Southeastern China

Southeastern China K ang K arpo an d M eili Ranges. In O ctober, N icholas C linch, Peter D avis, G ary D riggs, B rian and D iane O konek, Peter Schoening and I, supported by P rofessor Zhou Z heng, Sun Po, Zhou Rong, Lin C ong and Cai Shun-B o, visited the K ang K arpo and M eili ranges in northw estern Y ünnan. [It is interesting that Z hou Z heng has learned that the use o f M eili for the Kang Karpo range was a m istake. The m ountains south o f the Shu La are called the K ang K arpo range (Snow W hite M ountains) and those north o f the pass are called the M eili range. M eili may m ean “C hinese M edical M ountains” because o f the herbs found th e re .— N icholas C linch.] We established Base C am p at D otun at 14,000 feet on the Shu La trail, an old trade route leading into Tibet. We had good w eather at the beginning o f the trip and reconnoitered south both on the Y ünnan and T ibetan sides o f the K ang K arpo range. We found few acceptable routes. O ne we considered feasible was up the second highest o f the K ang K arpo range, P 6509, from the T ibetan side. We decided to try this route, but a sudden storm closed the Shu La to anim als. M eanw hile, Schoening and D riggs m ade the first ascent of Shulajaingoim arbo (5292 m eters, 17,362 feet), the highest peak in the M eili range, north o f the Shu La. It was m ostly scram bling follow ed by a snow gully. A fter the storm , w hen we realized we could not m ove cam p to our real objective, we crossed the Shu La to the Salw een R iver over and back. E d w a r d L eas