New Frontier—Xinjiang by Holly Merriman
September 28th – October 8th, 2007

China is a country full of unique cultures, landscapes, and weather. While living in Southeast China in Zhuhai, a group of us decided to venture to a different area during the October holiday. We spent nine days in the Northwestern Chinese Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, which borders Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, India and Mongolia. What we found was a diverse culture, beautiful and remote landscape, and endless climbing potential.

Xinjiang is home to the Altai Mountains where we were hoping to get some climbing and exploring in. The plan was to fly into Urumqi (five hours from Zhuhai) and spend a couple of days there and get supplies. From there, we were heading north to Keketuohai Geologic Park for four days.

The first thing we noticed about this area was the dry air, and the much cooler temperatures. A bit of a change from the southeast. We met up with our contact in Urumqi who owns a small bar in town called "Fubar." With its relaxed atmosphere, hospitality, tasty pizzas, and good imported beers, it is definitely worth a visit.

We walked the next morning to a large market going on in the street just outside our hotel. The locals (which consisted of Chinese, Uygur, Hui, and Kazakh) were out selling their vegetables, fruits, and meats, breads made fresh in ovens on the street, clothing, knives and much more. We shopped around and got some fresh bread for breakfast. The next morning we left for Fuyuan which is a six-to-eight-hour drive north of Urumqi across the desert. It is a vast stretch of flat land with not much to see except for the occasional camel and herds of Przewalski's horses (Xinjiang’s endangered wild horse species.)

Upon arrival in Fuyuan, we had to obtain permits before entering the park (which was still an hour and a half drive away). Being one of the most remote regions in China, this area gets very few foreign visitors and in fact, we were told we were the first American> crew to visit. This became apparent after going to three police stations, a Military office, and a roadblock check station where our bags were searched. What we were left with was "oral permission" to enter the park and no physical permit. Once into the park, we were dropped off and the six of us piled into a 4WD Land Cruiser to take us the rest of the way in to our camping destination. Exhausted from the long day in the car, and the logistical issues, we set up camp in the dark and went to bed.

When we awoke the next day and took in the scenery, the troubles from the previous day dissipated as we realized it was well worth it. The air was crisp and cool, the trees were on fire with autumn colors, and there were large granite faces rising among the mountains that reach up to 300 meters. Not to mention the crystal clear river that was flowing through the canyon. Our plan for the day—explore and climb.

We hiked seven kilometers from our site to "The Monolith," a 300-meter tall granite wall that we had only seen previously in photos floating around the climbing community and, after scoping out a few potential routes and faces (as they are endless), we settled on a multipitch route that would potentially take us to the top. Fully expecting to finish in the same day, we had to bail when night fell and we had only finished one difficult pitch. We hand drilled an anchor and headed back.

On our way out, we stopped at a family’s yurt camp and bought some local beers for the long walk to camp. All of the locals we met in the area were very friendly and inviting. We got to our camp at dark where our hosts were grilling us up some lamb skewers. A good end to a great day.

We sought out the Monolith again the following morning in hopes of finishing our route. After getting to the third pitch, we realized the crack had run out and we did not have enough time or bolts to finish the route. We stopped at the same camp for beers and some lamb skewers before hitching a ride back to our campsite with some motorcycles. 50 RMB for six people to get rides back on six bikes; not too bad.

We decided to rent a large yurt from our host for the following two nights and it felt like living in luxury. Not only did we manage to move our things into the yurt before the rain and snow came, but the sleeping quarters were very comfortable and we were served delicious local dishes for dinner. With it raining on and off and snowing at higher altitudes, we spent our last day exploring one of the many canyons in the park. It ended up being a very scenic ridge hike in nice cool fall weather. Before parting, we gave our host some rope and headlamps. He and his family (family name, Guo) were very hospitable and I would recommend anyone traveling in that area to look him up. Our last night out there, he invited us to his yurt to celebrate his 41st birthday. We were entertained with laughter, singing, and delicious food.

Once in Fuyuan, we took a public bus back into Urumqi which turned out to be an eight hour trip as it made many stops (and a flat tire). Not highly recommended but definitely the cheapest way to go.

We were sad to be leaving the mountains knowing there was so much more climbing and exploring to be done. The route our group put up is estimated to be around 5.10c trad. It starts with a couple of slab moves, then hands to fingers, and it finishes on a stretch of wide #6 Camalot-size crack. The second pitch starts with pulling a bulge to some easy, course, chimney climbing. There are anchors at the top of the second pitch, but it is well worth the view to go just above them and top out on the boulder.

Overall, rock climbing in the Altai Mountains is remarkable. Not only is the scenery stunning, but the tall granite faces with their many cracks, pockets, and textured slabs have great potential for traditional and sport climbing, whether it is single or multipitch. Hopefully there will be more climbing advocates heading out there. Although it is hard to get to, especially for a foreigner, with some extra time, it is not to be missed!

We were able to end the last few days of our holiday in Kashgar. This city is over 1500 years old and was the hub for the old Silk Road. All of the people are mostly of Uygur decent, and traditionally Islamic by religion. A major highlight of the area was to see old streets where you could find everything at daily markets from spices, teas, camels, tasty breads (Nan’s), lots of fresh lamb, blacksmiths and wood carvers working down alleys, Islamic mosques and fresh squeezed pomegranate juice where you could fill up a water bottle for about a dollar. Kashgar, being just a two-hour flight out of Urumqi, is definitely recommended for a great cultural and culinary experience. However, if you have limited time or want to stay in just one area, I would recommend staying in the park. It was definitely the highlight of the trip.

Keketuohai Geologic Park, although isolated, is changing even as we were there. They are putting in new roads and paving dirt tracks to make it more accessible. This area becomes more and more recognized by vacationers each year. With the increasing number of tourists forecasted for this park, I only hope that visitors become more aware and conscious of the environment. While we were taking in the astonishing beauty of this unique place, we could not help but notice the amount of trash we saw even in remote corners of the park. This area has the potential to be a premier hiking, climbing, fishing and camping destination, and it will remain that way as long as great measures are taken to preserve it.