Update as of 4:47PM 20/9/2012 by Axe Rawlinson

The technical problem with David’s blog has been solved by his ever-so-efficient wife, Maureen. David owes her BIG time!

Just managed to speak to David Lim on clear Sat phone line. The confusion over their basecamp location has been solved. Further to the previous post I made below where their basecamp position had actually changed this morning from the original plan. From their current basecamp the approach to the Dragons tooth looks much more difficult. But they have realised they are in the wrong valley. Such is the nature of climbing virgin peaks and having no guide’s to follow. This is true exploratory climbing! Tomorrow they will move basecamp again to a valley system further south. A distance of 7km as the crow flies but will involve a more than 30 – 40km drive as there is a mountain range in between! If they can reach their intended spot for basecamp tomorrow it looks to be a more straightforward route to the base of the Dragons tooth. (Looks can always be deceiving!) Timewise this will not affect their schedule as they need these days for acclimatisation. David was practically buzzing with excitement over the phone with the possibilities of the untouched climbing in this region. I had to calm him down to get the important facts out for this post. Attached is a photo of the Tanggula Shan mountain range that they are climbing in, taken by David this morning on his drive in.

Contributed by Axe Rawlinson

An image taken by David Lim this morning on his drive into basecamp on the Qinghai plateau in China. Owing to technical issues I am having difficulties updating David’s blog on his behalf. The team has arrived safely at basecamp, however there was a last minute change in plans. The original location of basecamp was not accessible by 4WD so they have moved position approximately 13km to the North to another valley. From looking at google earth, it appears that access to their original climbing objective (the Dragons Tooth) is more difficult from the new basecamp position. It involves crossing two glacial systems before arriving at the north west face of the 6000m+ dragons tooth. I have had sporadic Thuruya Sat phone conversations today with David Lim, and some messages from Rozani Maarof and they appear to be in good spirits and handling the altitude well. I will update the teams progress by posting to David’s facebook wall as I cannot access his blog. Their current basecamp position is N33.165 and E 92.032 if you would like to check it on google earth. Their climbing objective (the Dragons tooth) is located approximately at N33.103 and E 92.066. All coordinates are approximate only.