During a reconnaissance of the northwest end of the Chola Shan Range, south of the town of Zhuqing, Fu Yongpeng noticed the unclimbed peak of Sejong (5,816m, 32°2’40.57”N, 98°49’3.07”E) and neighboring Peak 5,680m. Sejong was labeled Nobyugya on Chinese maps, but this was a mistake, subsequently confirmed by the local survey office.

In August, Fu returned with Cao Xinyue and approached the west side of these peaks via the Yehualing Valley, west of Zhuqing. They established a 4,850m camp at the base of the east fork of the glacier and on August 31 set off for the west face of Peak 5,680m. The upper section of the glacier was badly crevassed.

After a pitch of AI3 to get established on the ice face, the two climbed four or five pitches before meeting a wide crevasse that seemed endless in both directions and only crossed by fragile snow bridges. They flew a drone to see if there was a feasible way through but found none and retreated to camp and Zhuqing.

On September 3, they headed back to the 4,850m camp, this time with Sejong as their goal. The next day, they reached the far left side of the west face of Sejong and started up rocky terrain that was loose, with a section of 5.10. They descended and instead went straight up a north-northwest-facing ice couloir to the left. As it was near the end of the rainy season, the ice was thin and poor, but after 300m the angle eased. At 4:30 p.m., they were hit
by a strong hailstorm. The two continued until Cao found a crevasse for a sheltered but uncomfortable bivouac. The following morning, after two hours of climbing through mist, they reached the exposed summit ridge and continued along the steep flanks and over a subsidiary top to the main summit.

To descend, they retraced their steps a short distance along the ridge and then dropped directly down the west face in a snow/ice couloir. Eleven rappels, with some sections exposed to rockfall due to the strong afternoon sunshine, took them to the upper glacier. They regained camp a little before dark.

Their ascent to the summit ridge had involved around 900m of climbing at AI3 60° snow.

— Xia Zhongming, Germany