July 20, 2017
The summits of Mount Khuiten (14,350 ft) and Nairandal Peak (13,714 ft) are the “Triple Point” where China, Russia, Mongolia come together in the Altai Mountains.
Greg Vernovage called in this morning (his evening) to report he and his team arrived in Bayan-Ölgii without issue. The flight from Ulaanbaatar was just over 2 hours and the subsequent drive to Mt. Khuiten National Park was a bit long (6 hours) but generally pleasant. Along the drive over the rolling hills of far western Mongolia they saw golden eagles, yaks, horses, cows, goats, and of course camels. They arrived at Mt. Khuiten National Park with plenty of time to settle into camp and enjoy a nice dinner of fresh salad, chicken and rice.
Tomorrow they’ll load up the camels and head up to their official Base Camp which should take them about 5 hours. They’ll have a few stream crossings to contend with but it doesn’t sound like anything they can’t handle. A rest/acclimatization day follows.
All continues to go well in Mongolia.
Tye Chapman