1100m. Approach: Walk north along glacier, passing under east flanks of Night Butterfly. Turn right and head towards the bottom of the west side of the North Face of Uighur, aiming for a vague snow couloir between the large rock buttress and the seracs on the face proper. 1h30m.

Route: Climb the couloir (60-65º, II) and snow slopes above to the large shoulder at 4800m. Walk along this (100m) to a steepening of the ridge and a small buttress of broken rock. This is negotiated by means of an icy ramp leading to snow slopes above (III 2, thin ice over frozen loose rock). Turn the next buttress on the left (snow slope) and gain the ridge (corniced). Cross over to the Chinese side. Traverse under a couple of small rocky steps. Snow slopes lead to the dual summits. 3hrs on first ascent.

Descent: Descend by East ridge. Down-climb summit slopes and ridge (corniced) to a narrow rocky ridge of broken rock. Traverse this with care to reach a ramp of broken rock that leads to another levelling of the ridge. This rock is poor so an abseil may not be possible (not possible on FA). Downclimb with care, taking belays where possible. Near the snow ridge a short traverse on flakes is necessary (hard to grade but comparable in difficulty to the Crux of Cosmiques Arête, Aiguille du Midi). Cross the short snow ridge and gain a 6m step of broken rock. Surmount this (with care, again) to reach the easy angles snow slopes of the east ridge and North-East face. Follow these back down to the Uighur Col at 4630m. 2 hours.

Conor Gilmour and R?n?n Kernan 26/Aug/2012.

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