Keketuohai
By Dennis Gray
This looks like an interesting place to climb, looks like Tuolume etc, though there are some obvious difficulties, Ed.
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| Keketuohai. |
In September/October this year I managed to reach Keketuohai. I had been planning to go there for two or three years. It is situated in North East Xinjiang, in the southern Altai range. And is approx 600 kms from Urumqi the capital of the Province. I had heard about this valley from Chinese friends, one of who had actually been there himself. There are 108 granite peaks and domes there and it is the nearest place I have ever been you could compare to Yosemite. According to the people living there, no one has ever climbed at Keketuohai.
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| Keketuohai. |
It is now been accorded as a National Geological Park and a single track road has been constructed part way into the valley, through which runs the Lyrtish river. Travelling in Xinjiang is currently a dangerous occupation due to the social unrest between the Uighurs and Han Chinese. However the locals at Keketuohai are Kazaks, so they are not involved. It is now possible to fly to Urumqi from Moscow (two flights a week). And Keketuohai can be reached from there by Express bus, destination Altai, get off at Fu Yun. From there it is possible to travel by mini bus from the Tourist hotel in town to Keketuohai 70kms away. I've sent a couple of pictures from Keketuohai, one is of The Stone Bell Mountain, the other the granite scenery in the valley. Finally there are more boulders in the area than Caley! Anyone planning to attempt to go to Keketuohai, needs to be able to speak basic Mandarin, or be with someone who can! Finally it may also be necessary to get Doug Scott as the BMC's new representative on the UIAA, to approach the Chinese Mountaineering Association to get permission for climbing to commence at Keketuohai. I doubt that the CMA even knows it exists?
Zai Jian, Dennis Grey.
