Mount Khuiten expedition 20th July 19

Mount Khuiten

20th July – 4th August 2019

Leader: Jude Work

1st August

Jude has been in touch today from Olgii where the group will stay tonight. They had an exciting 7 hour drive from the National Park, stopping en route for lunch and a visit to the Eagle hunters – everyone held the eagle which looks pretty impressive! They are going out for their final dinner soon. Tomorrow’s flight back to Ulaanbaatar is at 5pm. Everyone is doing well!

30th July

The team are now back at base camp and enjoying eating and relaxing there with the luxury of a shower! This morning Suzie, Margaret and Jude hiked up Mount Nairamdal (4180m), whose summit lies on the triple border of Russia, China and Mongolia which is pretty unique. They rejoined the team and they will all trek out from base camp to the National Park gate at White River valley tomorrow.

29th July 

Jude called to say that 5 of the team reached the Summit of Mount Khuiten.  The team were lucky to have had one of the best days in terms of weather so far.  The team are back at base camp.  Tomorrow they will attempt Nairamdal Peak.

26th July 

Today the team had an acclimatisation walk up to 3500m in wintry conditions, where they refreshed their winter skills.  The team will now watch the weather to see the best day to move up to high camp and then to their summit attempt of Mount Khuiten.

25th July

Jude and the team are now at Base Camp at 3100m after a 5 hour walk up there accompanied by Mongolia’s famous Bactrian camels carrying the group gear. Base camp is situated on the edge of the Potaniin Glacier offering great views of the glacier and the peaks stretching beyond. They will spend two nights here and do an acclimatisation walk tomorrow.

24th July

Hello! We’re at Eagles Nest Hotel in Olgii in the far west of Mongolia. We arrived at 4 am after a 4 hour drive and 1 hour fixing a bearing – all part of the adventure! Today the plan is to drive west to the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park gate (around 7 hours). We’ll camp there at the Oigor river valley. The whole itinerary will therefore be shifted back a day making the first possible summit day Sunday. Everyone is enjoying the adventure but will be ready for an early night tonight!

Jude called this afternoon to say that they have reached the National Park gate safely including a stop for some good food along the way. They will hike up to base camp at 3100m on the edge of the Potaniin Glacier tomorrow.

23rd July

The team have flown to Khovd, about 200km south of Olgii, due to bad weather in Olgii so they couldn’t land there. They plan drive to Olgii this evening where they will overnight in a hotel before continuing their journey to the National Park tomorrow.

22nd July

Jude has been in touch to say that everyone has arrived safely in Ulaanbaatar with all their bags. They had a good tour of Mongolia’s capital city yesterday despite not much sleep! They’re all feeling a bit more human today after a good night’s sleep and are heading off on their acclimatisation trek up Mount Tsetsegunn (2256m) in the Bogd Khan National Park today.

Good trek today. A bit like Scotland – drizzly and claggy! It took us 2.5 hrs up and 2 hrs down through larch and pine forests. We ascended from 1700m up to 2250m so it was a nice warm up with nothing too steep. Our flight to Olgii tomorrow is in the afternoon so we will do most of the driving to the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park on Wednesday morning.