Minya Konka (Gongga Shan)

Overview

Minya Konka (Gongga Shan) is the easternmost 7000 m peak, entirely in the Chinese province Sichuan. It is situated about 1000 km east of the any other peak of comparable height. This area has long been a white spot on the maps, and until the 1930s there were rumours that Minya Konka might be higher than Everest.

Although completely situated in Sichuan, the Minya Konka marks a cultural and topgraphical boundary between China/Sichuan with a humid moderate climate in the east and (climatically and culturally) Tibetan influenced dry highlands in the west.

The Minya Konka area was intensely explored in the 1930s, amongst others by the Swiss topographer and artist Eduard Imhof.

It was first climbed in 1932 by an American expedition; they also did an intense surveying work in the area, establishing the height of 7556 m. They describe their climb and the months in China in the book "Men against the Clouds", an outstanding piece of mountain literature.

Until 2001, there were only seven more successful climbs:

• 1957 - June 13: expedition of Chinese labor union, six persons on the summit. On the descent, three members fall to death; another member is killed in an avalanche.
• 1982 - May 25: Swiss 3-person expedition reaches the summit from Yanzigou Valley via NW ridge, one member falls to death on the descent.
• 1982 - Oct. 3: American expedition reaches the summit (D. Coffield, D. Kelley)
• 1984 - Oct. 6: Heinz Zembsch, Gerhard Schmatz, Hans Engl (Germany)
• 1997 - May 2: Japanese expedition from Yanzigou Valley/NW ridge (Yokohama/Nagahara)
• 1998 - November 11: Korean expedition reaches the summit via the north side (Yanzigou Valley) and the northeast ridge, after fifty days. The first successful expedition which was not accessing via the northwest ridge. Three expedition members reach the summit; one member died in an accident.
• 2002 - October 6: a French expedition (High Mountain Military Group, leader: Antoinde de Choudens) reaches summit via the NW ridge (variation of the first ascent route)

Until 2003, the mountain was climbed eight times. 22 persons have reached the summit. 16 climbers did not return from Minya Konka. All except one successful ascents were via the northwest ridge.

The normal route of the NW ridge, as established by the 1932 expedition, has three major sections:

• Access to the northwest ridge
  
  Steep glacier slopes (up to 45-50°), danger of avalanches. There are three pillars leading to the ridge; usually the left pillar is used. The right pillar was attempted by the 1984 expedition, the central pillar was climbed by a 1989 French expedition.
  
  
• Long section on the ridge with traverse of the "Hump"
  
  The Hump is a vertical ice formation that blocks the ridge at about 6300 m. It must be traversed, rappelling about 80 m on the other side
• Summit ridge
  
  From the base of the Hump the ridge consists of ice and rock, difficulty probably not more than II (UIAA).
  
  

The route from Yanzigou Glacier joins the route described above on the northwest ridge; Hump and summit ridge are the same for both.

Getting There

The mountain is accessed from the lamasery Gongga Gompa, west of Minya Konka. From Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, one can travel by car via Kangding and Shade to the valley of Liuba (2 days), and the rest is a two day trek:

• Chengdu - Ya'an - Kangding: Mostly a good road, until Ya'an excellent expressway (130 km), then about 200 km reasonable paved road. 6-7 hours to drive.
• Kangding (2500 m) - Shade - Liuba (3860 m): First a paved road over a 4300 m pass (this is the road to Tibet), then about 100 km rather bad road, usually possible with normal vehicles. About 6 hours.
• Liuba (3860 m) - Zimei La (4560 m) - Zimei (3480 m): From Liuba, there is an ascent (on foot) of 700 m to Zimei La and 1000 m down again to Zimei. The village Zimei consists of only a couple of houses.
• Zimei (3480 m) - Gongga Gompa (3741 m): 150 meters down to the bridge over the river, then up 500 meters on mostly a good trail through a forest to the lamasery.

The Chinese refer to the lamasery as "base camp". However, a reasonable place for the base camp is one day further towards the base of the mountain at 4380 m.


One can also access the area from the east side (Moxi, national park with intense touristic activity). Three out of the eight successful expeditions entered the area from there via Yanzigou Valley which is situated on the northern side of Minya Konka. Either the NW ridge or the (more difficult) NE ridge can be accessed from there.


The direct access to Minya Konka from Moxi via Hailuoguo Glacier is blocked by a huge icefall; up to now there were no successful ascents from there, and the way from there to the base camp would take several days.

Red Tape

Climbing this mountain is an expedition - you need a permit.
The climb can be organized via Sichuan Mountaineering Association in Chengdu, or China Mountaineering Association in Beijing.

When To Climb

Minya Konka can be climbed before or after the monsoon, i.e. either in April/May or in September/October. The weather is usually very unstable even during these times, because the mountain group rises high above the surrounding area and thus creates its own weather.
As the success statistics (see Overview chapter) shows, the weather in fall seems a little more promising than in spring.

Camping

The only building in the area is the lamasery, so camping is the only way. There is a lot of scrub up to 5000 m altitude - one might have to look a while for a really good place. A good basecamp site is at about 4380 m, there is also running water (at least sometimes). The little valley is avalanche-safe and there are lots of birds singing, a beautiful place.

High Camps (for the normal route from Gongga Gompa on the left pillar):

• Camp 1 - 5310 m
  On a saddle on the left pillar leading to the northwest ridge.
• Camp 2 - about 5900 m
  On the northwest ridge, where the left pillar ends.
• Camp 3 - about 6600-6800 m
  In the lower part of the summit slopes where these allow to pitch a tent.

Mountain Conditions

There is hardly any up to date information about the conditions, since the mountain is climbed not very often.
Generally, the weather in spring seems extremely unstable, leading to pronounced avalanche danger on the "classical" route from about 4900 m to the NW ridge at about 5800 m.

External Links

• Two against the clouds
  An attempt by a two-person expedition in spring 2001. Weather and conditions didn't allow to reach the northwest ridge. By Hartmut Bielefeldt.
• 2002 French expedition
  The TV project of the successful 2002 French expedition

Literature

• Richard L. Burdsall, Arthur B. Emmons, Terris Moore, Jack T. Young, "Men Against the Clouds: The Conquest of Minya Konka" - ISBN 0-916890-93-7, reprinted 1980 by The Mountaineers, Seattle, WA, USA.
  Unfortunately this book is out of print. The detailed story of the first ascent, including surveying work and several months of travel through the China of 1932.
• Shih Chan-Chun, "The Conquest of Minya Konka", Foreign Language Press, Peking, 1959
• Joseph E. Murphy, "Adventure beyond the clouds", Dillon Press, Minneapolis, 1986, ISBN 0-87518-330-1
  The record of the 1982 American expedition.
• Rick Ridgeway, "Below Another Sky: A Mountain Adventure in Search of a Lost Father", 2000
• Gerhard Schmatz, "Höchste Berge, wildeste Meere", ISBN 3-88294-394-1 (in German)
  autobiographic book by Gerhard Schmatz, including a chapter about the 1984 Minya Konka expedition
• Michael Brandtner, "Minya Konka, Schneeberge im Osten Tibets", ISBN 3-937597-20-4 (in German)
  interesting book about not only Minya Konka but most mountain ranges of the region.
• The American Alpine Journal has a short article about the 2002 French expedition in the 2003 issue (p. 406-407).

New information is welcome...

This mountain page is the result of our 2001 expedition to Minya Konka. Since then, many things have changed in China (although the mountain still seems to be rarely attempted).
Most of the information which you find above dates from 2001. If you were there in the last few years and found things different, please do not hesitate to add a comment, or to contribute directly to a major update of this page. Thank you!

Additions and CorrectionsPost an Addition or Correction

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Sharon - Sep 23, 2003 10:18 pm - Voted 10/10

Untitled Comment

Amazing story! I had never heard it before. Thank you for providing the reference for further reading....has it ever been published in an English translation?

gordonye - Oct 8, 2002 5:16 pm - Hasn't voted

Untitled Comment

29.60, 102.10 got it from highalpex.com

dmiki - Dec 18, 2010 3:08 pm - Hasn't voted

I think the coordinates are rather

29.59611, 101.87922 (or 29.595833, 101.879167 according to wikipedia)

Johan Heersink - Sep 22, 2003 12:12 pm - Voted 5/10

Untitled Comment

Apart from the six succesfull expeditons to this great peak the author mentions, there also have been a few that were less fortunate, (One can also raise the question how "succesfull" the summiting teams were, given the huge death toll that was suffered). A Japanese attempt in the eighties led to one of the most gruelling ordeals ever to be suffered in mountaineering history.
The expedition suffered setbacks from the beginning, and it was only near the end of their period, that they finally managed to get in position for a summit bid. Being stretched to the limit, only two man embarked on the final attempt, Matsuda and Sugawara. Things started to go wrong, when they took much longer than was anticipated, but finally a radio message came through: They were only 50 meters below the summit but had decided to give up, because they were totally out of food and drink and badly exhausted and dehydrated. It seems that was it as the radio went dead forever. The team not being in shape to mount a rescue operation got up one more time to camp two putting a wreath there and a message saying, "we will never forget you Matsuda and Sugawara"
However Matsuda and Sugawara were not yet dead, the were staggering and stumbling down the treacherous slopes, their speed being snailish. But upon reaching a well provided lower camp, they were able to replenish themselves somewhat and sleep for 24 hours. After continuing their descent things did not get any better, constantly losing their way and losing important item after important item, like handshoes, axes and so on. Matsuda even lost one of his boots, replacing it with the case of his photo camera. Day after day went by and when after almost a week Sugawara announced to Matsuda that he was going to rest for a while, that was the last anyone ever saw or heard of him. It remains a mysterie what happened to him, whether he fell, froze, just gave up or commited suicide.
Matsuda, now alone, badly frozen at both hands and feet, kept struggling downwards, and in his very bad condition even managed to get safely down a vertical absail above base camp. Great however was his dissapointment when the advanced base camp was completely empty. But at least there was some food left. Trying to eat something however, he collapsed in agony: Several ulcers had pierced his stomach and for the rest of the time he had to settle for just some gulps of water. Struggling further down into the deserted valley, he finally found the stone shelter the expedition had used on the way in and here he collapsed, finding this place also deserted and without food. No more able to go on, on the first morning, he could still crawl to a nearby stream to have a soothing drink of water, but when he tried so the next morning, his power gave out, and he lay down to die, halfway to the stream.
Only hours after Matsuda gave up, he was found by a local herb gatherer who was convinced it was a corpse he was finding, judging the stench of decay that hung around. So, great was his surprise that the "corpse" was still breathing and had a heart pulse. Chances of saving the starving man with rotting hands and feet seemed slim.
Within some hours help was organized, and incredibly Matsuda survived the rough transport, strapped on a horseback and arrived in the hospital, just weighing 39 kilogram! Nearly 2 pounds of maggots were removed here by the doctors from his decaying limbs. But Matsuda survived and his ulcers healed after treatment, it was however impossible to save anything from his hands or feet.
Maybe the most incredible about the whole story is the comment of the man himself when he was recovering: "I want to go on climbing, I don't think now I will be able again to ascent the Himalayan giants, but I have set climbing the 50 highest peaks of Japan as my new goal"!!!!!
Luckily our sport does not produce to many stories like this! Unfortunatly however most of us are neither blessed with Matsuda's mental resistance, nor his physical endurance.

For those interested in the whole story: It is from Zhou Zheng's "Footprints on the Peaks", Beijing, 1995

Sharon - Sep 23, 2003 10:18 pm - Voted 10/10

Untitled Comment

Amazing story! I had never heard it before. Thank you for providing the reference for further reading....has it ever been published in an English translation?

dmiki - Dec 18, 2010 3:16 pm - Hasn't voted

some more info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minya_Konka

gregort - Jul 19, 2016 6:30 pm - Hasn't voted

new routes

"The highlights of alpine climbing in China during the autumn of last year were the two new routes in the Daxue Shan’s Minya Konka Range, by American Kyle Dempster and Scot Bruce Normand." (Mountain World - may 2011, issue 75 - http://www.climbmagazine.com/getfile.php?type=archives&id=557 )

gregort - Jul 19, 2016 6:37 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: new routes

but not directly on Minya Konka, just in the massif - Mt Grosvenor and Mt Edgar

Radium - Sep 6, 2016 12:47 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: new routes

I'm trying to get information about Konka's biggest satellite peak called Mt. Zhongshan Feng or Mt. Sun Yat-sen (Alt=6886m), I've heard that this peak was finished by a team from Switzerland in 1930s, but I didn't find any record(yes, no record) about the climbing, even any climbing report/record of it. Do you know something about the climbing history of that peak? thx.

Hartmut Bielefeldt - Sep 13, 2016 4:07 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Zhongshan (Sunyatsen)

The names Zhongshan or Sunyatsen apparently make it difficult to find anything useful on the web. In the book by Eduard Imhof I found Sunyatsen on the map (with 7010 m height given), so it was known already in the 1930s. But the book gave no hint about climbs of the secondary peaks as far as I got through it now. On the other hand, I found an article in the American Alpine Journal, written by Swiss mountaineers: http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198228300/Asia-China-Peaks-East-of-Gongga-Shan-Minya-Konka They claim the first climb of 6886m high Sunyatsen in 1982. Hope that helps, best regards Hartmut

Radium - Sep 26, 2016 1:33 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Zhongshan (Sunyatsen)

Thanks, you did much help Yeah the name Zhongshan or Sunyatsen makes it rather difficult while searching the name on the Internet And reading the report really shocked me. It's such an climbing, tons of foods and finished more than ten unclimbed peaks of Konka massif for one time?...wow But since then the mountain seems remaining untouched up till now, 34yrs later.

zfz380122903 - Jan 9, 2017 2:53 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Zhongshan (Sunyatsen)

A local Chinese post shows that no one ever reached the top of Zhongshan mountain. http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/KXiYzoxfe9CINgKq2Hba4Q Also, I'm in many Chinese climbing forums and no route info on that mountain too.

Radium - Mar 7, 2017 10:13 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Zhongshan (Sunyatsen)

I'm afraid that collection is not credible enough. 微信推文太过随意了，资料也缺乏来源。

JinWenHui - Nov 2, 2018 6:02 am - Hasn't voted

konka

At 4:45 PM on October 18, Beijing time, Chinese climbers li zongli and tong haijun completed the new route from north wall to northeast ridge.

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