Trip Reports

Mongolia Climber - 30 July to 14 August 2011

Written by Leader John Eames, August 2011

Mongolia is reeling from the effects of this year’s Jagged Globe Altai Climber group who returned to the UK on the 14th August. The Medieval invasions of the Mongol Hordes have now been avenged as the eateries of Ulaan Baatar (U.B.) have been pillaged, the nightspots of Olgi overrun and the mountains of the Altai ‘conquered’! The group consensus has unanimously been one of a very successful and enjoyable trip, all revelling in the culture and landscape of this extraordinary country.

A day’s delay in baggage arrival did little to deter our initial foray’s into U.B. to sample the sites and witness a city leap-frogging into the 21st century as the country’s mineral wealth is starting to be realised. This was followed by a delightful day trek up Mt. Tsetseegun to the south of the city and site of the world’s very first national park, established at the end of the 18th century. This was an ideal opportunity to sample unspoilt rural Mongolia and enjoy views of the city, spread out below the granite tors of the summit.

The flight to Olgi over the vast emptiness of Mongolia was followed by a quick and efficient transfer to Landcruisers and Russian ‘jeeps’ for the drive to the Altai – after a short diversion for extra ‘supplies’ for the thirsty …! During the journey, the first intimations of what has been an unsettled Summer weather-wise was evident as the normal views ‘en route’ were lost in cloud, followed in subsequent days by spells of wind, rain, snow, sleet and sun. Fortunately the sun shone whenever we really needed it – except for the day of the scheduled ascent of Nairandal! Having led this trip 7 years ago it was very reassuring to find the area still very unspoilt, very clean and little-visited; the only change was the appearance of one small footpath from Base Camp along the side of the glacier when before there was none! Our first day involved the trek from the road-end to the Base Camp ‘gers’ whilst camels took our bags and supplies, a superb walk that reveals a little more of the mountains as each of 4 ridges are crossed, finishing with a stunning view of snowy Khuiten at the head of the Potaniin Glacier.

On the second day we followed a circular route up to the Russian ‘border posts’ and the un-named top of 3625m with excellent views of Khuiten and the other mountains across an extraordinary, other-worldly Arctic plateau. Day 3 in the mountains was a much appreciated official ‘faffing day’ as clothing, equipment, tents, fuel and food were checked and sorted ready for our 3 day foray up the glacier; a perfect day for it as wind, cloud and drizzle swept the mountains. Overnight the temperature plummeted to around -10 C! This did, however, herald the arrival of clear and cold conditions, ideal for the trek up the glacier and our day scheduled for Khuiten. The trek carrying loads up to High Camp went well, crevasses were carefully ‘sounded’, tent sites were excavated and elaborate snow structures built to give shelter from the wind and provide good cooking areas by the tents. The dawn of the 7th August was brilliant and the 2 ropes set off soon after 7 a.m., taking the advantage of very good snow conditions for walking/climbing. Views into Russia and China improved gradually as we ascended and the ‘big slope’ leading up to the summit ridge gave a satisfying challenge, soon reaching a col on the ridge and our first look onto the dramatic snow and ice faces of the Chinese Altai. Another 15 minutes took us to the summit of Khuiten, perched above some huge curling cornices with fantastic, distant panoramas in all directions – and 10 very happy faces rather closer to hand!

The descent was straightforward, though the snow bridges lower on the glacier required careful negotiating as the snow softened in the afternoon sun. An afternoon of relaxing and rehydrating was the precursor to quite a dramatic change in the weather; during the night the wind picked up and shook our tents and fog and snow had swept in by dawn. After a few hours hoping for a break in the weather to give a chance of climbing Nairandal, we decided enough was enough, we packed our tents and headed back down the glacier to our Base Camp, very happy with our Khuiten success.

We had one day left for an ascent of Malchin and fortunately the weather, though not perfect, was more than good enough with some heavy snow showers and a brisk, bitter wind with good sunny spells and the clearest of air for views. The ascent requires some dogged determination but the panoramas into Russia and the views of the closer Altai as veils of snow swept passed were definitely worth it. One of the group even said it was his best day in Mongolia!

Our return to Olgi was accomplished in just one day giving us 2 nights to enjoy the ‘fleshpots’ of this very remote, frontier-like provincial capital and also to relax in our ‘gers’ in a quiet compound on the edge of town. The flight back to U.B. was without problem, allowing us to sample more ‘Mongolian weird’, from the excellent culture show including throat-singing and excruciating contortionism to the dubious delights of Marco Polo’s upstairs rooms and the excellent food of the Mexican and Indian menu at ‘Los Bandidos’. There is an awful lot more to Mongolia than empty steppes and mountains! An excellent, successful and very varied 2 weeks that was thoroughly enjoyed by all – in all sorts of ways!

John Eames, Expedition Leader« Previous report | Next report »

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