Nyainbo Yuze, Qinghai Province, China

:) Pat Goodman 12/17/2018 Add Comment Edit

In an article from the Japanese Alpine News (Future Climbing Park – Nyainbo Yuze in Qinghai – 2014) the ever prolific Japanese explorer Tamotsu Nakamura stated “When you stand on the high pass, Longgeshanyaku (4,398 m), you must be overwhelmingly touched by the grandeur of numerous granite rock peaks and pinnacles tower to the sky range after range like the teeth of a saw. It is a really breathtaking panoramic view of the west face of Nyainbo Yuze massif, which will be a future alpine paradise”.

Like a moth to a flame - These words and the experience behind their author foreshadow an uncharted land, beckoning great adventures and notable exploration.

Also known by the Tibetan name Golog Shan (or spelled like Nyenbo Yurtse), Nyainbo Yuze is located in the Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai; Jigzhi County, Qinghai Province, China. This is a region between the two mountain ranges of Amnye Machen and Bayan Har Shan.

Nyainbo Yuze is the peak with snow on the left.

It is said that Golok was once an infamous borderland of fierce and ruthless Tibetan people, which on occasion, attacked trade caravans and even explorers. However it is now a peaceful land with fertile pastures and magnificent monasteries. Ximen Co Lake just north of Nyainbo is now becoming a tourist destination and many Chinese are visiting. Nonetheless, the other area, almost all of the massif, remains isolated and untraveled.

Although not a high massif (sub 5,400 meters), the Nyainbo Yuze group is an extensive collection of unclimbed granite peaks ornamented with challenging big walls and is destined to become an alpine climbers Shangri-La. It’s almost hard for me to believe that an area like this has gone virtually unnoticed by climbers.

Setting up camp bellow a peak we named 'Grant Peak' 5202meters.

In the Fall of 2015, I traveled to this remote mountain range hungry for adventure with fellow climber, Marcos Costa. We managed two first ascents... but, the rock quality was not what we wanted; big walls indeed, but most of the larger features were cursed with friable choss. Still a fun area to explore and bag summits.