Preparation

In March of this year the April edition of National Geographic arrived in the mail, and with anticipation I read the article entitled Walking the Chang Tang, in which a team walks over 200 miles unsupported through the desolate Kunlun mountains from Western Tibet to southern Xinjiang. Though I don't have the climbing resume of Conrad Anker or the photographic portfolio of Galen Rowell, I was nevertheless inspired that my nascent dreams of the Aksai Chin were not so far-fetched.

The internet has proven to be the best resource for contacting people who have been in the area recently. Though only one or two expeditions goes into the Kunlun in any year, I have been in contact with many parties and have managed to access trip reports from the American Alpine Club, the British Mountaineering Club, and the Japanese Alpine Club, as well as several other unaffiliated trips which have posted photographs or other reports on the internet.

Through all of this research, we have located an excellent agent in Urumqi, Johan Willem Heersink, who has the experience of numerous expeditions in the Kunlun Shan. With a "man on the ground", we have already been able to start lining up permits, vehicles, translators, liaison officers, as well as food purchases before our arrival. Johan also has connections through the XMA which will help us gain access to restricted military maps of the region and a history of other expeditions in the region, all of which will help us be better prepared for our trip.