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The route There are two normal routes on the mountain. The one we climb, called the ‘Tash’ route, was first pioneered by SummitClimb and Jon Otto in 2005. The route was named after the nearby Tashik town of Tashgergan (no joke). The other route we will call the traditional route, though it does not formally have a name. The reason we wish to make this route clarification is that most of the climbing literature about Mustagata refers to climbing the traditional route. It is a mystery why it took so long to establish the Tash route, as it has several advantages. (I suppose old habits die-hard and most people climb the traditional line because climbers before them did.) The Tash route’s base camp is slightly higher than the traditional route’s, which helps some with acclimatization. There are fewer teams on the Tash route and base camp is cleaner and more hygienic. We can put all our attention and energy towards climbing the mountain without worrying about being over crowded by other teams and sanitation issues. And, we think the Tash route offers better skiing! The route goes up Mustagata’s west slope following the right side of Kartamak Glacier to the col with Kalaxong Peak before continuing up to the main summit. Skiers can normally start skinning up at 5050 meters while snowshoers hit the snowline at around 5300 meters, just below camp 1. (You can hire local herdsmen to help carry your personal equipment up to camp 1). The steepest part of the route is between camp 1 and camp 2 where one short section reaches approximately 30 degrees. On a clear day from the summit the view of the surrounding mountain ranges is stunning and even K2, the second highest mountain in the world, is occasionally in view.
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