I'm looking for people interested to join a Muztagh Ata climb summer 2012. Prefer partners from Southern California for easier planning and training but other qualified partners also welcome. Exact timing not fixed but will be from early June to mid July.

Came here to open a similar topic, so unless you object a Belgian living in Switzerland to participate for logistical reasons, I'd be more than interested.

Pat and I have been talking about this. So now we have three interested.

kevin trieu wrote:Pat and I have been talking about this. So now we have three interested.

I'm currently emailing Pat, I'll ask him to forward you my emails.

The team is getting big enough to start some real planning. As a self-guided group costs will be minimal although a mountain of this size and in such a remote location still requires about 4 weeks. Timing should be from around second week of June to second week of July.

Send me an Email or PM to join the conversation.

Corax et al,
Do you have leads (ie. phone or website) for inquiring about permits? I've also read that the mountain gets cellphone service (perhaps up to C3). Do you have any idea how reliable is the service and whether there is 3G?

Pat

according to Kobler and Partner cellphone works and you need roaming with China Mobile

Have fun guys and good luck

Might want to allow a day or two for travel delays. There's some serious stuff going down in Xinjiang that's not making the news and 'security' is an issue. Should be fine, but might cause minor frustrations. Lure Corax back on here for more info.

Damien Gildea wrote:There's some serious stuff going down in Xinjiang that's not making the news and 'security' is an issue. Should be fine, but might cause minor frustrations. Lure Corax back on here for more info.

The situation in Xinjiang is deteriorating fast at the moment. It has been going in waves, but only weeks ago a dozen plus people were killed in Yecheng County, not so far away from Kashi. If you're lucky the situation has improved until you go, but it can go the other way as well. When I was in Xinjiang late last fall there were lots of checkpoints everywhere, the choice of which hotels one could use was very limited (usually one hotel in each city along the Southern Silk Route accepted non-Chinese citizens) and it was close to impossible to use internet bars. If worst come to worst the situation may become something similar to what we see in Xizang/Tibet at the moment. Some sort of lite version of martial law where basically all kind of travel is extremely regulated by the government. I don't think tourism and mountaineering will come to a full stop, but for example travel to Kashi as an individual visitor may become very difficult. If you're on a group permit for Muztagh Ata everything should be alright, but the options which have been around before may be gone.
As for personal safety I guess it's down to luck and not being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Usually it's calm over there, but when unrest strikes it usually appears out of the blue.
At a few occasions when walking or biking in dark places in the major cities I was confronted by Uyghyrs who obviously didn't like westerners and the fact that I was there. It was very close it turned into something violent at one occasion. Chinese may warn you about the safety at night and they do have a point.

Corax wrote:... it was close to impossible to use internet bars.

In Deqen (Yunnan) last October I was abruptly turned away from the only two internet places in town. Locals could only get online by submitting their ID cards. They didn't want anything to do with foreigners. Back down in Zhongdian though, tourists were walking around with their iPhones, Skype-videoing the souvenir shops to their friends back in Europe.

Uyghyrs who obviously didn't like westerners and the fact that I was there.

That's unfortunate, no? The more outsiders see what's going on, the better, I would have thought. Not that it's done Tibet much good so far.

thanks for the update on the current security situation guys. will take this into consideration.

Damien Gildea wrote:

Corax wrote:... it was close to impossible to use internet bars.

In Deqen (Yunnan) last October I was abruptly turned away from the only two internet places in town. Locals could only get online by submitting their ID cards. They didn't want anything to do with foreigners. Back down in Zhongdian though, tourists were walking around with their iPhones, Skype-videoing the souvenir shops to their friends back in Europe.

Uyghyrs who obviously didn't like westerners and the fact that I was there.

That's unfortunate, no? The more outsiders see what's going on, the better, I would have thought. Not that it's done Tibet much good so far.

Officially, you now have to have a Chinese ID-card to use public computers. Everywhere in China. Even in some internet bars in Beijing this rule is enforced. In some places where there's a lot of tourism it's easier to gain access, but it can be hard even in a place like Lijiang. In some places it's impossible. At least without help from the police. Two times I really had the need to use the internet and I got some help from the local PSB.
The only other way to gain access, if the police don't want to help you is 1. if you have your authorized guide with you and he/she agrees or 2. if you can show an emergency or accident report signed by the authorities. I'm not sure exactly what this means, but that was what I was told in an internet bar which wouldn't let me use their computers.
A funny little episode occurred in Yushu when I was trying to use the internet. The Tibetan guys working there were all into punk and rebellion (telling from their t-shorts and hairstyles). They told me it was forbidden to use the internet for foreigners and then one of the guys said: Police! Fuck you! Police! Fuck you! Flipping both middle fingers at some imaginary police in front of him. He then used his own ID to register for my session.

As you mention, the weird thing is that one can use WiFi and smartphones without any problems. I guess it's only a matter of time until we can see restrictions in that area too

Tentative plans early July for 4 weeks via Bishkek.

Muztagh ata permit share or others logistics needed pleae try with us .