Mt. Manse (6,355m), Mt. God Tang (6,013m), Mt. Ye Zi (6,046m), Mt. Lazio Tagh (6,045m), first ascents. Our Finnish Kun Lun Expedition set off with a donkey caravan from a Tadjik village on August 4, for a 24-day journey to attempt virgin peaks of the Kunlun massif. Our team consisted of Henri Arjanne, Kalle Berg, Andrey Ershov (expedition manager), Lauri Hämäläinen, Veli-Matti Helke, Mikko Piiro- nen, Rauno Ravantti, and me (leader). We set up base camp at 4,500m and spent six days on nearby glaciers, spotting possible lines to climb in alpine style on the area’s 6,000m peaks. While our main objective was the first ascent of Point 6,355m, our reconnaissance revealed vast first-ascent possibilities throughout the massif.

We climbed four previously unclimbed peaks in the vicinity of base camp. We have searched all databases known to us and have found no prior claims to these peaks. Also, Kong Baocun assures us that these peaks had not been climbed. In addition to the climbs, the expedition (Berg and Saarikivi) explored the Salawor and Qong- tan glaciers. This was probably the first time these glacial valleys had been explored in depth. Below are listed the peaks we summited. All were formerly unclimbed, and all names are our proposals:

Mt. Manse (6,355m): 38°11'19" N 75°11'26" E. Route: Karakul Gringos (12 hours, 900m, D+, Arjanne, Hämäläinen, August 13). Distance from BC to climb start: 2 days (1 day hiking, 1 day glacier climbing).

Mt. God Tang (6,013m): 38°10'43" N 75°10'43" E. Route: Petite Mountain Sickness (8 hours, 500m, D+, Arjanne, Berg, Ershov, Hämäläinen, Helke. Piiro- nen, Ravantti, Saarikivi, August 14). Distance from BC to climb start: 2 days (1 day hiking, 1 day glacier climbing).

Mt. Ye Zi (6,046m): 38°10'13" N 75°07'22" E. Route: A Man Who Dances Like A Tibetan (10 hours, 950m, TD-, Arjanne, Hämäläinen, August 22). Distance from BC to climb start: 1 day hiking.

Lazio Tagh (6,045m): 38° 11 06" N 75°05'06" E. Route: Island Couloir, 14 hours, 950m, AD, Helke, Piironen, Ravantti, August 23). Distance from BC to climb start: 1 day hiking plus difficult glacier crossing (Koktay).

Our base camp location was at: 38°08'14" N 75°06'06" E. The start of our trek was at: 38°05'12" N 75°00'16" E. Our local climbing organizer and permit issuer was China Xinjiang Mountaineering Organization Director Kong Baocun, Xiyudadao 6, Kashgar, Xinjiang, China. Email: climbing@126.com, climb- ing@xj.cninfo.net. Tel/Fax: 0086-998-2902678, Mobile: 0086-(0) 13899111222.

Teemu Saarikivi, Finland