K2 expedition led by Maksum Zhumayev will change Toyotas for camels

Participants of expedition to Chogori, or Mount K2, have arrived to Kargalik village in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in northwest China. On June 18 they stopped at Kashgar to purchase food and equipment. They shipped the cargo off to the mountains by car and continued their way to Kargalik. The international expedition is led by Kazakhstan alpinist Maksut Zhumayev and Vassiliy Pivtsov. Zhumayev said that members of the group are in excellent mood and fully ready for the ascent. “There are no problems with visas or any other official documents. We had no problems with health or equipment either,” the climber said. He said that it is hot in China, but the landscapes are very similar to those they are used to seeing in Kazakhstan. “The landscapes are close to those in Middle Asia. There are very many Kyrgyzs, Uzbeks and Uighurs here so the faces and even the speech are close to our Kazakh ones," he shared. After spending one night in Irgilik the expedition will start a four-day caravan pass along Karakorum gorges. “This is a caravan rout in the exact meaning of the word: all our cargo will be carried by camels and the caravan will be moving to the base camp at the height of 3800 meters. Now everything is fine we are driving Toyota Land Cruisers,” he said on the phone. The goal is the expedition is to ascent the most northern eight-thousander: the 8611 meter tall Chogori. It is located in the Karakorum mountain range in Kashmir province (at the border between Pakistan and China). This is the sixth attempt to ascent K2 for Zhumayev.