2008 Mustagata climb

As I write this I am now sitting on a Boeing 747 crossing the Pacific Ocean. It has been a long and eventful trip ending with a sobering tour of the earthquake zone in the Sichuan Province.

The final summit day on Mustagata proved challenging for most members of the team. We climbed in a blinding whiteout with winds that at times gusted upward of 40 miles an hour. The route to the summit was difficult to navigate, even with wands marking the way. The cold was intense resulting in frost-nipped hands for two members, and one member became snowblind resulting in a bumpy mule ride out of basecamp. For Bjorn and Lao Wang the decision to return to camp three in the storm resulted in a four-hour tale of survival as they got lost and dug a snow hole to seek shelter during the impeding storm. Eventually, the storm abated long enough for them to find their way back to camp three.

Mustagata is a massive high altitude mountain that offers relatively straightforward climbing with no technical abilities required. However for both summit teams of this particular expedition, the challenge of reaching the summit went beyond the typical routine of past expeditions. The glorious sunny photos of smiling client climbers ascending gentle slopes on Mustagata were far from the reality this team experienced. As I may have said before, even the easiest of mountains to climb can become desperate escapades given the wrong conditions.

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We all made it back to Kashgar and as early as the next morning members of the team started departing for their home countries. By the evening of the 25th the staff, Jon and I departed Kashgar for our respective destinations throughout China.

I traveled with Jon to Chengdu so that we could spend a day filming in the earthquake zone. Not only do Jon and his wife Xuehua live in Chengdu for part of the year, Jon's China based business, the Arete Alpine Instruction Center, is based here as well. The business is a climbing school that partakes in multiple expeditions and outings in the surrounding mountains of the Sichuan Province. Throughout these mountain villages and towns Jon routinely employs the locals or patronizes their businesses while conducting expeditions. The earthquake that struck this region affected Jon personally as many of the places and people suffered greatly.

Our trip here wasn't merely to film the aftermath of the earthquake, but to produce a film about what AAIC and BlueSheep are doing to help make a difference.

One of the greatest casualties of the earthquake was the destruction of schools due to faulty construction. Over 7000 schools were destroyed resulting in the loss of thousands of children’s lives. AAIC and BlueSheep want to raise enough money to build "properly" constructed schools in these mountain communities. To do this, both companies are offering charity climbs throughout the region to raise money for this endeavor. As we work more on this, information will be posted on the AAIC website, BlueSheep Adventures website, and Media Ventures' website.

After seeing the destruction firsthand it truly was a sobering experience. But the one constant I found with everyone we interviewed was that they still had smiles and were very hospitable even after they lost almost everything.

As always, coming to China was truly another adventure.

Yesterday was a long day starting with yet another snowstorm at basecamp. We packed the entire camp onto camels in the snowstorm. All of us departed with just our minimal personal gear for a long hike to the waiting bus and flatbed truck that would carry our gear back here to Kashgar. We’ve all been able to shower and shave and enjoy a meal together. I’ve been conducting final interviews with team members to capture their final thoughts before we all jet off to our corners of the world.

There is an incredible story about Lao Wang and Bjorn surviving in the whiteout and it has become quite the epic tale among members of the team. I captured some very dramatic discussion between them. Neither of them made the summit, however together they got lost and dug a snow hole to survive. It wasn’t until four hours later when the white out subsided enough that they were able to make it back to camp three.

On that summit push, Jon and I ended up on the second summit team together. Jon wanted to look after the slower climbers while I went ahead in the whiteout to pave a trail but also to navigate through the whiteness to locate wands.

Early on we knew Lao Wang was having problems. So Jon went back to Lao Wang to see what was wrong. Lao Wang couldn’t feel his toes, so Jon took off Lao Wang’s boots and warmed his feet on his stomach. He also told Lao Wang to descend because if he didn’t he would get serious frostbite. At the same time good ole young Bjorn ran out of juice and in the impeding storm decided to turn around. He came up on Lao Wang and together they descended in the growing storm. We wouldn’t know until later that they were about to experience their own challenges.

Meanwhile I had climbed to close to 7300 meters in the whiteout. I came to what I thought was the last wand placed and waited for what seemed forever for the team to reach me. Little did I know that as the wind continued to blow harder and with the amount of snow falling, my trail was covered before team members could use it as a path upward. So their progress was extremely slow. I finally descended back through the worsening storm and after quite a long descent I came up on the team ever-determined to reach the summit some 400 meters above.

Jon was not present. He was still helping Lao Wang even further below. So I continued my descent further away from my highpoint to ask Jon what he thought about the appalling conditions. In a very confident way Jon made it clear that the team could make it. Jon even asked if I knew what time it was. He wasn’t literally asking me but telling me that if I knew how early it was still in the climb, I wouldn’t be so concerned. So I looked at my watch and it was barely coming up on 11:00 am. Wow, I thought, it was still early. Yet the time didn’t concern me, it was the condition of the weather. So Jon and I caught back up with the team as they struggled with finding the route. Jon went ahead of the team and used his GPS to locate the wands previously set by Tsering, a Tibetan high altitude guide hired by Jon. Tsering was a member of the first team and placed wands almost all the way to the summit two days earlier. Their story is also one of challenge and distress.

Eventually Jon slowed the pace so that everyone could stay together and after slogging up through brutal conditions of wind, snow, and literally a complete whiteout we all made it to the summit, with the exception of Lao Wang and Bjorn.

This, the easiest of the 7500-meter peaks, showed us that even the easiest mountain could become a tempest and potentially kill, as it has done in the past.

We made it past the false summit eventually standing dumbfounded in 40 to 50 mph winds looking at a rocky outcrop that represented the true summit of Mustagata. Just above our heads the clouds raced by in a mixture of whites with pockets of blue sky. It was terribly cold and the wind was beginning to freeze the skin on contact. I was done and yelled to Jon above the wind to say I was headed down.

Meanwhile Mike was trying to put a tank top shirt over his cold weather gear that had the Kent Air Ambulance logo on it. He struggled violently in the cold and wind to the point of even trying it by taking off his down parka. That didn’t work either so he resolved to have a picture taken with the shirt held out in his hands. Nevertheless in those few short minutes of struggling with that shirt Mike managed to frost nip almost all of his fingers to the point that they turned purple and only two days later he ripped one of the finger nails off accidentally. Mike is a dentist by profession and those few minutes on the summit may cost him in lost patients if he cannot use the tools of his trade, his hands.

Despite a persistent storm that continued to pummel them with heavy snow, strong winds, blistering cold, and whiteout conditions, the team pushed on and successfully reached the summit of Mustagata today. All team members are safe and settling in for sleep at camp 3. Tomorrow everyone will move back to basecamp to begin packing up the gear and waiting for the camels.

We woke up this morning at 4:00 a.m. to begin brewing water for the long trip to the summit of Mustagata. It stormed all night and I’m afraid to see just how much fresh snow has fallen over the last two days. But at least we are getting our shot at the top. Today is our final chance and regardless of what happens we will be leaving the upper camps today and moving back down the mountain. Breaking trail to the summit is going to be a difficult task with all the fresh snow. It’s going to be a long, backbreaking day.

We spent the last two nights at camp 3, which is at 22,300 feet (6800 meters). That’s roughly like sleeping on the summit of Aconcagua. We are all feeling lethargic and appetites have been waning. We’re hoping we have enough left in the tank to make a successful ascent of Mustagata.

Wish us luck!

We were planning to leave camp 3 at 5:00 AM this morning, but we had another big electrical snowstorm last night. We are in a white out and cannot move. So Lao Wang, Mike, and I are still in our sleeping bags. Everyone is still asleep and it is eerily quiet up here.

All we can do now is wait out the storm and see where things stand once we have clear weather. If things clear by noon, I'm going for the summit. If not, we all wait until tomorrow. After that the expedition is over and we'll have to leave the mountain to meet the camels at base camp, giving up on reaching the top of Mustagata.

Jon is here at camp 3 along with some members of the first summit team. Other members of the first team have already gone down. But it's a crowded camp 3 right now.

Yesterday’s storm dumped a substantial amount of snow making trail breaking difficult between camps 2 and 3. But we are now at camp 3 at 6800 meters or 22,300 feet. When we got here we had to put in another platform that would accommodate two more tents.

The sun is going down now and we’re in our tents ready for sleep without much of a meal. It was a very difficult day as I was the last to leave camp 2 because my camera had a condensation problem. Breaking trail through knee-high snow with snowshoes while filming made it one of my hardest days hiking.

Everyone on the first summit team made the summit today accept Arun. But they did not get down until after 5:00 pm. The conditions were cold and windy with spats of white outs. I take back anything I said that about Mustagata being easy. It’s big and quite a long slog.

Mike is doing fine. Lao Wang is in our tent suffering badly from altitude sickness. Tomorrow — weather permitting — we go to the summit of Mustagata.

Mike and I are in our tent at camp 2 in the middle of a very bad lightening storm. It’s crashing all around us. Lightening is a very serious danger for climbers. You’re exposed on the side of a mountain and very quickly become charged lightening rods. We’re both hunkered down in our sleeping bags listening to the loud thunder and cracks of lightening that are way too close for comfort.

The first team is at camp 3 experiencing the same storm. They are gathering in a crevasse for safety. We are staying in contact via our radios, although nobody wants to be holdng a radio right now either.

The weather reports have changed, and it does look like storms may impede our summit push. The plan right now is for the first team to make the summit tomorrow on the 19th. We will move up to camp 3 tomorrow and make our summit bid on the 20th.

The first summit team is now settling in at camp 2. My team, which now includes Jon, is resting at camp 1. Mike and I are in the tent brewing water for the long day ahead tomorrow when we move up to camp 2. Today was a gorgeous day and I shot some spectacular footage. From camp I’m able to see into Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. What an amazing place.

When we arrived here at camp 1 we needed to pull all the tents back onto the platforms. That seems to be the case each time we return to a camp. There is always work waiting for us here on Mustagata.

There are ominous clouds gathering. And we hope they don’t bring bad weather. Earlier the Colorado team made it to within 1,000 feet of the summit and were turned back due to snow and white out conditions. So weather will most certainly be a factor in our summit bids.

The last few days have been a complete contrast. Yesterday we had a day off for rest and recuperation and we needed it. The first group are moving up to Camp 1 today to start their three day attempt on the summit. Each section involves a height gain off about six hundred and fifty metres of ascent between camps. All gear, sleeping bags and food has to be carried to each camp by snowshoeing or skinning up on skis. We are all keen now to get on with the job and try our hardest to achieve the summit. On the thirteenth Atte, the Finnish Army officer and I had moved up from Camp1 to Camp 2. He was using snow shoes and I was on skins. Unfortunately my experience of both techniques was through snippets of information casually mentioned but usually some vital piece was missing. Atte moved straight up to the snow dome above Camp1 but I had to take a more tortuous route with a series of rising traverses. No one had told me that by raising the heel piece on the ski bindings would allow me adopt a more upright posture and would make the whole process a lot easier. By the time I reached the top of the dome Atte was already there and I was exhausted. Tim Boelter came down from Camp 2 and filmed the skiers and snowboarders coming down the slopes. We waited, grateful for the rest. Pedro came over and suggested I lifted the heel piece on the bindings to help me go straight up the slope. What a difference it made. We had to pass through a white out with snow and cloud sweeping in. At each wand we had to wait until we could see the next one ahead. As I struggled to see the wand above Atte would check the last wand behind was still in view. Finally we arrived in Camp2 in a magnificent setting next to a large serac band (Ice cliffs) at the head of the Kartamak Glacier. We settled in for the night and tried to boil water. The tent matches had not been kept in a plastic bag to keep the dry and the lighter would not work. We both had sore thumbs trying to create a flame. I remembered that I had some lifeboat matches in my medical kit and we used them to get the stove going. The first gas cylinder was so cold, the propane/butane mix would not burn and the flame kept going out. We changed the cylinder for a fresh one which we shook violently to mix the contents and finally started to boil snow. Jon Otto came along to see everyone before he headed down to base camp and we managed to borrow a better “Bic” lighter from him. Atte slept a lot and was not particularly hungry. The wind got up and it started snowing heavily. Occasionally we would have to get up and knock off the snow lying on the flysheet of the tent.

The next morning we had a light breakfast of porridge which Atte promptly threw up. We managed to boil about three litres of water to which we added orange crystals for use on the way down.  After a quick tidy of the tent, the stove was dismantled for the next occupants and we stored all our food and gear in the last tent for the next time we would be here.

We booted up and I took the skins off the skis. Atte put on his snow shoes and then had a problem with his telescopic ski poles. They would not lock at the correct length. Eventually it was time to set off down and I put on my rucksack and launched myself off into the fresh powder. At my first turn the right binding popped up and I fell over pulled back by the weight of my rucksack too. The descent was a series of a few beautiful turns followed by a crash as the right binding popped up. I was never able to successfully lock the binding down properly. The mountaineering boots were not rigid enough either and my foot would turn within the boot. Every time I fell I would swear at myself for not leaning forward enough as the weight of the rucksack pulled me back if I hit a bump. The four to six inches of powder snow lay over hard ice and falling on my hips was becoming a more and more painful experience in fact my right hip was bruised a dark shade of blue. (Over the subsequent nights the pain in my hips would wake me as I changed position in my sleep.) I decided not to ski from the summit as it would be too painful if I fell but more importantly I would become a liability to others in the group. The last few hundred metres down to Advanced Base Camp (ABC) were particularly nasty as it was hard sheet ice. After depositing the skis and some gear at ABC I changed and headed off down the scree slopes to Base Camp arriving an hour and a half later to be greeted by a large contingent from the team who already knew of my sorry escapade. It was good to be back down to re-hydrate and rest. We would have two days rest before setting off back up the mountain, hopefully for the last time.

Today is my second full day back at base camp. Jon and I had spent the last three days on the hill working hard with a mixture of staff (Chinese and Tibetan) putting in camp II, and forging ahead to camp III at 6,800 meters.

When we left BC on July 10th Jon and I were running a bit late as usual. We took care of last minute business and dispatches that needed to be couriered to Kashgar. I left around 5:00 p.m. and Jon left about 30 to 45 minutes after me, needless to say it was late in the day to head up the mountain. I made incredible time hiking up the ridge to the snow line transition camp, passing Yao Chen who left a bit earlier then I. I made it to the transition camp in just over an hour catching Samdien our Tibetan cook who was now helping us ferry loads up the mountain for the next few days. After changing from my hiking clothes into mountain clothing (Gore Tex outer wear and Millet One Sport boots) I continued up the glacier toward camp I with Samdien. When we arrived at camp I, we found three of our tents flying in the wind tethered to each other upside down.  Fortunately the three tents that were airborne were tethered to three other tents that were still secured to the ice. At that moment I was torn between filming the spectacular sunset or re-securing the tents. The sunset won and both Samdien and I filmed and photographed the sunset. Only after the sun had fallen beneath the horizon did we start securing the tents and by now it was getting cold. Nightfall encroached and by time Yao Chen and Jon arrived, the tents were down.

The next morning Yao Chen, Samdien, Jon and I packed up loads of tents, stoves, wands, fuel canisters, and other public gear and headed up to the location of camp II. Jon skinned up the steep slopes above camp I and the rest of us resorted to snowshoes. After four grueling hours of slogging up snow slopes while an intense sun glared down on us we reached 6,170 meters, the height of camp II. The camp was nestled on a gentle snow slope just below the upper serac fields of the Kartamak Glacier. We commenced to hacking out a long platform that would be able to accommodate up to six tents. Digging at this altitude is strenuous work and for some reason I seemed to have enough energy to continue this work while the others started to put in tents. We had a good system going and soon we had produced a very nice level camp II capable of accommodating up to eight climbers (two per tent). Jon did a superb job of anchoring the tents so that even hurricane force winds could not blow the tents away. The four of us descended to camp I where eight team members and three additional staff were residing and preparing for their hike up to camp II the next morning. That night Jon and I spent hours boiling water for dinner and drinks, we got to bed around midnight.

The next morning almost everyone from camp I ascended to camp II. For this trip I just had to carry my personal gear and made the trip to the camp in only one hour and 40 minutes. Once again it was Samdien and I reaching camp before everyone else. With the added people coming together we started to dig the platform out more to accommodate an additional two tents. Samdien helped for a while but then descended back down to base camp. As the weather started to change team members started to arrive exhausted from their first foray up. I directed them to take whatever tents they wanted and soon all four tents were occupied. By now we were engulfed in a full on snowstorm and it was now up to Tsering and I to finish the job of getting the last two tents up for the staff, including Jon and myself. Eventually Jon reached camp with a heavy load. Once again he got off to a late start because he needed to direct the staff and others on what needed to be done. Jon further secured the last two tents and finally we got into our tent where we boiled water late into the evening. It had truly been two days of hard work and now we were getting closer to our goal of climbing this gentle giant. That night everything froze, we were now truly in a frigid mountain environment.

The next day team members ascended a steep slope just outside of camp before descending all the way back to base camp. Jon and two staff members continued up toward camp three to hopefully establish the camp, I on the other hand descended back to base camp with the others. I wanted to film Pedro DeBoeck and his two sons while they skied and snowboarded down the mountain. Unfortunately the weather was unstable with clouds rushing up causing mini white outs making it nearly impossible to film without a tripod. Meanwhile Jon and the staff didn’t quite make it to camp III due to the severe white out conditions they encountered further up the mountain. They eventually retreated as well back to base camp.

During our descent Mike, Lao Wang and other team members were now ascending up to camp II to spend their night acclimatizing to the altitude. Mike was skinning up the mountain on skis and would hopefully be able to ski down using his La Sportiva Olympus Mons boots. These are not alpine ski boots but rather very good high altitude mountaineering boots.  Without ankle support it was hard to tell how well Mike would ski. Mike is a very experienced downhill skier but this may be a completely different experience for him.

After about a half an hour of visiting, we hadn’t seen each other in three days, I continued my maniac descent down to the transition camp, changed into hiking clothes and raced down the ridge to base camp in about 35 minutes. Yes, I am crazy, especially after just having ankle surgery on a talus fracture and also having two knee surgeries to remove some torn cartilage. I’ll never learn to moderate myself.

During our first full day relaxing in base camp a few of the local men brought a white goat up with them. The animal was young and seemed happy to make the hike up. Little did this animal know that his life was about to end and it would do so right in front of all of us. At first many on the team were excited to view the slaughter of a goat, but what happened was a true tragedy to the animal and for those who viewed it. I think it had a lasting impression on all of us, and not a very good one. The local men said a quick prayer, and with a very dull knife commenced to cut the animal’s throat. The knife did not do the job as it should have and needless to say it would last far longer for the animal to die than it should have. It was one of those things that remains embedded with you for a while. We all know and understand that this is indeed a way of life and we do eat the very meat the animal provides us, but what was upsetting is the poor method in which the animal had to die, far more suffering took place than should have. I think over dinner that night we all had our own way of thanking or praying for the meat the animal provided us.

The other team descended to base camp after spending their night at camp II and for the first time in many days the entire team was together again. I must say it is an extraordinary group of people from many different backgrounds on this expedition, and even according to Jon who has led many groups up this mountain, this team is very strong and able to climb this mountain. I think the only thing that can stop these people from making the summit is a terrible storm, and hopefully that won’t happen.

Mike and I are now back on the same climbing schedule. My work on the mountain is now just about filming and climbing. Last night before going to sleep we enjoyed two bags of Haribos candies (yes he is a dentist by trade) and watched Tom and Jerry cartoons on his iPod Nano.

In two days it will be our time to go for the summit, which will require three days to reach camp III. From here we will make our attempt on the 20th of July.

We have all three camps established and we’ve divided into two teams. Jon will leave base camp with the first summit team on the 16th. And I’ll leave the following day with the second team, which includes Mike and Lao Wang.

We will move up a camp each day and hope to reach the summit of Mustagata around the 19th and 20th. Then comes the exhilaration of skiing down. What will take days to ascend should take less than half an hour to descend. Here’s hoping my brief skiing practices between camps will prove helpful.

As we move up the mountain, we’ll do our best to provide daily updates on our progress.

Sorry for the delay in getting this out. We are limited in our means of delivering dispatches due to a non-functional satellite modem. Mike probably brought you up to date on our travels to basecamp.

On July 7th, the entire team made a climb up to what we call the transition camp at approximately 5,350 meters cached their gear then descended. Jon and I got off to a late start leaving for the transition camp at 2:40 in the afternoon many hours after the rest of the team.
Jon and I spent that night at the transition camp. The next day three staff members, Jon, and I continued up the glacier to what would become our proper camp 1 at approximately 5,550 meters. This would be the first time I skinned up a mountain on skis and the first time I would ski down a mountain in over 15 years. Needless to say when you have the potential to plummet thousands of feet to your death or crash through a crevasse, this probably was not the best place to relearn how to ski.

I filmed our ascent and the views over the vast desert plains were spectacular. After the location of camp 1 was decided, the three staff members remained and started to chop out a level platform on the slope. Jon and I descended back to the transition camp on skis where I managed to fall a dozen times on the precarious slope – precarious for me on skis that is.

On our arrival at the transition camp about ten members of the team were now trickling in. After a quick lunch Jon and I picked up more tents, stoves, and fuel then headed back up the slopes to camp 1. I arrived at camp 1 where Tselantou was busy hacking out a platform with an ice ax and shovel. One tent was being erected, so I jumped in to help Tselantou hack out the last part of leveling the platform. Jon was busy wanding the route up to camp 1 as more and more team members started to ascend past him. We managed to get five tents up and the ten members had shelter for their night’s stay at camp 1.

Jon ascended above camp 1 about 100 meters to check on the route, while I descended down the slope in apprehension back to the transition camp. My descent on skis was much better this time with only four falls. I was truly tense. In the back of my mind there was a real fear of not being able to stop or not being able to turn quickly enough to avoid a crevasse. For me the skiing was difficult only because of the hazards that lie below. I would probably be more relaxed and bolder on a normal ski slope back home, but here a mistake would be disastrous. After packing up the skis and caching them at the transition camp, I descended back to basecamp in a flash, it only took me 30 minutes to descend the ridge trail, and now my knees are reminding me of my over zealous descent.

Mustagata is described as an easy 7500-meter mountain to climb. From a technical aspect this is quite true, there are relatively few hazards with the exception of hidden crevasses and the potential for disastrous storms that cause whiteouts. The mountain does not require technical ability, but what truly makes Mustagata a challenge is its height. In the few days that we have been here two people have come down with high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). Altitude is the great equalizer in this game of mountaineering, and for some of our members it certainly has proved that. In my experience climbing with young aspiring mountaineers, they seem to be the first casualties in the high altitude world of mountaineering. Usually they are strong, confident, and ready to take on the challenge. In most cases they seem to need to prove to themselves that they are tough enough for the challenge ahead. They want to carry heavy loads and prove that they have the strength to do it on their own. What generally happens is that they wear themselves out and the altitude hits them like a car moving at 60 miles per hour. Suddenly they become humbled by what is taking place within their body. The headaches, the restless nights, the deteriorating muscles, it all begins to wear on their mental state, and this is where the battle is truly fought, in the head. Soon they begin to listen to the older climbers, and soon they realize that climbing a mountain isn’t about being a tough guy or trying to prove oneself to the world that they can do it, rather they learn this is a personal challenge, one that requires patience and mental strength. This of course is all based on my experience these last few days filming a young chap who truly has a big heart and is learning quickly that the end game is based on listening to your body and listening to the wisdom of those who have learned the hard way as well.

Jon and I head up this afternoon for a stay at camp 1 and to set a route and establish camp 2 the next day. Wish us luck.

Finally it feels like the climb is truly underway. All the members have reached camp 1 and spent the night there. Camp 1 is 1,050 vertical meters above basecamp, a good trek. Some of the members had a painful night at camp 1, which for their first time sleeping at such an altitude, is expected. Altitude sickness is not nice, and can include splitting headaches, sleepless nights, and nausea. The good news is that most people acclimatize quickly, and once back down a basecamp, feel a thousand times better. Everyone is now taking a rest, and then will head up to camp 2 in a few days.

The politics on the mountain continue and keep us amused. There are two base camps on the mountain. The one we use, called the ‘Tash’ route basecamp, was pioneered in 2005. The other one, known as the normal route basecamp, has been used by expeditions for many years. The company that manages the normal route basecamp greatly dislikes the fact that we use the Tash basecamp, as they have no control over us; or more importantly, they cannot charge fees for its use. (In order to maintain anonymity we will simply call this company, “the mob.”) The mob has been attempting to wrestle control of the Tash basecamp, but with no avail. Instead, they send official looking personnel to our basecamp, who hand out official looking letters written in almost incomprehensible English, saying that we are climbing illegally and must leave the mountain immediately.

It’s all very entertaining and adds a little more excitement to basecamp life. Our climb continues as normal, the most unpredictable factor being the weather.

Last night was a little colder than the previous night and yet there were times when our sleeping bags had to be unzipped when we became too warm. It snowed during the night and there had been a violent thunderstorm. The upper section of the route up to camp one had a light dusting of snow, which burnt off as the day progressed. We had arrived at Base Camp on Saturday the fifth July after a three-hour walk in from the road head. I was starting to feel a lot better after his bouts of sickness during the previous few days. After striking camp at the “Acclimatisation Camp” the gear had been loaded onto the truck and we all piled into the bus and set off for the mountain stopping briefly to check-in with the Police at the small station in Subaxi. We left the Karakorum Highway and pulled on to an uneven dirt track with the bus bouncing along for a few miles until we could see a group of camels in the distance. The truck was there and gear was already being unloaded. Some of the camels sat quietly while others were agitated, their mouths dripping with bright green saliva and foul smelling breath. After a while we set off on our way to base camp and left the camel herders and the staff to sort out the loading.

Base camp life is mainly about eating, drinking and getting acclimatised and the mess tent allows for socialising and swapping ideas. The individuals are becoming a more cohesive team as we get to know each other better. There are other teams here too from Colorado, led by a Russian guide, and Poland. The rocky site is a sea of tightly packed, brightly coloured tents. Our team is truly international with members from Belgium, China, Finland, Holland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The cooks are constantly boiling water and the food is a mix of Chinese and western cuisine. Although the generator has broken down at the moment, a new one will soon be bought up by mule. This gives us electric light and battery and laptop charging facilities. We have a small shower tent. Hot water placed in a large plastic bag hung from the tent roof with a showerhead at the base gives a brisk but invigorating experience.

Jon Otto’s attention to detail is very impressive. In the last few days he has covered basic mountain skills such as moving together whilst roped on a glacier. He covered how to attach oneself to a rope through prussic knots or jumars (a camming device) which allow upward movement but lock onto the rope in the event of a fall. Radio protocol was also covered and we have many radios throughout the team and staff.  We have set communication times at eight am and eight pm. The higher camps, starting with the highest taking priority to talk to the camps lower down the mountain. Base camp is the last to have its say.

Already the altitude is having its effect on some of the team members either through headaches or vomiting. One team member has already suffered a very low bout of high altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPE) which was diagnosed through crackling in his lungs on expiration. He is now taking Nifedipine to counter this and has made a dramatic recovery.

High altitude gear has in the main been transported up the mountain to just below camp 1. There is a small intermediate camp to cache gear at the end of the rock ridge just below the glacier. This will be useful to deposit boots and skis and snowshoes before descending to base camp.  On the afternoon of the sixth, a huge row broke out between the local Tajiks and the Kirgiz as to who would carry the gear up the mountain. The locals eventually claimed the right and their mules carried the heavier gear up for fifteen Yuan per kilo. Those who preferred carried their own heavy rucksacks up to “Intermediate Camp.”

Yesterday morning after breakfast Jon Otto called me over to his tent and asked me if I would like to ski the mountain because Asu, his head Chinese guide, had hurt his ankle and would not be able to. The most important thing was to make sure that the ski bindings fitted my mountain boots. We spent a good fifteen minutes checking the way the front and rear welts fitted into the ski mountaineering binding. (Mountain boots have a deeper welt at the toe and heel to take a crampon. Ski mountaineering boots are specially designed to take the bindings.) They seemed to fit really well. Jon, Tim, and I then spent time making new skins to put on the base of the ski. This allows the ski to glide forward but grip when pulled back due to the way the pile on the material is set. In other words it only goes one way.

Later we travelled up the scree slope by a series of switch backs to join the ridge which continued up to the “Intermediate Camp.” There was no race but it felt good to be out and exercising. After about three hours and a height gain of eight hundred metres, we arrived at a small cluster of tents and dumped our own personal gear before heading back down the mountain dinner and a rest. Jon and Tim remained to place wands (flags on bamboo poles) to Camp 1 and organise the pitching of tents and spend a night before a scheduled return the next day.

The team was now beginning to separate out in terms of acclimatisation and it became a matter of personal feeling on reading one’s own body’s signals.

We are happily settled into base camp. It was long slog to get here and to get all the tents up, but it feels good to have our homes established and to finally be starting this climb. Finally we're off! All of the mountains are in plain view for the first time. The views here are nothing short of spectacular, some of the most breathtaking I've ever seen. I've been getting some amazing footage with the camera. And we are taking still shots as well. We will share them via a courier who is running them to Kashgar right now on a flash drive.

Our activities came to a halt this afternoon when everyone came and got me and Jon to help a sick climber. He is part of another expedition here and he is suffering from a very serious case of HAPE from being up at Camp I (17,700 feet / 5400 meters). His expedition didn't have emergency medical supplies, so we checked his blood/oxygen level and blood pressure. Jon gave him a shot of steroids to help his lungs. We are packing him onto a camel now because he needs to get down to oxygen-rich air as fast as possible. There is concern as to whether or not he will be able to hang onto the camel and ride it down. His condition is extremely serious.

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and hung my head out the tent and just lay there viewing all the stars in all their full glory. The Milky way crossed right overhead in a long, dense cluster of stars that melded together like one big streak of light. It made me feel infinitely small, but a part of something far greater, even spiritual. Our earth could be only one in infinity. We need to take care of it.

Today Mike and I climbed a 3920 meter (12,860 feet) peak behind our camp. It had a bit of exposed fourth-class, crumbly shale. We reached the summit and celebrated with a bag of Haribos, and properly named the mountain Haribo Peak. (The Haribos are a tradition we started on our 2001 Everest climb.) I filmed the epic ascent as Mike cautiously negotiated the loose, flaking arête. We made it down and had lunch.

When I realized that today is the 4th of July, I made sure to remind Mike that it was my country’s independence day. As a Brit, that has a little different meaning for him than it does for me.

We are hoping to retire early tonight in advance of our early start tomorrow. Through a combination of vehicles and hiking, we should establish base camp tomorrow. Mike continues to battle his illness.

Our camp here is visited regularly by some wild dogs, and they've showed a persistent interest in a couple of our boxes. The Chinese staff members have been constantly yelling at the dogs and shooing them away. I didn't understand this little dance and why it was happening until I got a look at the contents of the two boxes. They are stuffed full of live chickens. Apparently they are meals for later in the climb.

This will be quite brief as we have encountered many problems with our sat phone modem and may have to resort to sending dispatches via a runner to Kashgar. So I have to get this out quick.

Mike was able to enjoy one day of partial freedom from illness. Sad to report this but good ole Mike is now suffering from the same thing I experienced in Kashgar, and of course, I am to blame.

We made it out to Karakul Lake on a very nice luxury bus. Camp was set up right along the side of a smaller lake across the highway called Setwalad Kol. The views of Mustagata are breathtaking from our tent vestibule.

Immediately after arriving I climbed above camp to take footage of the surrounding peaks including Kongur. The wind picked up on our arrival and as I was high on the ridge I took my attention off the camera and tripod for only a second when I turned to see the whole setup blowing over in the wind almost becoming airborne and blowing over the abyss 700 feet to the lake below.

The camp became engulfed in wind blown dust and soon it started to lightly rain before we retired for the evening. The team is together and everyone gets along brilliantly. I’m running out of battery now. The morning views of Mustagata were incredible, we spent a good hour taking photos and filming.

Everyone is prepping and making last minute changes to their kits before our departure for Mustagata. The entire team went out for a wonderful cultural dinner and Uigher dancing. Mike was still on the mend so I stayed behind with my mate. I didn’t feel right leaving him behind alone, so we both enjoyed a very simple meal of rice porridge to calm the lingering effects of our ailments.

Jon worked through the night taking care of the large amount business required to lead a group of this size — close to 30 including the staff. During the day Jon conducted a pre-departure meeting that covered everything from high altitude medicine to the basic functions of how the camps will be established on the mountain. For many of these clients it’s not necessarily about the climbing but more about the thrill of skiing such a high peak. Nevertheless if you can’t climb it, then you can’t ski it. Right?

I am still thumbing out these dispatches on my BlackBerry and may have to continue this way throughout the duration. Mike was fortunate enough to compose a letter the proper way, using a computer. Hopefully on the mountain we will come up with a solution to our PC sat phone problem.

I threw myself on to the bed perspiring and exhausted after another painful bout of retching.

Although early in the morning the sun’s heat was already oppressive. Eventually it would climb nearly overhead. Birds were twittering in the trees and the distant sound of a donkey braying could be heard over the gentle sound of traffic. Occasional car horns could be heard punctuating the low background hum of Kashhgari’s going about their early morning business. The solitary mystical sound of a nearby muezzin calling the faithful to prayer eventually rose above the everyday sounds, echoing around the courtyard of the Seman Hotel penetrating deep into our consciousness.

The last few days had been a whirl of hotels and plane journeys with little sleep. The ten and a half hour flight from London’s new Terminal five (T5) at Heathrow Airport had ended at the new Terminal three (T3) in Beijing. Both buildings had a similarity about them being light and airy and very spacious. Beijing’s new terminal dwarfed London with three identical buildings linked by an automatic shuttle train. Everything was fresh and new. Immigration formalities were over in a few moments and after traveling to the next terminal by the shuttle train I soon retrieved my luggage. There was no one to meet me from the hotel so after a few phone calls to Tim I was directed to the pick-up point and settled down to wait for the shuttle bus. After an hour a Bellboy arrived from the Sino-Swiss Hotel and loaded the gear on to the shuttle bus there was a lot of it. After all we were going on an expedition to a very hill. My two old friends Tim Boelter and Shaolin (Lao) Wang were waiting at the entrance. Tim thrust a cold beer into my hand. “Hi, it’s great to see you. How are you?”  We shook hands and slapped each other on the back.

“Hello Mike.”  A grinning Lao Wang extended his hand.  I had not seen either of them for nearly a year when we were last together and had driven from Lhasa in Tibet to Chengdu in Sichuan along the dangerous Tibet-Sichuan Highway.

We had the last three seats on the three hour forty five minute flight from Beijing to Urumqi where we laid over for an hour and a half in the air conditioned terminal while outside the temperature was nudging forty degrees centigrade. We watched a Pakistan Air force C130 try to start its engines. The crew all stood in the shadow of the wings trying to avoid the intense heat.  The flight to Kashgar lasted an hour and a half and we were met at the airport by Tyeer and transported slowly to the hotel while he made a series of phone calls. We later met with Jon Otto and Bjorn Lindgren, a young snow boarder from Sweden.

The next few days were spent buying odd pieces of essential equipment around Kashgar.

On the evening of the 30th June we had dinner in a Uighur restaurant opposite the recently painted entrance to the Id Kah Mosque, the largest in China. Its large fine wooden doors contrasted with the freshly painted yellow brickwork.  Built in 1422 it can hold up to 20,000 people during religious celebrations. Since we were last here two years ago the town had seen massive changes. Parts of the “Old Town” by the Mosque had been demolished to make way for a new trendy shopping mall. In the square in front of the mosque was a large television display screen. People sat around in small groups watching the images play across the screen. The intrusive loud speaker system barked out across the square. After a while one of the watchers would rise to their feet and move away only to be replaced by another. The afternoon heat radiated back off the stonework adding to the evening’s warmth.  The city has changed in the two years since we were last here with a lot of new development.  Yet it still maintains its kaleidoscope of colours, smells and sounds. The many different ethnic groups thrust together through trade still at this most important stopping off point on the “Silk Route.”  The camel caravans may no longer pass this way north to Russia and on into Europe or south to Pakistan and through into India but the spirit of the entrepreneur still lives in Kashgar.  It is here that central Asia literally collides with China and the Far East. Although the romanticism of this exotic city still bites deeply into ones soul it is with a hint of sadness that so much of a bygone age is disappearing on the altar of progress and modernisation.

The next day was so frustrating. We spent the whole day attempting to set up communication between the satellite phone and the laptop computer. Just when we thought we had nearly achieved it, at the last minute we failed. It was during this time that I had eaten the food that was to bring me so much distress. As I write this in the evening at the desk in our room I cannot believe I have lost a whole day. At times too ill to get up from the bed at others having to move quickly to make the bathroom. I feel really weak now and having missed the pre-expedition meeting earlier I have decided not to go to the welcome dinner. Tim and Lao Wang have been really good friends looking after me.  Even Jon Otto and Yao Chen, one of the Chinese guides and Bjorn Lindgren who has the room opposite have been up to see how I am progressing. Perhaps I will be able to sleep it off after I can rehydrate.  We will have to wait and see......

I am here climbing Mustagata on behalf of BlueSheep Adventures. I’ll be filming all aspects of this climb to help highlight Jon Otto and all of the tireless work he does to put together these seamless climbs. For those of you who have seen my Higher Ambitions film, you probably feel as if you know Jon already.

Jon has upwards of 20 clients here in Kashgar getting prepped to make this climb. Many of them have more experience with skiing and snowboarding than they do climbing. Mustagata gives them a unique opportunity to climb up a very high mountain without much technicality so that they can ski or board back down. This gives me the chance to follow along with some of these clients who are getting their first taste of seriously high altitude. One guy has caught my attention early on and I’m thinking about telling some of his story in my film.  

His is Bjorn Lindgren, a 22-year-old Swedish snowboarder. He has never climbed a big mountain before — this will be his first crack at high altitude. He is also attempting to snowboard from the summit. Bjorn is a really dedicated and disciplined athlete and although he is still quite young in a mountaineering sense. He displays quite a bit of wisdom in his approach to climbing Mustagata. It may not be a technical mountain, but it is a very high mountain. He is approaching it seriously and with respect.

While I’m meeting some of the members of the expedition, poor Mike has been doing everything he can to get the Iridium modem to connect to the internet via the laptop. It has indeed been a very long day, and we still have no connection. My Blackberry has been doing a fabulous job of relaying dispatches, the only drawback is that you are limited in your typing skills, which means you have to thumb your way through it, and photos are limited to whatever the onboard camera can deliver in quality.

More updates to come. We will be leaving to the mountain on Thursday as we are still organizing gear here in Kashgar.

Being in Kashgar is quite literally a world away from the busy, modern life of Beijing. Culturally it's another country. It feels great to be back here. Two years ago in May of 2006 Lao Wang, Mike and I arrived here at 4:00 am in the morning. We had driven straight through from Korla along the northern edge of the Taklimakan Desert. This time we arrived on the wings of a plane yawed excessively to one side as we landed hard at the Kashgar airport. Arriving on a plane lacked a certain level of intimacy with the people and the geography, something we had definitely experienced when we spent weeks driving and interacting with the people and landscapes to get this far (Kashgar).

Our day started early as we departed from Beijing at 7:45 am. To get to the airport we were up at 5:15 am. But we didn't get to bed until late. Lao Wang stumbled into the hotel sometime around 12:30 am after taking a wild goose chase around Beijing to get a package shipped to him for the climb.

We managed to divvy up the remainder loads to within the 20 kilo weight restriction for China domestic flights and headed off to the old domestic airport terminal. Our gear would be checked as far as Urumuqi, where we would have to retrieve them from baggage claim and then recheck them for Kashgar. Security is really tight in Urumuqi and Kashgar. I assume it has to do with potential problems with the Olympics and torch relay, which came through here only days before. Lao Wang’s carry-on bags were gone through with a fine-toothed comb. Eventually he had to have some liquids (medicine and shaving cream) checked in.

When we arrived at the airport we were met outside by one of Jon's travel agents and taken to the Seman Hotel. This hotel is part of the old Russian consulate. The rooms are old but the walls and ceiling are adorned with colorful plastered 20th century Russian design.

Two years ago we didn't stay at this tourist and backpacker hangout, however we made many trips to John's Cafe next to the hotel to eat and write dispatches during our visit in Kashgar.

Today we have to go through the equipment and sort out what we'll be bringing to the hill. Mike is still sleeping like a baby and I'm writing this while making trips to the restroom with a bout of something similar to food poisoning. Hopefully I'll feel better soon.

Yesterday was all about business at the WL Gore Asia photo shoot. I shot an hour of video at the K-King Studio in downtown Beijing as Jon and his Chinese climbing partner, Dalio, modeled the latest in outdoor fashion for the photographer. Jon and Dalio were treated like Hollywood stars as they were prepped with makeup and dressed in the finest new GORE-TEX.

With the temperature in the high seventies and the dew point almost as high (not to mention the hot studio lights) these poor guys were sweating so bad underneath all the cold weather gear that they probably shed a pound or two in water weight. As two of Gore’s top sponsored athletes in China, this was the only drawback — being pampered by pretty assistants and sweating in front of cameras. So as Jon and Dalio roped up and dug their crampons into the angled plywood slope used to replicate a mountain ridge (on the studio photo stage) I was compelled to make the comment that they better enjoy the technical climbing now because the stage props are steeper then Mustagata.

In addition to Jon’s photo shoot I had to deliver marketing footage from our Siguniang climb and sign a contract with Gore for its usage in an advertising campaign.

We spent a good four hours at the photo shoot before I had to leave and meet with my local production partner, Liang Peng. Yesterday was mostly about wrapping up some business while here in Beijing. Today Jon and Yao go shopping for last minute items for the clients while Mike arrives at 9:30 am from London. Jon and Yao will travel to Kashgar today and Lao Wang, Mike and I will leave tomorrow.

That’s it for now.

No matter how many times you cross that big pond called the Pacific Ocean, you never quite get immune to the 15-hour flight. Actually ours turned out to be more like 17 hours after flying around a massive thunderstorm near Beijing. It was dark out and the flashes of lightning radiated blue ozone through the cabin. We bounced around the sky leaving the passenger next to me nauseous. I think it delayed our arrival by 50 minutes. And although we landed near the sparkling brand new terminal that will greet close to 80 million passengers a year and welcome visitors to the Olympics, we spent the next 30 minutes taxing away from it only to arrive at the tired old terminal.

I finally arrived in Beijing. A post storm fog layered the city, mixed with the ever-present fumes of vehicle exhaust. It had that bad combination of humidity and pollution. I was a bit shocked by the pollution. I figured that with the Olympics so near the city would be cleaning up. Perhaps it was that it was late at night and all the trucks were out hauling.

Before I even claimed my luggage I picked up a new SIM card for my Chinese cell phone and exchanged money. I then called my ol’ friend Lao Wang who was meeting me here in Beijing. He dispatched another friend of ours from the Siguniang climb, Yao Chen, to pick me up and take me downtown to our hotel where Lao Wang was waiting.

After I flew through customs with all the climbing gear (two oversized duffle bags) and camera essentials, Yao was there to meet me within 20 minutes.

Yao was a young, up and coming climber in Jon Otto's company, AAIC. Yao doesn't speak English and I don't speak Mandarin yet we always seem to communicate well. He is a truly genuine guy who always extends a hand when you need one. After a big hug and hello, Yao quickly took all my bags and escorted me to his parked car. We were off.

At the hotel Lao Wang was waiting. By time we caught up on the events in the past year I finally was able to lay in the horizontal position (after nearly 25 hours). It was good to be back in China.

Mike Chrisp, my good friend, traveling buddy, and climbing partner from the 2001 Everest attempt will arrive here on the 28th. Once again Mike, Lao Wang, and I will reunite.

Jon Otto who is organizing the Mustagata trip for BlueSheep and SummitClimb is already here in Beijing staying at Yao Chen's. I won't see Jon for another few hours when I film him at a WL Gore photo shoot. Jon is a sponsored Gore athlete here in China and this is one of those duties that calls.

It’s a trip with a lot of familiar faces, and although Mustagata isn’t a technical peak, but rather a straightforward climb up sweeping snow slopes (glaciers) with crevasses, it’s high in altitude and cannot be taken too lightly. For Lao Wang, who has done very little in climbing, this will be a tremendous challenge.