Muztagh Ata, China. Ski Mountaineering Expedition.

Where Old Silk Road trade routes meet today’s Karakoram Highway, the spirit of the Uyghur people is alive in the streets. In June of 2013, Aron Ralston, Michael Ash, and I traveled to western China to climb and ski Muztagh Ata Mountain and travel amongst the Uyghur people. Upon returning from a successful climb and ski on the peak, a Uyghur friend told me:

“The courage to climb and ski a huge mountain is just like anything worth achieving in life: you have to work extremely hard, but the satisfaction and reward of meeting your goal is worth the struggle.

I think the mystery of a mountain and the compulsion to climb is like the struggle of the human spirit to know the world. Although we Uyghurs live in cities surrounded by the limits of the things we know, we always want to go beyond the borders of what is familiar.

Just like those that come to climb these mountains, we Uyghurs want to continue testing our courage in unknown places.”

Although the journey and struggle that Aron, Michael, and I faced on the mountain is nothing compared to the struggle that the Uyghur people face on a daily basis, after returning from the expedition I found that the bonds we made with the local people and the cultural components of the trip stuck with me long after the hardships of the trip faded into distant memory.

Full Trip Report: http://www.summitpost.org/skiing-muztagh-ata-china/872095
Article on Climb: http://beijingcream.com/2013/11/dispatches-from-xinjiang-climbing-the-father-of-ice-mountains/