Huang Guan Feng (5,515m) or Crown Peak, due to its three-pinnacle summit in the shape of a crown, is the first large peak immediately east of Yutu Feng/Jade Rabbit Peak (5,578m), on the north side of the upper Bipeng Valley (Peak 38 in Jon Sullivan’s AAJ 2009 map). In March, Bao Yifei, Tim Boelter, Marcos Costa, Huang Siyuan, Liu Yunqin, and Jon Otto reached the northeast ridge at 5,483m but were forced to retreat. Costa, Huang, Liu, and Otto returned in October for a second attempt, starting on the 21st from a high camp on the glacier east of the peak. Their previous line was too exposed to stonefall in this warmer season, so they chose a line much farther left on the east face. They followed a steep mixed couloir, with the third pitch—mainly vertical, with a small overhang—forming the crux. After eight pitches it was dark, and at 10 p.m. all except Costa, who remained outside in his sleeping bag, squeezed into a small tent for a bivouac. The following morning one pitch took them to the ridge between the south and main tops. At 2 p.m. they reached the main summit (GPS 5,518m or 5,525m, 31°14’42.1”N, 102°50’28.4”E) and then descended in bad weather and spindrift. The 500m route was graded TD AI4 M4/5.

Xia Zhongming, Germany