In 1994 I spent four months traveling and climbing in China and Tibet. With Paula Quenomoen I visited Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Beijing, Kashgar and Lhasa; trekking and climbing along the way. From Lhasa we flew to Chengdu; this was at the end of September. Paula continued on home to America, but I stayed in Asia for another month, traveling alone.

In Chengdu I came across a picture book about Siguniang, which showed some remarkable looking peaks. This was the first time I had heard about this mountain area. So from Chengdu I got a local bus and traveled to the town of Rilong in the Qiong Lai mountains northwest of Chengdu. This area, on the edge of the Wolong Nature Preserve, is quite accessible and very scenic. Celestial Peak, a stunning rock pyramid first climbed by an American team in 1984, was the most renowned peak to outsiders. Celestial Peak, however, is overshadowed by the highest peak of Siguniang, a stunning fang of rock and ice and certainly one of the most beautiful 6000-meter peaks in the world.

I spent nearly three weeks in the area, exploring and climbing alone. Based out of the nearby village of Rilong, I made several exploratory trips up the Changping Valley into the heart of the range. On my first outing I hiked past Celestial Peak and Siguniang Shan, establishing a camp at the head of the valley below three fine peaks. Hiking up trails and pastures used by local yak herders, I established another camp just below the glaciers spilling down from the peaks. The next day I climbed a moraine ridge to the glacier descending from the twin peaks known as Luotou, or Camel Peak (5484 m). I climbed up the glacier to the saddle separating both peaks, climbing the east summit first then the west peak, both by straightforward, easy routes, mostly snow and ice.

The weather during the whole time I was in the area remained unsettled, with lots of clouds and frequent rainstorms, with snow at the higher elevations. I went back down to Rilong, bought more food and returned to the mountains. This time I hiked up to Celestial Peak. From the main valley I crossed a big bridge below the west side of Siguniang, and followed a trail up a streambed around to the west side of Celestial Peak, where I made camp ( estimated at 13,300 ft, according to my notes). There was a small farmhouse nearby and a couple of yakherders who visited me and offered tea. I spent some time wandering around this valley, looking for worthy objectives to climb. I ended up climbing the peak indicated as 5583 meters, on a day of clouds and rain. I approached up a moraine from the east, where I left cairns to help routefinding on my return. I gained the ridge at 14,800 ft, and arrived at snow at around 16000ft. The route involved easy rock scrambling at the start, then snow and ice up the east ridge to the summit. I descended the same way. I believe the peak is more directly west of Celestial Peak, rather than southwest as indicated on the army map of the region.

After this climb the weather was bad so I returned once again to Rilong. I did some day hikes out of there, and also hiked up the Haizi valley and the ridge between it and the Changping valley.

I made a few aborted attempts to go back up the Changping valley and climb Siguniang, but each time the weather got bad and I retreated back to town. I did, however, have a chance to explore approaches to the peaks. On my last attempt I returned up the Changping valley and camped in a meadow before the big bridge leading to Celestial Peak. There are two meadows before the bridge, I camped at the first one you come to from Rilong. I started from the left side of the meadow and worked up right, below a rock outcropping, then on moraine to a camp at about 15000 ft, across the glacier from the south face. Overall, this was a rather difficult approach, but later discovered better trails from yak herders . I arrived below the south face fairly early in the day, so rested and checked out the way to the mountain across the glacier.

I began my successful climb at about 1 am in the morning, when I left my bivy and crossed the glacier to the face, discovering evidence of the previous Japanese attempts. Climbing by headlamp, I crossed a difficult bergshrund guarding the wall, then wandered up the right flank of the face, climbing alpine ice grade 4 and alot of poor quality snow at 50 - 60 degrees, more or less. Much strenuous climbing in soft snow led to the shoulder on the east ridge, which is really the juncture of the south and east faces at that point. The climbing was reminiscent of classic climbs in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru, only on a bigger, more serious mountain. I followed the east ridge/face to the top from there, up lower angle slopes on better snow past rocky outcrops. Avalanche danger was a concern, but the continuous bad weather I had experienced during my stay in the area had left the mountain fairly plastered with snow and ice, and conditions were good in some respects. I had planned on doing the climb light and fast in a continuous push. However, I underestimated how long it would take me, aa the soft snow conditions slowed me down considerably. So I did not arrive on top until late in the afternoon, in deteriorating weather. As I reached the summit he wind picked up and visibility became poor. I carefully downclimbed the ridge and had to make an unplanned bivy on the shoulder when night fell. Fortunately, at that altitude the temperatures weren't so bad, and the stormy weather pass through. By morning the weather was clear again and I continued the decent from the shoulder down the south face, still moving very carefully. I arrived back at my bivy spot on the moraine quite tired, and slept all the next day! I returned to Rilong shortly after that, then traveled back to Chengdu straight away, being quite satisfied with my adventure.

I returned once again to the Siguniang Shan in 1997 with a friend, Joanne Jeske, and made the climb of peak 5666. This peak is known as Fattening Sheep Plateau, or Yangmantai. I made this climb from the same beautiful high camp as for peak 5484, Luotuo. A moderate rockclimb and mixed scramble up the south ridge/face to the summit.


In 2001 I returned once again to explore in the Siguniang area with Christine Boskoff. We spent one week in the area, making an attempt on a snow peak north of the main peak, but bad weather prevented us from reaching the summit.

	Siguniang Shan (1994)				Luotou (1994) and Yangmantai (1997)
	self-portrait below Celestial Peak, 1994				Christine Boskoff, upper Changping Valley
	Joanne Jeske approaching Yangmantai, 1997				Sunset in the Changping Valley
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					Celestial Peak (left) and Peak 5583 (1994)