The Expedition to Climb Mustagata

A video diary of the journey

Days 1-8Days 9-16Days 17-24

Expedition Day 1
My first day in Kashgar. I explore the town, talk with locals and meet Rico, a chinese climber who will be a member of the expedition.
Expedition Day 2
Meet John, our expedition leader from Summit Climb. We also took a hike to Shipton's Arch, one of the largest natural rock arches in the world.
Expedition Day 3
Meet Phil, our mountain guide and a few of the other climbers. Today was my last day in Kashgar so I decided to visit the market area. It was quite an experience interacting with the store keepers.
Expedition Day 4
We're loading the gear and traveling by bus to the first acclimitazation camp. Unfortunately the military has built a compound next to the proposed camp site so we are forced to find an alternate site.
Expedition Day 5
Our first day of acclimitazation at 3,500 m. After breakfast and some interesting conversation we head out on our acclimitazation hikes. Meet Roger, a businessman from the Australia and Dennis a geologist from the UK.
Expedition Day 6
Meet Chris who tells us how he passed through customs without his passport. We also move from acclimitazation camp to base camp today. The journey proves to me more complicated than expected.
Expedition Day 7
A day of rest and acclimitization at base camp (4,500 m). Roger became ill yesterday, he's not adjusting well and tells us what he's experiencing. We also learn how to tie-in safely.
Expedition Day 8
Today we move to Camp one with our full backpacks. Walking on scree with a 50# pack is quite treacherous. Stashed our gear and returned to base camp. Phil falls into a crevasse while setting ropes up to Camp 2.