Kongur 1

Here are views of Mt. Kongur (7719 m.) and the Kongur range, which lies NE of Lake Karakul and is easily accessible from the Karakoram Highway as it snakes around the mountain and to its north through the Gez River gorge on the way to Kashgar. The first ascent of Kongur was from the SW by a strong British team lead by Bonington and Ward in 1981, who were plagued by bad weather and found that the climbing on the summit pyramid was similar to that on the north face of the Matterhorn. The main peak has been climbed infrequently since then. There was a Japanese ascent from the very difficult NE side; there have been attempts on the North Ridge, at least one of which ended in tragedy. Views of the mountain from the north and northeast are on a separate Kongur II page.

All photos are thumbnailed. Click to bring up the enlargements.

Photos 1-2 are views of the SW side of Kongur from a distance, the first taken from the highway beyond Mustagh Ata and the second from the summit of Mustagh Ata (7546 m.) In the second picture, the summit pyramid does not really stand out against the backdrop of the broader snow-covered east peak..

The views from the lake (photos 3-5) can be inspiring, what with dramatic light and clouds, strolling camels to give a sense of proportion to the mountain, and the gleam of the morning sun on the SE ridge of the mountain.

Here is a panorama (photos 6-14) of nearly the whole Kongur massif, starting at its NW end. With one exception the photos were all taken from the same spot to the east of L. Karakul. Eventually I plan to link all the photos in the panorama together.