Posted 2018/3/27
The Touming Mengke Glacier, the largest valley glacier in the Qilian Range, is l0,1 kilometers long and covers an area of 21.9 square kilometers. It can be found in Laohu Valley on the northern slope of Daxue Mountain in Subei County. Gansu Province. Its main peak is 5,481 meters above sea level. In Mongolian, Touming Mengke means high and vast.
Heading south from Yumeng, we crossed a "devil's land" of Yadan wind-eroded landscape before reaching the Changma Basin. Daxue Mountain came into view immediately. Under the clear blue sky, the feather-shaped glaciers seemed like dancing silver snakes, dazzling and fascinating, on a desert which seemed to have been devastated by fire.
At the terminus of the glacial lobe, Touming Mengke, for the first time, revealed itself fully before us. Stretches of serac forest stood in the quiet valley, like groups of sculptures made by the magic fingers of the legendary Queen of Ice and Snow. Between 20 and 30 meters high, they stood on a steep hill, forming a huge ice wall that almost blocked our view.
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Touming Mengke is a large gentle slope. In terms of scale it can not compete with the Insukati and Tomur glaciers, but the well-known "July 1" Glacier, Xinjiang N0.1 Glacier and Yulong Snow Mountain N0.1 Glacier are all only a tenth of the area of Touming Mengke.
On this quiet glacier I experienced a long trek that will live forever in my memory. In 2001, when we climbed the 5,150-meter-high "July 1" Glacier in the Qilian Range, we reached the top with only one camp. But this time, as With the ascent of Muztagata Peak, the climbing team had to make camp three times before reaching the top.
There is a saying that on perilous peaks dwells beauty in her infinite variety. The landscape on the ascent was soul-stirring: the frozen waterfall hanging like an upside-down Milky Way; the crisscross ice gullies, isolated ice mushrooms; mysterious ice caves...
