ascent of the new route “Naga (the Dragon)”.
Descending was in the dark, it took us about more than three hours to get back toground, but in very good weather conditions with no rain, no wind.
We finally made our way back to Si Mukut at 23:40.
8

9

10

11

We wrote down the climbing information of this route and also draw the topo of “Naga”,
left it at Sam’s guesthouse. We hope there will be more and more climbers come to visit
beautiful Tioman Island.
Route info: Naga (The dragon)
270m 8 pitches
6B+ C2 (Chinese grade)
FFA byFizi Iashak (MAS)
Aril Hasril (MAS)
Dorge Apek Long Biru (MAS)
Daliu (liuyong) (China)
April 8, 201712

TOM NAKAMURA

Journey to Dharamsala and Kashmir 2017
Part IThe Himalayan Club 90th Anniversary Celebrations
A little bit of history is due:
The Himalayan Club is founded and we hope great things of it; the geographer that theblank spaces on our map may be filled in, the scientist that our knowledge of theHimalaya, its rocks and glaciers, its animals and plants, its peoples and their way ofliving, may continually expand; the artist that its glories may continually inspire finepictures. The mountaineer may dream of the ascent of a thousand unclimbed peaks, theshikaries of record heads shot in nullahs yet unknown. My own hope is that it may help
to rear a breed of men in India, hard and self-reliant, who will know how to enjoy life on
the high hills.
So wrote Geoffrey Corbett the first Hon. Secretary of the Club, in his article in Vol.1 of
the Himalayan Journal.
The Himalayan Club (HC) was founded on 17th February 1928 in the room of Field
Marshall Sir William Birdwood, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army.
The idea of the Club took shape in Shimla when Sir Geoffrey Corbett took the initiativein the matter. Sir Geoffrey was a member of I.C.S. and held the post of Secretary for
Industry in the Government of India. He wrote to Major Kenneth Mason of the Surveyof India and the Chief of Army Staff who also showed great keenness. Corbett andMason drew up a list of all the most important people that they could think of as
connected with the Himalaya and invited them to be founder members of the club. A listof 127 founder members included Sir Thomas Holdisch who pioneered the survey of thefrontiers, Sir Francis Younghusband who crossed the Gobi Desert to enter India throughthe Muztagh Pass in Karakoram, Brig. Gen. Bruce of the Gurkhas, Brig. Gen. Sir
George Cockell of the Survey of India, Sir Martin Conway, Norman Collie, Douglas
Freshfield, Sir Aurel Stein, Duke of Abruzzi, Sir Pilippo de Filippi, the Duke of Spoleto,
Mr. Visser of the Dutch Foreign Service among others. In India founders included theViceroy Lord Irwin, Governor of the Punjab Sir Herbert Emerson, Surveyor General
Brigadier Tandy, Director of Archaeological Survey, Sir Edwin Pascoe, General Sir
Alexander Lobbe C-I-C Northern Command, Raja of Jubbal, Field Marshal Sir William
13

Birdwood and Bast, Commander-in-Chief who readily agreed to be the President of theClub.
From these small beginnings the Himalayan Club (HC) started helping the expeditions
coming from abroad. It supplied information, arranged porters and sometimes membersof the club accompanied the teams to smoothen out things. Paul Bauer’s two famous
German expeditions to Kangchenjunga were a case in the point. Many other expeditions
owned a debt to HC in those days.
With the Independence of India in 1947 gradually all the British left India. But HC waswell served by Indian members and those who stayed in India. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dear Nakamura san,An Invitation to Seek Blessings from His Holiness The Dalai LamaOn behalf of the Himalayan Club, I am happy to invite you join us on a special trip to
Dharamsala during April 23 – 26, 2017. The year 2017 - 2018 is the 90th year of theHimalayan Club. This being an important milestone for us, we requested His Holiness
The Dalai Lama to grant us an audience and give us his blessings during this year. We
are honoured that he has agreed to do so and have just received the date. HH will blessus at 9.00 AM on Monday, April 24, 2017.
It would be wonderful if you would join us on this wonderful occasion in Mcleodganj,
Dharamsala Himachal Pradesh India.
Please plan to reach Mcleodganj on the 23rd. We will structure some walks and talks,outings and excursions over a few days before and after this important event.
Regards
Nandini Purandare
Hon Secretary,
The Himalayan Club
March 23, 201714

Photo Gallery “Himalayan Club 90th Event at Dharamsala”

Map of Dharamshala (or Dharamsala) in Himachal Pradesh, India

Palace of Dalai Lama

15

16

Dalai Lame talks to the Himalayan Club members at Dharamsala on April 24

HC members listening to Dalai Lama talks

17

The Himalayan Club members at the Dalai Lama Palace

Tibetan Parlamient House in Exile18

Tibetan Parliament in Exile
45 Excectives (Each 10 from Kham-Amdo-U Tsang, Each 2 from 4 majer religious sects,
2 from Bon, 6 from overseas Tibetan (USA, Asia, Europe, Australia)

Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

19

Town of Dharamsala – McLeodGanji

Saint John’s Church at Dharamsala built in 1852 (settlement by British and Gurkas)
20

Hindu Rock Temple destroyed by earthquake in 1905 (Photo below)

View of Dharamsala

21

Part 2
Photo Gallery: Travel to Kashmir April 26– May 6, 2017

Map of Jammu and Kashmir (above), Map of the area surrounding Srinagar (below)

22Dal Lake and golf course, Srinagar

Dal Lake, boat houses and mountains in Srinagar
23

Birds and floweres are abundant in Kashmir valley full of green

Old house in Srinagar (not well maintained)

24

Peaks surrounding beautiful Pahalgam valley at 2400m

Attractive peaks surrounding Pahalgam valley at 2400m

25

On the way from Pahalgam to Gulmag by-passing Srinagar

Lesser Himalayan peaks, wheat field and apple trees

26

Two pictures of the following page are mountains of Pir Janjal Range

Panorama of Pir Panjal Range east face and paddy field

27

Peaks ca 4600m of Pir Panjal Range east face

Armed solders are watching in many placed in Kashmir valley28

Sunshine Peak ca 4600m of )ir Panjal Range seen from Gulmarg at 2650m

Ropeways in two steps to the world highest ski field at 4100m in Gulmag(Himalayan Range seen in far distance)
29

The world highest ski field and premium 5 stars hotel “The Khyber” in Gulmag

Peaks 4,900m immediate southwest of Sonamag at 2700m (en route to Leh)
30

Sonamarg at 2,700m

Challenging peaks 4,900m immediate southwest of Sonamarg

31

Challenging peaks 5,000m south of Sonamarg

Approach to Thajiwas Glacier to be visited from Sonamarg

32

Stunning peaks ca 5,000m surrounding Thajiwas Glacierca.5,000m peak northeast of Sonamarg

33

VIRAF MEHTA

Ladakh – A century of rock art exploration and research
For those of us who share a special passion for Ladakh, it is encouraging to note that Vol
1, No1 (1929) of the Himalayan Journal, after the inaugural article describing thehistory of the founding of the Himalayan Club, brings our attention to Ladakh, and in
this instance to the recent floods of the Indus and Shayok rivers. Despite this earlypre-Independence coverage, andbeing open for tourists since 1974, it remains alittle-known fact that Ladakh possesses a rich heritage of rock art, details of which werefirst recorded and made known to the public by Moravian missionary scholars posted in
Ladakh in the late 1800’s –early 1900’s. It is even less known that today, due to theefforts of local and foreign researchers over the past two decades, rock art has beenrecorded from all major regions of Ladakh including Changthang, Leh , Kargil, Nubra
and Zanskar. In totality there are over 300 recorded rock art sites- with many moreawaiting discovery-primarily located along the Indus River system, ancient trade andreligious missionary routes, camping sites and at places propitious for hunting animals.
My encounter with the rock art of Ladakh was a magical opportunity to satisfy the
deepest instinct of a young student of anthropology: to spend an entire lifetime
dedicated to the discovery of human origins and its earliest cultural expressions,especially if this meant long stretches of solitary work in wild and desolate landscapes,
with only basic needs provided for. And so, on a luminous afternoon in 2009- my 15th
visit to Ladakh-I stumbled across an ancient looking rock carving depicting animals. I
can recall clearly that in the hour it took to drive to Leh, I had determined that I must
explore this remnant of an ancient cultural heritage more fully. I scoured the few
bookshops of Leh, and fortuitously came across a few books written by past and present
day foreign researchers, almost a century apart, and made it my business to try to visit
the over one hundred sites scattered all over Ladakh. There was very little precise
guidance about the location of these listed rock art sites, and so I set about locatingthem and new ones across all seasons and corners of the high altitude vastness of
Ladakh. Endless months of learning in the field slowly started reaping rich dividend,
and I became more adept at recognising potential rock art sites. It would take more
space than presently available to do justice to the ‘art of exploration’, of oneself, in theultimate, in the trusted companionship of a passion and a yearning, or to narrate
anecdotes and tales of risk and adventure, the blessings of new friendships, or the
mysteries encountered along these journeys. Follow your heart- you will surely
encounter hardship, but you will never feel lost or alone, seems a fitting motto.
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Forty-one visits to Ladakh, I am as excited as ever about my next visit!
Returning to rock art: as per our present knowledge, the rock art of Ladakh spansseveral millennia, from prehistoric to modern times. The rock art of Ladakh is
predominantly in the form of petroglyphs-images etched, carved, pecked or incised on
the rock surface using stone or metal tools in a variety of techniques. These images wererendered upon the shiny patina or ‘desert varnish’ that forms over millennia upon thesurfaces of boulders and rocky outcrops. Unsurprisingly, given its geographic locationand crossroads of travel routes, the rock art of Ladakh reflects varying cultural
influences- from Central Asia and Western Tibet, in the north and east, and the
Kashmir and Gilgit-Skardu regions downstream along the Indus River, to its west andsouth. Within Ladakh, if one takes the approximately 350 km long section Indus Riverflowing from Nyoma to Batalik as a main south west to northwest axis, we note a
prolific number of rock art sites alongside almost every major village along the river,and more so along the lower Indus. The major tributaries of the Indus, the Zanskar andthe Shayok, also showcase important rock art sites, as do other rivers in the Nubra,
Markha and Suru Valleys, and in Zanskar. For the convenience of visitors to Ladakh, alist of some of the best-known and more easily accessible rock art sites are mentioned
below:
1) Nubra: Diskit, Murgi, Sasoma
2) Upper Indus Leh (East of Leh): Saboo, Stakna, Stagmo, Kharu, Upshi, Shara.
3) Lower Indus (West of Leh): from Chilling to Zanskar-Indus confluence, Alchi,
Nurla, Khaltse, Domkhar, Dargo, Sanjak, Baima-Dah.
4) Kargil and Purig: Baroo, Bypass to Hamboting La and Batalik, Mulbek.
5) Zanskar: Stongde, Char/Zamthang.
6) Changthang: Kere, Tangtse, Durbuk.
The rock art of Ladakh displays a variety of themes and motifs, and predominantamongst these are representations of a wide variety of animals including the yak, ibex,
deer, sheep and goat, horse, dog, camel, snow leopard, wolf and others. In addition, we
also find representations of birds, fish, lizard and snakes. Human beings are
predominantly depicted as participants in hunting scenes, alone or in a group, andarmed with bow and arrow, on foot or on horseback. There are also scenes that could beinterpreted as either propitiation ceremonies for, or a celebration of a successful hunt.
Additionally, we note the relatively uncommon depictions of human hands (and more
rarely, feet), frequently depicted in a relatively elongated or enlarged manner. It would
be misleading to imply that all visual depictions of animals are to do with hunting: for35

instance, representations of the Ibex, could be more closely related to its significance asan animal revered in fertility cults. The rock art of Ladakh, as it proceeds to the historic
period reveals many treasures. Quite apart from the Buddhist and religious
iconography in the form of chortens (stupas) and swastikas, we encounter, notably at
Khaltse, Alchi and Tangtse a number of inscriptions in various languages including,Karoshthi, Brahmi, Sogdian, Arabic, Chinese and archaic Tibetan, which provide us
with unique information and clues about little-known periods of Ladakh’s history. Veryrecent discoveries of human activity in the Nubra Valley have been dated to about
10,000 years BP, far beyond in time than previously imagined, and it is upon thisimmense canvas of time that rock art can provide a few pieces of the jigsaw puzzle
towards a picture of times long gone. In conclusion, it is necessary to note that the rockart of Ladakh faces a severe threat of damage and destruction due to a host of
circumstances including apathy and lack of awareness of local communities, and‘development’ projects (roads, dams, construction activity), that do not take into
sufficient account theirimpact on cultural heritage. There is however, a growing

awareness amongst Ladakhi’s of this priceless cultural heritage, and we have a few
encouraging examples of their protection and conservation.
Figure 1: Human figures with bow and arrow, on foot and on horseback, hunting wild
sheep

36

Figure2: Solitary bowman and ibex

Figure 3- A maned horse with young

37

Figure 4- A Bactrian camel being drawn by a horseman. (Small populations of thesecamels still exist in the desert areas of Nubra)

Figure 5- Handprints

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Figure 6: a deer in the Animal Style with Chinese inscription at left

Figure 7- Various symbols- swastika, lotus, inscriptions shown alongside deer and wild
sheep

39

HENGDUAN MOUNTAINS CLUBEasternmost Rim of the Himalaya(compiled by Tom Nakamura)
The Tsangpo transforms itself into the Brahmaputra and flows into the Bay of Bengal
after surging between two striking peaks, the 7,782 meters giant, Namcha Barwa andthe Gyala Peri 7,294 meters massif. But in the late 1800s, the Tsangpo Gorges wereromoured to conceal a waterfall that rivalled Victoria Falls. Cloached in mystery andprotected by fierce tribesmen and impenetrable terrain, the Tsangpo was the center ofconsiderable geographical debate. Determined probes to unravel its secrets were madeby the Pundit surveyor Kintup (1880) and British explorers Frederic M. Bailey andHenry Morshead (1911 – 1913).

40

Namcha Barwa West Face seen from Seti La 4500m

1. Namcha Barwa 7782m
Being located on the easternmost rim of the great Himalaya in East Tibet, Namcha
Barwa had long been inaccessible until the China implemented an open-door policy by
Deng Xiao Ping in late 1970s.

It is about 390km away to east from Lhasa andencircled with the Tsangpo Great Bent. In 1912 a British of the Survey of India, H. T.
Morshead first had a glimpse of the summit from a hill in Assam and in 1913 Morshead
and F. M Bailey found the Graat Bent of the Yarlung Tsangpo. Namcha Barwa means‘a red flush of lightening streaking across the sky’. In 1973, the Chinese Academy of
Sciences began to send teams from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau institute for conducting
scientific survey and research of the basin of the Yarlung Tsangpo. But an attempt toclimb the mountain had to wait until the Japanese Alpine Club and the China
Mountaineering Association organized a powerful joint expedition in late 1980s.
In succession to the first attempt in 1991, the Japan-China joint team headed by Jiro
Yamada (Japan) and Losang Dawa (China) challenged again in 1992.
BC 3520m was established in the southwestern side on September 14. C1 4300m was
set up above primeval forest. C2 4850m was built on a flat place of the glacier which41flowed from Naipun peak 7043m on the south ridge. Rock wall to the C2 mixed withsnow and ice. They traversed a couloir in deep snow and set up C3 5600m on the southridge. They followed the long south ridge in deep snow to C4 6200m, and C5 6900m
was place just beneath the Naipun peak. On October 27, they descended 200m along
the south ridge and set up the final assaulting camp, C6 6700m. On October 28, theroute was to traverse the south face and 14 ropes were fixed on the most critical pitches
to rock band. On October 29, they fixed further 24 ropes onward and bivouacked at
7600m. On the following day they pushed three pitches before reaching NNE ridge.
Struggle against deep snow to waist on the NNE ridge led to the summit. The firstparty stood atop at 12:09 on October 30. The second party stood atop at 14:30 on thesame day. The ascent must be one of the hardest and most remarkable climbs in the
Himalaya.

Climbing Record of Namcha Barwa
The following is a summary of Climbing Record of Namcha Barwa described on an
official report of the Japan-China Joint Expedition in 1992.

1. Attempt by Chinese parties 1960 – 1984
The first attempt was made by a Tibetan party in 1960. They reached a point at
5,000m on the south ridge. Then there was a long blank time and full scale expeditionscommences in 1982 after 22 years. In the same year the Chinese Academy of Sciences
conducted survey and research of the Yarlung Tsangpo and adjacent unvisited areas.
The mountaineering expeditions made a reconnaissance of a viable climbing route in1982 and succeeded in the first ascent of Naipun peak 7,043m 1983. In the following
year they again challenged with powerful members of strong Tibetan climbers, but
could not go farther than Naipun peak. The season of their attempts in 1982 - 1984
was in the pre-monsoon which fosters much snow precipitation.

2. Failure in 1991
The Japan-China Joint Expedition started in 1990. In this year a joint reconnoitering
party ascended up to a point 6,900m of Naipun peak in only 8 days and could have a
confidence to reach the summit of Namcha Barwa from there. In 1991 a full scale joint
team was dispatched for climbing. They set up BC on September 30, but unexpected42deep snow caused a fatal accident. On October 16, Hiroshi Ohnishi was killed byavalanche en route to C4.

This happening made climbing speed very slow andconsequently they failed to reach the summit due to lack of time and supplies and fierce
winds prevailing in high altitudes.

2. Tactics in 1992

Namcha Barwa seen from Gyala Peri

43

The failure in 1991 taught a good lesson.

44Post-monsoon season (October) would be the best timing for assaulting the summit inconsideration of weather conditions. This is the most important factor for the success.
Their climbing tactics were:1. C2 must be set up by mid September.
2. Climbing period was staged in 3 steps:(1) Placing BC. C1, C2 and route paving to C3 for ferrying loads.
(2) Placing C3, C4 and route paving to C5.
(3) Placing C5 and route work to C6 and farther to the rock band, and assaulting
the summit.
3. Controlling logistics in most efficient and optimum supplies distribution.
4. Best combination of members in two teams.
5. Enhancing an ability of weather forecast: one specialist was included in themembers. Though the meteorological satellite “Noa”, an access to information fromthe Japan Meteorological Association was possible.
Note: One of 6 Tibetan summitters is Bianba Zaxi (27 years old in 1992). He is apotential eight-thousander now well-known in world mountaineering community.

3. Gyala Peri 7294m massif(from left) Tiba Kangri, Sengtan Bu, Gyala Peri
45

There are outstanding mountains massif with three prominent peaks north of Namcha
Barwa and the Tsangpo Great Bent. They are Gyala Peri 7294m, Tiba Kingri 6846m
and Sentang Bu 6812m. Gyala Peri is 24km NNW of Namcha Barwa. In 1912, H. T.
Morshead and F. M. Bailey first had a look. In 1913, F. M. Bailey viewed this peakfrom the ridge near Sangulung Glacier.
In 1936, ’38, ’46 – ’47, Frank Ludlow and George Sherriff entered the region for quest
for flowers and plants hunting. They brought back plenty of pictures. Gyala is thename of a village on the right bank of Yarlung Tsangpo. Peri means a high mountain.
The first ascent was made a Japanese party of the Himalayan Association of Japan
headed by Yoshio Ogata via the south ridge on October 31, 1986. But the other two
peaks, Tiba Kangri and Sentang Bu have not been yet attempted and remain untrodden
accordingly.
On September 15, the Japanese party set up BC 3200m on the right bank of the Gyala
Peri Glacier. From there they started climbing of 4000m in elevation. Advance basecamp 4200m was established at the foot of the west face in the opposite side of the
Glacier. Climbs first began with a long rock ridge of the right rim of the face. After
three pitches of knife-edged ridge from the plateau, C1 5000m was set up.

Fourpitches on rock ridge, detour of pinnacles, eight pitches of snow ridge and further push
on a slab at 60 – 70 degree angle covered with unstable snow led to a place for C2 5650m.
Above the C2, they climbed the south ridge, negotiating crevassed ice cliffs and set up
C3 6300m. Ice cliffs continued. Climbing route was taken upwards among the ice
cliffs to C4 6700m. After taking rest, four members returned to C3 on October 28.
On October 31, three members reached the foot of the summit rock wall after being
bothered by deep snow. There were complicated crevasses beneath the summit. They
climbed ice wall with double axes from the bottom of couloir like a well. They stood a
top at 16:55. It took 13 hours from C3.

46

Gyala Peri South Face
47

TAMOTSU (Tom) NAKAMURA

Sichuan China – June 2017
Sichuan University-Lectures and Interview(above) Main gate-Sichuan University (below) Board & Bldg for Nakamura’s lectures48

Nakamura was invited by Professor Li Cheng of the tourism school of Sichuan
University (SCU) as a visiting professor for lectures and interview on June 5 – 6, 2017.
The subjects were “The Last Frontier-Alps of Tibet and Beyond” and “Forbidden South
Tibet, Changing Tibet’. Many undergraduates and master course students gathered tohear his presentation.
The Sichuan University, which ranks fifth among the Chinese universities, is located inChengdu of Sichuan Province known as “land of abundance”. It is an institution thatcomprises three former national universities.

1. The Sichuan University: The history dates back to the Sichuan Chinese and Western Schoolfounded Governor of Sichuan in 1896, the earliest modern institute of higher education inSouthwest China.
2. Chengdu University of Science and Technology: The earliest multi-disciplinary engineering
university. Merged into the Sichuan University in 1994.
3. West China University of Medical Sciences: Was established by western Christian
missionaries in Chengdu in 1910. Merged into the Sichuan University in 2000.
The Sichuan University has disciplines of 12 categories – humanities, science,engineering, medicine, economy, management, law, history, philosophy, agriculture,
education, and art. It consists of 34 colleges.
The Sichuan University has exhibited great strength in research and made remarkableachievements over the years. It has 13 key national laboratories and engineering
centers, 4 state-level international scientific and technological cooperation bases, 11 keylaboratories and 6 engineering research centers supervised by Ministry of Education.
Current student body includes approximately 37,000 undergraduate students, over
20,000 master and PhD candidates and more than 3, 400 international students (10Japanese) and students from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
The Sichuan University has established contacts and cooperative relationships withover 250 renowned colleges and university as well as research institutes from 34
countries and regions. It has established well-rounded joint education programs of atdifferent levels and in various forms with 214 famous universities from over 33
countries, including United States, Australia, and some European Countries.
The University has established five Confucius institutes in collaboration with five
universities in South Korea, the US and Belgium. It has set up the Jiuzhaigou
International Research Center for Ecology, Environment and Sustainability in a joint
effort with the University of California and the University of Washington, Sino-US
Institute for University Design with Arizona State University, Sino-German Joint
Center for Energy Research with Clausthal University of Technology.
49

Prof. Li Cheng’s opening address

Students and audiences listening to Lectures50

(from left） Mineko Matsuyama-interpreter, Tom Nakamura, Prof. Li Cheng

Nakamura’s presentation using 150 slides of “Last Frontier-Alps of Tibet & Beyond”
51

Undergraduate students with Nakamura, Prof. Li Cheng、松山峰子、崔燦Nakamura signing his books for undergraduate students

52

TAMOTSU (TOM) NAKAMURA

Jiulong County, Sichuan–China. June 2017
Exploring Unknown Mountains and Rock Peaks
You would find a mountain, which is noted as “Niceu (尼色峨) 5564m”, on the Chinese
map. This mountain is located in the southernmost end of Daxue Shan Range (大雪山山系), the largest mountains range in the West Sichuan Highlands. The geographicaldefinition of this mountain range is rather ambiguous. For the sake of convenience,
however, I apply the scope commonly used among mountaineers in China. It stretches
about 230km north to south from Xiaqiangla 5470m, the northernmost peak, to Niceu,
comprising of the following outstanding massifs.

① Xiaqiangla 5470m NW of Danba ② Yala Shan (Haizi Shan) 5820m north of Tagong③ Lotus Flower Mtns 5702m NE of Kangding ④ Lamo-she 6070m east of Kangding⑤ Nine lake ten peaks 5528m ⑥Minya Konka 7556m massif, north and south⑦ Ren Zhong Feng 5731m massif south of Minya Konka⑧ Niceu 5564m massif west of Wangba, Jiulong County
The objectives of June 2017 journey were:-

1. To view the Southern side of Ren Zong Feng 5731m and to recognize and photograph thewhole of unfrequented and unexplored Niceu massif
2. To photograph unclimbed rock peaks surrounding a scenic spot “Wuxu Hai (lake)” at 3700m
north of Jiulong town of Tibetan Minority at 2860m.
After the lectures at the Sichuan University, Chengdu, I and Zhang Jiyue of Sichuan
Earth Expeditions entered Wangba valley of Yi Minority territory on June 8 via Ximien
to which we drove the Chengdu-Kunming Highway in 3 hours. June is a not good season
for seeing the mountains. We were so fortunate this time however that we might takeadvantages of a narrow chance. In only one hour interval of clear weather we could takepictures of the east face of whole massif of Niceu and the south face of Ren Zhong Fengand 5000m peaks ranging eastward from near Gold Mine at 4300m west of Wangba
village 2130m at noon time. We thanked a good local guide to take us to the Mine.
On June 10, we moved to Jiulong town from Ximien via the Highway passing Miening
then headed north along the gorge of Yalong Jiang (River), one of the largest tributariesof the Yangtze River. On June 11, we were lucky also here. We surveyed andphotographed almost all the rock peaks surrounding an alluring and fascinating lake of53

Wuxu Hai, the first class scenic spot in Jiulong County. All the rock peaks remain
untrodden. Heights are less than 6000m but they would attract climbers in future.
Maps and pictures are shown hereinafter.

Map of Mountains in West Sichuan Highlands 四川西部高地の山の地図
54

Map of West Sichuan Highlands – Eastern Part 四川西ボ高地東部の地図

55

At service area of Chengdu–Yaan Highway, Clean Toilet Campaig 成都―雅安高速道路

Developing local city Ximien 970m 石棉の街 急速に発展を続ける地方都市
56

Map of NE Part of Jiulong County

九龍県北東部の地図

Location of Ren Zhong Feng/mountains ranging to east and Niceu and neighboring mountains massif
is shown. Pictures which are shown hereinafter were taken near the Gold Mine at 4300m east of
Wangba village towards north/west, west, southwest direction on June 9, 2017.
人中峰山塊、尼色峨山塊の位置を示す。写真は湾覇村の東、4,300m の金鉱山付近から撮られた。

57

Wangba at 2130m, a village of Yi Minority people. Base for exploring unknown
mountains-Ren Zhong Feng and Niceu massif
イ族の村・湾壩 ―「尼色峨」踏査の起点

Ren Zhong Feng 5731m S face south of Minya Konka 人中峰南面、ミニヤコ・ンカの南58

Ren Zhong Feng & pks 5300-5500m S face ranging to east 人中峰の東、5300-5500m 峰

Unclimbed rock peaks 5300-5500m, south face, ranging to east from Ren Zhong Feng
人中峰から東に連なる未踏の 5300-5500mm 峰南面
59

(left) unnamed ca. 5300m Pk (center) Niceu 5564m east face, both unclimbed.
（左）ca. 5300m 無名峰 （中央より少し右）尼色峨 5564ｍ東面、全て未踏峰

Unnamed 5000m peaks east face ranging to SW from Niceu
尼色峨から南西に連なる無名の 5000ｍ峰東面
60

Niceu 5564m east face viewed from at 4300m near Gold Mine west of Wangba village
湾壩村の西の金鉱山付近 4300ｍ地点から望んだ尼色峨 5564ｍの東面

Google Earth image of northwest face of Niceu 5564m (compliment of Mr. T. Maeda)
尼色峨北西面のグーグルアース・イメージ（前田種雄氏提供）

61

Unnamed 5000m peaks ranging to SW from Niceu
尼色峨の南西に連なる無名の 5000ｍ峰東面

Unnamed 5000m viewed to south from at 4300 near Gold Mine
金鉱山から付近 4300ｍから南に望む無名の 5000ｍ峰
62Pictures in this page were taken by Mr. Liu from near Gold Mine in February 2017
この頁は 2017 年 2 月に劉渝宏氏によって金鉱山の近くで撮影された写真(left) Minya Konka 7556m (center) Tai Shan 6410m, south face(左)ミニヤ・コンカ 7556ｍ (中央) 太山 6410m、南面

Zhongshan 6886m northeast of Minya Konka, south face
ミニヤ・コンカの北東、中山峰 6886ｍ南面

Ren Zhong Feng 5731m south face 人中峰 5731ｍ南面
63Chengdu-Kunming Expressway between Ximien and Xichang: Tunnel-Bridge loop
成都（四川）－昆明（雲南）高速道路、石棉・西昌間のトンネル橋梁ループ

Yi Minority’s letter 少数民族イ族の独特な文字(Notes: Yi Minority population is 8 million, while Tibetan population is 6 million)(註記：イ族の人口は 800 万人、チベット族の 600 万人より多い)
64

Japanese news paper “Yomiuri Shimbun” February 10, 2012

A Japanese scholar studying Yi Minority language, イ族の言葉を研究する学者を紹介
65Fertile land of Yi people, Tobacco plants (left), paddy field and dressed up Yi girl.
イ族の豊穣の土地、タバコ葉栽培（左）、稲の水田、着飾ったイ族の娘さん

Gorge of Yalong Jiang and road to Jiulong 雅礱江ゴルジュと九龍への蔵族イ族街道66

Jiulong County of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture has many touristic spots but
they are not much popular for foreigners. Among these a scenic area of Wuxu Hai (Lake)is most reputed. All unclimbed rock peaks of 5000–5500m surrounding the lake would
attract climbers’ attention, though altitude of the mountains is not high and scale issmall. 甘孜蔵族自治州の九龍県は観光資源に恵まれているが、外国人にはあまり知られていない。しかし、五須海（湖）は一級の観光スポットであり、湖を囲繞する 5000-5500ｍの岩峰の連なりはスケールこそ小さいがクライマーの関心を惹く。全て未踏である。

67

Jiulong town plaza, Tibetans gather for dancing. 九龍の広場、チベット族はダンス好き

Beautiful and fascinating Wuxu Hai (Lake) 美しい五須海（湖）一級の観光スポット
68

(left) Tom Nakamura 中村保、(right) Zhang Jiyue 張継躍、四川大地探検―Wuxu Hai

Rock peaks immediate northwest of Wuxu Hai 五須海の直ぐ北西に連なる岩峰群
69

Yi-Ren-Gonbu 5456m southeast face イレンゴンブ 5456m 南東面

ca. 5300m peak north of Yi-Ren-Gonbu イレンゴンブの北、ca. 5300m peak70

Rock peaks 5200-5300m south of Yi-Ren-Gonbu east face イレンゴンブ南のピーク東面

Rock peak ca. 5300m south of Yi-Ren-Gonbu east face イレンゴンブ南のピーク東面
71

5373ｍ peak east face southwest of Wuxu Hai 五須海の南西の 5373m 峰東面

Wuxu Hai and rhododendron 五須海と石楠花

72

(above two photos 上の二つの写真)“Twelve (12) Sisters Mountains” 5000m plus-minus west face ranging east of Wuxu Hai
五須海の東側に連なる“十二姉妹マウンテン”5000ｍ前後、西面
73

Ancient stone towers, road from Jiulong to Kangding 昔の石塔、九龍から康定への道

Road and Tibetan houses rapidly being refurbished, 道路とチベット族民家、急速に整備
74

Neverending expansion of Kangding new town 膨張するニュータウン、康定

75

Hive of construction – Yaan-Kangding Highway: Bridge, Tunnels and elevated road

建設の槌音が響く: 雅安－康定高速道 200ｋｍ、吊橋(大渡河)/トンネル / 高架で繋ぐ
76

WURI WUSA 烏里烏沙

Photo Gallery
Dulong River 独龍江 Valley and Minority People
In June 2016, I entered Dolong Jiang (River), the remotest corner of Northwest Yunnanfrom Gongshan after visiting first Lijiang, a homeland of Naxi Minority, Shangri-La
and Nu Jiang (Salween River) basin. The Dulong Jiang constitutes the main upperstream of the Irrawaddy River flowing through Myanmar. Because of time constraint I
was unable to stay in the Dulong River basin for longer time but could know andphotograph “Todays” of the borderlands.
What I found there, however, contrary to my imagination the Dulong valley is no longer
an isolated and secluded region of the legend but we came across a hive of construction
as being witnessed wherever we go to the other parts of West China. I do hope the Photo
Gallery would well explain the present Dulong valley and minority people.

About Dulong Minority
The Douong (Drung 独龍族) is an ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups
in China. Their population of 6,000 is found in the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefectureof Yunnan in the Dulong Valley of Gongshan Dolong and Nu Autonomous County.
Another 600 can be found east of the Dolong valley, living in the mountains above the
Nu River (Salween River) near the village of Binzhongluo in northern Gongshan Dolong
and Nu Autonomous County. They speak the Dulong language, one of the Sino-Tibetan
languages. Their language is unwritten; in the past the Dulong have transmitted
messages and have made records by making notches on wooden logs.
It is known, nevertheless, that during the period of the Tang dynasty, the Dulong were
under the jurisdiction of Nanzhao and the Dali Kingdom. From the Yuan dynasty to the
Qing dynasty, the Dulong were governed by the local heads of the Nakhi people. In 1913,
the Dulong helped to repel a British attack in the area. Prior to the formation of thePeople's Republic, Dulong society was based on a system of clans. A total of 15 clans
existed, called nile; each one of them was formed by diverse familiar communities. Eachclan divided itself into ke'eng, towns in which the Dulong lived in common houses.
Marriages between clans were prohibited.
77First bend of Nu Jiang (Salween River) near Bingzhonglou

78

On the way to Dulong valley from Gongshan, a swamp of Gaoligongshan

Rhododendron in Gaoligongshan

A kind of orchids in Gaoligongshan
79Old tea road along Nu Jiang (Salween River)

Dulong Jiang (River) and valley

80

New building in Kongdang village in Dulong Valley
Dulong Jiang is no longer an isolated and secluded region.

Hotels constructed in Dulong house style, Puka village

81Water fall of Dulong Jiang (River)

Dulong Jiang covered by dense forest

Misted stream of lower Dulong Jiang near Didangdang village
82

The typical dress of the women consists of a dress made of fabric lined with colors black
and white. Formerly, the women used to tattoo their faces when they reached the age oftwelve or thirteen. The tattoos of some women resembled masculine mustaches. Houses
are usually constructed out of wood. They are two stories in height; the second floor isdesigned as the living quarters for the family whereas the first level serves as a barn
and stable.

Dulong woman with tattoo on face

Tattooed women in Dulong valley83

A family in a village of Dulong valley84Some Dolong have converted to Christianity, the vast majority continue to believe intheir animist native religion. There is a belief that all creatures have their own souls.
Usually diverse sacrifices are made in order to calm down the malignant spirits. The
role of the shaman is of great importance since they are the ones in charge of the rituals.
During the celebrations of the Dulong New Year, which is celebrated in the month ofDecember of the lunar calendar, diverse animal sacrifices are celebrated to make anoffering to the sky.

Protestant church in Dulong valley

Protestant church in Gongshan, Nu Jiang

85

DEREK BUCKLE

A Tour of the Cordillera Huayhuash
Towards the end of May 2017 Stefan Jachmich and I flew to Lima in Peru from where
we travelled north to Huaraz for a few days of acclimatisation. The grand plan was tocomplete a clockwise circuit of the Cordillera Huayhuash, photographing and climbing
as many of the peaks as we could during our two week stay in this mountain range.
Unfortunately it all started rather badly with a spell of unsettled and warm weather,which resulted in unstable snow conditions and high avalanche risk on the steeper
slopes. We subsequently modified the programme to limit the objective danger.

Rondoy from the east
The first problem was recent washout damage that necessitated beginning our tour on
the outskirts of the village of Rondoy where a two metre deep trench made the road
impassable to motorised transport. Bernardo, our arriero, and five donkeys joined us
here, together with our conciero Antonio, for the trek over the 4,700m Cacanapunta
86

Pass to our first stop at Janca. Despite substantial low cloud there were some excellent
views of Rondoy (5,870m) en route. It rained for over 6-8 hours at this camp but by
morning conditions had improved so we continued south across the Pucapuca Pass toour second camp at Laguna Carhuacocha (4,190m). There was some hail during the day
but by late afternoon visibility had improved sufficiently for us to get panoramic viewsof Siula Grande (6,344m, of Touching the Void fame), the impressive Yerupajá (6,617m),
Yerupajá Chico (6,089m) and Jirishanca (6,094m).

Panorama of the Yerapajá range from the east

Yerapajá from the east
87

Jirishanka from the eastSiula Grande from the east
From Laguna Carhuacocha we continued south beneath the impressive faces of
Yerapajá and Siula Grande to climb steeply up to Siula Punta Pass (4,834m) before
descending a very boggy track to camp at Laguna Carnicero at 4,473m. The descent tocamp offered excellent views of Trapecio (5,653m), Quesillo (5,600m) and Huaraca(5,425m). We had planned to attempt one or more of these peaks but an exploratory
foray beyond Laguna Sueracocha to the snowline on Quesillo convinced us (and anotherteam that we met) that conditions were unfavourable and potentially dangerous. The
frequent rumble of avalanches and continuing unstable weather were omens enough.

88

Trapecio (left), Quesillo and Huaraca from the northeast. Jurao D is at the far right.
Following more rain overnight we decided to continue further south the next day rather
than hope that conditions improved where we were. The modified plan was to continue
to Lago Viconga from where we hoped to attempt Leon Huaccanan (Kuajadajanka,
5,421m), an easier peak with less avalanche potential. While Leon Haccanan lies in theneighbouring Cordillera Raura rather than the Cordillera Huayhuash, it requires only ashort detour to include it as part of the Huayhuash circuit. A long haul over the 4,780m
Portachuelo de Huayhuash Pass led easily to a camp at 4,596m above Lago Vicongafrom which we hoped to make the ascent. After a preliminary foray, which establishedthat we could not easily access Leon directly from the north, we eventually followed therecommended route via the Lagunas Aguascochas and moraine to scramble up the west
face to the glacier. A moderate climb up the northern slopes then led to the corniced
summit. We returned to camp by the same route.

Stefan on the summit ridge of Leon Huaccanan
From Lago Viconga we now made our way westwards beneath the imposing southerly
slopes of Cuyoc (5,550m) to camp at Plataforma. Originally it had been our intention toattempt Cuyoc but with the conditions as they were this was looking increasingly
89unlikely. We therefore continued over the Punta Cuyoc Pass (5,025m) to the hamlet of
Huayllapa where we camped at 3,537m, the lowest we had been for many days.

Cuyoc from Punta Cuyoc
Climbing steeply out of the valley following the Oda Milo river we eventually reached
the barren Tapush Punta Pass (4,805m) from which we descended to the Cashapampa
camp site at 4,549m. It was a tiring day with over 1,300m of ascent. Two days later weleft early to attempt Diablo Mudo (5,360m), a popular peak, although we understandthat it has not been climbed yet this season. Following a stiff climb up the terminal
moraine the route followed a complex boulder field before leading to a short buttressclimb onto the glacier. After being forced left to bypass a steep gendarme we ended up
on steep, mud/gravel before exiting onto clean snow once more. At 5,137m however,ominous clouds hovered around so we decided to retreat and claim the lesser northsummit (5,070m) as a consolation prize. It later transpired that a better route exists
from the valley to the northeast, but by this time we had no opportunity to explore otheroptions as we had a deadline to return to Huaraz.

90

View towards the summit of Diablo Mudo
With time running short we continued north to camp at Jahacocha (4,078m) on 12 Junefrom where we again got fantastic views of Rondoy and Jirishanka (this time from thewest), and the next day we followed the 8km long canal path down the valley before
branching right to the road-head at Llamac to end a delightful, but strenuous, circuit of
the Cordillera Huayhuash.

Rondoy (left) and Jirishanka from Jahuacocha

91