72-Pitch First Ascent In China!

siguniang the wall start 200
Climbing.com has an interesting report from China written by Dylan Johnson that tells the story of he and his climbing partner Chad Kellogg, putting up the first ascent of the Southwest Ridge of Siguniang, a 6250 meter peak located in China’s Changping Valley.

Along the route, the two climbers experienced about everything you can imagine, including thick rain forests, a 2000 foot granite wall, and alpine ridges leading upward to the snowy summit. They also experienced a variety of weather conditions from mild and calm, to foggy and snowy, with a particularly sketchy night in the elements that offered up a sleet storm interlaced with lightning.

The climb lasted from September 21st through the 30th, with the guys going at it in alpine style. In fact, they had to bivy two nights on the granite face while tackling that 2000 foot wall, and a high camp on a glacial shelf at 18,300 feet.

The report, which can also be found over at The Alpinist, gives an excellent day by day account of the action. Congrats Dylan and Chad. Awesome work!

Kraig Becker

6 thoughts on “72-Pitch First Ascent In China!”

  1. Yes, it’s the same Chat Kellogg, and no we’re not going to discuss his speed climbs any further than that. He’s a great climber and there is plenty of controversy to go around when it comes to those claims.

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