Exploring the Xiashe Massif, Sichuan Province, China

The next four days we spent resting at base camp, watching the British through binoculars, and making plans for what to do with the remaining 10 days. A steady stream of local yak herders visited the camp. After much deliberation, we decided to pay another peak fee and have a go at the first ascent of Jarjinjabo, a striking 5,725 m peak about 15 km southwest of Xiashe. The weather remained fine and stable.

Along with Lenny and Tae-Woon, we left base camp at about 10:00 am on the 19th in Tae-Woon's jeep with the intention of driving across the Zhopu pasture to get as close as possible to the base of Jarjinjabo. Despite some vigorous driving by Tae-Woon, the jeep was finally thwarted by a creek, approximately 5 km from the mountain. We off loaded, and Lenny promised to return on the 26th to the same spot. Hefting large packs, we walked up a moraine wall into a beautiful hanging valley, where we were met by a friendly family of yak herders. The family invited us into their house for food, but we declined the offer and continued on our way. We ascended a small pass and crossed into another valley at the base of the mountain, where we camped for the night by a small glacial lake at 4,350 m. In hindsight, access to the mountain would have been easier if the we had traveled farther west around a spur, then walked up the next valley over when the jeep had dropped us off.

The next morning, we made two consecutive carries of 500 m to get all our equipment up to 4,800 m. We set up camp on a moraine beside a small tarn and made another carry up to 5,000 m underneath the southeast face of Jarjinjabo. After caching the gear, we climbed a steep gulley for 100 m to get a good look at the face and to scout for a potential campsite, then returned to the camp at 4800 m.

The team moved all the equipment up to a camp at the bottom of the glacier on the face at 5,100 m the next day and dug a platform out under a cliff face that afforded some protection from the wind. At 2:00 pm, the weather turned and it started to snow, continuing all night and into the next day.

Heavy snowfall confined us to the tent for the next 2 days. By the first evening, spindrift avalanches from the cliff above were starting to threaten the tent, so we moved camp back down to a safer spot at the base of the gully.

By morning on the 24th, the weather looked like it was starting to clear. However, we needed several days of fine weather before the mountain would be safe to ascend. With time, fuel, and supplies running short, we decided to abandon the ascent. After packing, we descended to the Zhopu pasture where there was a foot of new snow. The weather cleared to a fine evening as we established camp on the pasture near a yak herder's village.