New Zealand Aghil 1997

The rarely visited Aghil Mountains lie between the Shaksgam and Zug Shaksgam rivers in Xinjiang Province. The peaks in the north proved to be very difficult to access owing to narrow gorges and very loose rock, so the team moved further up the Shaksgam to the Dong Skyang Glacier. From here, they were successful in climbing three mountains: making the second ascent of Pk 5959m and first ascents of Pk 6068m and Pk 6648m. Moving a little further up the glacier they then made the first ascent of an unnamed peak, 6,340m, and took in an extraordinary vista from a 'humble mound' of 4,798m, which they feel must have been visited before.