The 2013 Qinghai Gangshika Asian Ski Mountaineering Exchange Conference will be held from May 28 to June 5 at Gangshika Snow Mountain in Menyuan Hui Autonomous County, Haibei Prefecture, Qinghai Province. More than 60 ski mountaineering athletes and enthusiasts from China, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong (China), and other regions and countries will face challenges involving high physical exertion and intense activity levels.
At a press conference held on the 13th, Yang Pei, Vice Director of the Qinghai Provincial Sports Bureau, revealed that Gangshika Mountain has an average elevation of 4,045 meters, with its highest peak reaching 5,254.5 meters. The summit is covered with snow year-round, and the mountain features a grand landscape combining ice, snow, scree, and some rocky cliffs. Both crevasses—light and dark—are scattered across the glaciers, offering ample opportunities for mountaineers to test their skills. With an average temperature of 12 degrees Celsius between May and July, the area is also referred to as a “ski mountaineering paradise in midsummer” by enthusiasts.
Wang Yongfeng [Weibo], Vice Chairman of the China Mountaineering Association, introduced that participants will gather in Xining on the 28th, then travel by bus on the 29th to the Qicai Waterfall transition camp at an altitude of 3,800 meters for acclimatization and adjustment. This is the highest altitude accessible by vehicle. On the 30th, athletes will climb under the guidance of coaches from the transition camp to the base camp at 4,350 meters. In the following days, they will engage in training and exchanges on ski mountaineering techniques such as climbing skills, descending methods, crevasse rescue, and avalanche search and rescue at altitudes between 4,350 and 5,000 meters.
High physical exertion and intense activity levels are the defining characteristics of this event. Athletes will spend an average of about five hours each day climbing and descending. Operating at such high altitudes poses a significant test of the endurance of both athletes and coaches.
The China Mountaineering Association has specially selected multiple ski mountaineering and alpine climbing coaches to provide training and exchange sessions during this conference. Li Zhixin and Wang Yongfeng, Vice Chairmen of the China Mountaineering Association, will personally oversee operations at Gangshika and will engage in skill-sharing with international participants on topics related to ski mountaineering and high-altitude expeditions.
This exchange conference is jointly organized by the China Mountaineering Association, the Qinghai Provincial Sports Bureau, and the People’s Government of Haibei Prefecture, Qinghai Province, and is hosted by the Qinghai Mountaineering Sports Management Center, the Haibei Prefecture Sports Bureau, and the People’s Government of Menyuan Hui Autonomous County.