Mt. Hutsa & Peak 5912m, new international climbs in Genyen massif, Sichuan

On September 17th, an international team of climbers assembled in Litang, the last outpost in the wild west of the Tibetan Plateau in China's Sichuan Provence. We were three pairs. Luca Vallata and Tito Arosio (IT), James Moneypenny and Peter Linney (UK & EIRE), Tom Nichols and Rob Partridge (UK and NZ). Heather Swift (UK) was poised to join us half way through the trip. We were all linked through our expedition mastermind, James Moneypenny.

James and Peter had arrived in Litang three weeks earlier and been making use of short weather windows in the Sichuan monsoon season, which we only realised on arrival ran through August and September. They managed various ascents of some stunning granite pillars in the Jarjinjabo Massif, accessing them from Litang on hired motorbikes. The rest of us (excluding Heather) flew into Chengdu and took two days to bus to Litang, before meeting James and Peter, packing the 4x4s and taking the five hour drive into the Rengo Monastery, built at the foot of sacred mountain Genyen/Genie. Despite all of James' hard work arranging our logistics, our hired horsemen arrived with 250cc "horses". They then strapped 60kgs plus to each motorbike and drove up the narrow, rough and sometimes steep valley path to establish our basecamp at 4200m. Once again the Eastern "can do" attitude had proved our western cynicisms wrong about what was achievable.

That night we were woken by what we later found out to be a magnitude 5.2 earthquake. This filled camp with thoughts of being on an exposed section of our climb during an aftershock, testing our confidence. We felt aftershocks for a few nights afterwards, but nothing during the day. After walking down to the old monastery to check if there was any damage, we packed for our first trip to advanced basecamp (ABC) and recce of Husta. We were in the tail end of the monsoon season, so weather was not ideal, but most days had a few hours of clear skies and sunshine.

Tito and Luca decided to spend another day at BC to allow for some mild altitude sickness. The rest of us spent a day walking to ABC, seeing Hutsa for the first time on the final approach. Hidden in the centre of the Genyen Massif, and surrounded by the tens of thousands of cairns described by Dave Anderson in his reports of the area, I think we all had feelings of trepidation and uncharacteristic superstition, as we crossed the basin trying not to kick over any of the small standing stones, seemingly set there by pilgrim monks over the last centuries.

The day after the next was forecast with 0mm precipitation, which was out first window for a summit attempt. So we had one day of mixed weather to recce the aspects of Hutsa we could reach. We found a steep ice line in a hidden couloir on the E/SE face, and some more approachable lines accessible from the top of snow cones on the south face. We decided on the right of the two obvious options: the steeper of the two, leading directly to a snow slope that we hoped would take us to the summit ridge.

We approached the first pitch as two pairs, but confidence waned in one of each pair, due to a lack of recent mixed climbing or hypoglycaemic compulsions which had caused all the Snickers bars to be eaten before even tying in. This left James and Rob to attempt the line and see where it went. With no real expectations of summiting, we pushed on, swinging leads with some simul climbing sections up the 500m couloir, tending away from leading blocks as neither of us had really acclimatised yet.

We made the snow ramp, which led to the summit ridge. Four long pitches with some interesting steep but short mixed sections led to the summit from there. We took in views of the many unclimbed granite peaks surrounding Hutsa, all of which could only be climbed via steep mixed or rock lines. We rappelled the last four pitches, and a slightly more direct line back into the initial couloir, returning to ABC in a round trip of 17 hours. We considered the line to be 800m with multiple pitches up to Scottish 6 / M5, and named it Yak Attack.

Returning to BC, we rested and witnessed the change of seasons. At the dawn of the 1st of October, the monsoon season was clearly over. The wind changed to the north, the summit of Genyen was now visible for the rest of our time there, and the forecast good. Tito and Luca were back at BC having recced an unclimbed 6000m peak further up the same valley approach to Hutsa. They had left kit to return for a summit attempt in the next window.

Having acclimatised by now, and with a better idea of the climbing and conditions on Hutsa, psyche was restored, so we headed back to Husta ABC for a second round of attempts in our original pairs.

Tom and I attempted our line from days earlier, but found the snow slope warm, steep and unappealing. We rapped the couloir and returned to camp. James and Peter made an incredible ascent of the steep ice line in their hidden couloir. They summited long after midnight, returning to ABC after almost 30 hours, much to the relief of Heather, our latest team member who had walked into ABC to meet them. James and Pete gave the line WI6, M6 and named it Holographic Jesus after buying a holographic wall hanging of Jesus' Last Supper from the monastery shop!

Meanwhile Tito and Luca had managed to summit their objective: the unclimbed and unnamed 5912m peak S‐E from Hutsa. Three days and two bivouacs were needed due to uncertain weather on the first day. They climbed the west face via a system of snow fields and ridges on the southern side of the wall. One piton remained on the crux rocky section. They descended through the north part of the wall. Overall difficulties: D, M4 70deg snow (30 Sept ‐ 2nd Oct).

Time was up for Peter, Tito and Luca. Strapping their bags to porters' bikes they headed out of the massif for Litang, leaving James, Heather, Tom and myself at basecamp. Inspired by the splitter cracks in Dave Anderson's photos, and with a clear weather window for the remainder of the trip, we headed up a huge hanging valley with an epic boulder field towards "sharp beaked" Shachun. Tom and I made the first attempt, getting to half height on the left skyline ridge. The next day James, Heather and I climbed the same line, leading in blocks through mixed ground, snow slopes and initial granite cracks for seven pitches. James took over and climbed six splitter pitches up to E2 / 6b, taking us to the snow cap and last spires of the summit. Pulling all the tricks out of the bag, James climbed the final two pitches to "chevaux" the summit spire via some very bold climbing, followed by lassoing of the summit spires.

We returned to ABC, slept, and descended to BC, to find Tom amidst the packing up of a seven‐ person, 20‐day campsite. We tied the remaining food and kit to the back of our friendly monks' bikes and started our journey home.

Special thanks go to our main sponsors for the trip; Rab & Vango/Force Ten for their generous support, and the BMC for their expedition grant. Thanks also to individual sponsors;
Tom, Rob, Peter & James ‐ DMM
Luca Vallata ‐ Scarpa, Grivel, Salewa, Tutto Sport Longarone and Cousin Trestec
Tito Arosio ‐ Grivel, Kayland, Cousin Trestec and WildClimb
Heather Swift ‐ Mountain Hardwear

by Robert Partridge