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Mountaineering / Que'er expedition
Private expedition · guided
Nine days on Sichuan's great technical 6,000er: a three-day approach into the Chola range, glacier school on a crevassed icefall, two camps up the mountain, and a summit day that earns its views over the Tibetan border country.
Ask about this itineraryThe Chola (Que'er) range above the Dege forest · 6,168 m
Que'er summit — the Chola range's high point on the Tibet border of north-west Sichuan
a genuine technical climb — glacier travel, fixed lines and two high camps
crevassed icefall between Camp 1 and the summit ridge; roped teams throughout
the short summer window when the glacier's snow bridges hold and the passes stay open
Why this mountain
Que'er Shan is, by common agreement among the climbing community, the most beautiful of China's climbable 6,000ers: a sugarloaf of ice and rock hanging over the sacred lake Yihun Lhatso, in the Chola range that separates Sichuan's Ganzi prefecture from the Tibet border. It is also the most serious: the standard route involves real glacier travel through a crevassed icefall, pitches near fifty degrees, and two camps above the tongue.
That seriousness is the point. Que'er is the mountain a client climbs after a first 5,000er — the one that teaches rope-team discipline on moving ice, fixed-line climbing, and the rhythm of a multi-camp expedition. We run it in nine days with a full approach, a glacier school day, and private guide ratios, because this is not a mountain to hurry.
Route Briefing
Two driving days from Chengdu into the Chola range, a walk-in past the lake to base camp, a school day on the ice, then two camps and the summit. Nine stages, roped throughout above the tongue.
Along the way
The Chola range is border country — the roads in pass some of Kham's most storied ground.
The lake · the tongue · the ridge
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Danba · Ganzi · Dege country
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Day by day
The approach is the acclimatisation: three days of road and trail before the glacier ever sees your crampons.
Chengdu → Danba, 1,800 m
Leave Chengdu early and climb into the Hengduan country — the road through Wenchuan and Danba's stone-tower villages. A low night on purpose: the acclimatisation starts with the drive's rhythm, not the altitude.
Danba → Ganzi → Manigango, 3,750 m
The long day west, over the plateaus of Ganzi prefecture to Manigango, the trailhead town under the Chola range. Afternoon short walk toward the lake shore to open the lungs; early night at the highest road sleep of the trip.
Walk-in → base camp, 4,800 m
On foot past Yihun Lhatso, the glacial lake the range holds above its tongue, and up the moraine to base camp at 4,800 metres. Packs are split with the support team; the walking is six honest hours. Base camp sits on the lateral moraine with the whole route in view — a good place to study what tomorrow's school day is for.
Glacier school
A full day on the glacier tongue: rope-team spacing and arrest, crevasse rescue on the guides' fixed setup, front-pointing technique, and the fixed-line system the route uses above Camp 1. Nothing about Que'er's summit day is improvised — today is why.
Base camp → Camp 1, 5,300 m
The carry to Camp 1 on the glacier's shoulder at 5,300 metres — roped from the first crevasse zone, moving as teams, with the support staff levelling the camp. First night on the ice; the mountain's afternoon wind arrives on schedule.
Camp 1 → Camp 2, 5,800 m
The carry to Camp 2 through the steeper ground below the summit ridge — fixed lines where the route kicks near fifty degrees, front-points on, pace the guide sets. Camp 2 at 5,800 metres is a small platform hacked from the slope; the afternoon is fluids, food and rest while the body banks what it needs for the morning.
Summit day, 6,168 m
Alpine start in the dark, and the mountain's business: pitches through the last icefall benches, then the long summit ridge with Tibet on the far side of the view. The top at 6,168 metres looks across the Chola range and back over all of Ganzi — the biggest view of the site's seven commercial mountains.
Down-climb and rappel back through the fixed lines to Camp 1 by late afternoon; the mountain's most dangerous hour is the descent, and the guides run it that way.
Buffer day
Que'er's weather window is short, so the plan carries a genuine buffer: if day seven climbed, today walks the team out over the moraine to Manigango; if it didn't, today is the summit window. Either way the night is at the lake or in Manigango.
Out to Chengdu
Drive out through Ganzi — flight or the road east as the season allows — and the trip closes in Chengdu by evening. Sore legs, a summit photo set, and a climb that changes what the next mountain can be.
Private departures
This expedition runs privately in the July to September window — no fixed join-in dates. The price per person falls as the group grows; every departure runs with high-altitude guides and full glacier safety cover.
| Group size | Per person | Booking type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 climber | CNY 32,800per person | Private only |
| 2 climbers | CNY 23,800per person | Private only |
| 3 climbers | CNY 19,800per person | Private only |
| 4 or more | CNY 17,800per person | Private only |
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What's included
A short list for a real expedition. The left column is arranged before you leave; the right column is either yours or a question we are glad to answer.
Arranged and paid before departure.
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Yours to arrange, or we quote it.
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Enquiry
Tell us your climbing resume — we will be straight about whether Que'er is the right next mountain. If it is, we come back with the guide roster, the window and a written quote.
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Need to add something? Write to inquiry@chinadventure.com.
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