Muzart Glacier, ascents and exploration.

The British-New Zealand expedition of Paul Knott, Guy McKinnon, and Bruce Normand gained a permit for Xuelian Feng (6,628m), the dominant peak in the eastern sector of the Chinese Central Tien Shan, and one of few mountains in this region to have been climbed (by Japanese on their fourth attempt). The three acclimatized to altitudes of 5,400m on peaks on the north side of Muzart basin, after which Normand and McKinnon made a bid on the Xuelian side. After climbing questionable snow and reasonable ice slopes, they reached a point of listed height 6,332m, well east of the main summit of Xuelian Feng. An article by Knott and Normand on this little-known area extending east and south from 7,439m Pik Pobe-da is featured in this Journal.