For more information please phone Ken on 07999958655 or visit kentrek.co.uk
Khuiten Report Aug 2019
Mount Khuiten Expedition
Expedition Leader: Ken Findlay
3rd – 19th August 2019
Ulaanbaatar
A
team of five clients and myself set out with the intention of climbing Mount
Khuiten, Mongolia’s highest mountain in August 2019.
When
Steve and I arrived in Ulaanbaatar our luggage was still somewhere in Moscow,
and we did go through several permutations about what we would do if they did
not turn up. However true to our guide’s words, they duly arrived the following
morning. There is something quite satisfying in being reunited with old
friends.
We
started in the capital Ulaanbaatar for a couple of days whilst all the team
arrived from various parts of the UK and the USA. Our Mongolian guide was very
helpful in taking us on a cultural journey around the capital, visiting various
museums and culminating in visiting Sukhbaatar Square in front of the Mongolian
Parliament. Here we could see the number of new buildings that had been built
in the last ten years, making it a strong commercial centre in central Asia.
Sukhbaatar
Square a place where School Reunions meet up and is a popular place for wedding
photographs
Looking
towards the Blue Sky Tower in UB
We
were also treated to an evening of culture, music and dance at a local Theatre,
which was packed to the rafters to watch the impressive show and experience the
legendary throat singing.
Tip:
take lots of photographs
Mount
Tsetseguun 2256m
On
Monday 5th August,
we did our first acclimatisation peak, which lies to the south of Ulaanbaatar.
The smooth tarmac of the centre soon gave way to the rutted roads I remember
from when I was here in 2002. This is the highest mountain in the Bogd Khan
National Park. It was founded in 1778, which makes it one of the oldest
protected parks in the world. It was a very pleasant walk through the forests,
which gave us shelter from the heat of the sun.
The
walk took around three hours up to the summit rocks and an ascent of around
572m. As we had lunch at the top, the heavens opened and it poured down, this
carried on all the way down the mountain. At times, we had to dodge the
tributaries that had formed and were racing us as we descended.
Tip:
take your time walking up this.
Mt
Tsetseguun summit
Arriving
at Olgi airport
Flight
to Olgi
On
Tuesday 6th August,
we flew to Olgi in the Western part of Mongolia and were then transported to a
camp just outside Tsa. The baggage allowance is only 15kg, so inevitably, we
were all over the weight and we were charged $5 per kilo (as expected).
Tip:
wear all the heavy gear
Walk
into Base Camp
Wednesday
7th August,
we were driven to the Oigor River National Park gate to start the walk of
around 11km to Base Camp. We only had light sacks as most of our gear was
going to be transported by Bactrian camels. The walk allowed us all to drift
into our own thoughts as we got the miles under our feet, stopping for drinks
and photo opportunities. All the while gazing across the horizon for the first
glimpse of our snowy peaks.
Tip:
take your ear plugs
Camels
transporting bags to BC
Base
camp looking up the glacier
Base
Camp and beyond
It
was a busy place when we arrived with at least eight other expeditions there,
from all corners of the world. Our tents were already up, and we were greeted
with hot tea and biscuits, a lovely and welcome surprise.
Thursday
8th August,
we did some glacier work and looked at group travel on the glacier and a couple
of useful knots. We practised walking up and down slopes, ice axe breaking,
clipping into a fixed line and abseiling.
Looking
down the Potaniin glacier
Friday
9th August,
we all went up to ABC as the horses took up the food supplies. It was amazing
how they managed on the snow. The route up the glacier took a line to the right
of centre up the dry glacier. It was easy going with just the steady metallic
noise of the crampons on the ice to break the silence. Further, up the glacier
it became transformed into a wet glacier with a few crevasses here and there.
At this point, the wind got up and we soon had light rain. The final push took
us behind a rock island and up a snow slope to be greeted by a row of tents and
ABC, with a great view of Mount Khuiten in front of us.
During
the evening, the wind began to pick up and it snowed through the night, along
with some very impressive thunder and lightning. There was a fair covering of
snow in the morning with the wind blowing the snow through the front flaps.
Throughout
Saturday 10th August,
it was a little frustrating to see lots of fresh snow on all the slopes on the
mountains around us. We made the best out of a bad day and once we had a break
in the weather, the team played cricket and baseball with the snow and an ice
axe. We also managed to build a snowman with some very interesting attachments.
ABC
with Khuiten in background
ABC
Mount
Nairamdal 4,180m
On
Sunday 11th August,
we woke up at around 8.30 a.m. as the wind and the snow had stopped. It was
blue sky and quite mild outside the tent. After being cooped up in the tent for
most of yesterday, it was good to get out, stretch, and walk about.
The
plan had been to climb Mount Khuiten this morning, but aware of potential
avalanche danger, we compromised and went up Mount Nairamdal 4180m. This seemed
a much better and safer option given the snow conditions. After having a quick
breakfast, we roped up into two groups and set off across the glacier towards
Nairamdal.
The
snow was still reasonably firm but there were some crevasses on the way up
towards the ridge on Nairamdal. We were followed by a group of friends of our
guides, who were going to snowboard down the face of our mountain. It was a
straightforward route up the mountain, with the occasional step collapsing and
going up to our knees in snow. It took us a couple of hours before we got to
the summit with views into both Russia and China, it was a fantastic viewpoint.
Nairamdal
summit ridge
Going
down to Base Camp from ABC
After
a few minutes on top, we quickly descended part of the way to watch the
snowboarder come down the face, before going back to the tents for lunch. Once
down at ABC, the group decided to go back down to BC and climb Malchin Peak in
the next two days. It was good to get back down to Base Camp to relax and tend
to sore feet.
Malchin
Peak 4,037m
On
Tuesday 13th August,
most of the group went up Malchin peak, which turned out to be a full day.
There were several other teams going up the mountain from Israel, Italy, Spain
and Norway. The route up followed a path for most of it up the rocky broken
ridge, before reaching a couple of snow ridges followed by mixed ground leading
to the summit. It was straightforward enough, but it took a long time
both up and down.
Malchin
Peak
Breakfast
time
Wednesday
14th August,
we walked out of Base Camp down to the White River Valley Gate of the Altai
Tavan Bogd National Park. The walk out was broken up by visiting a family in a
Ger which the team brought gifts for the children. We then camped for the last
time on this trip near the exit from the park.
We
were picked up by our transport the next morning on route to Olgi but on the way,
we stopped off to meet an Eagle hunter.
From
Olgi we stayed one night before flying back to Ulaanbaatar from where it all
started two weeks previous. Here we had a couple of days with members of the
team getting various flights home. We managed to see more sights such as
Chinggis Khan and his horse immortalised in metal in the middle of nowhere two
hours out of Ulaanbaatar.
We
did cram a lot into the two weeks we were there, and thanks to our guide who
was fantastic and to the 19-year-old cook at Base Camp/ABC who prepared some of
the best I have ever tasted on an expedition.
As
on all expeditions the weather was the deciding factor on what we achieved, and
though our initial objective was not reached, all the other peaks in the
programme were summited.
As
for Mongolia, well what a beautiful place it is, full of colour, vibrant and
proud people, a wonderful landscape and great food. What more could you ask
for?
Interesting
Statistics
3,210
T = £1
2,667
T = $1
Shave/Haircut
cost 37,000T
Three
mountains climbed.
Three
museums visited.
Total
ascent = 3,710m.
Total of 78.6 km walked.
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