Mustagh Ata in Xinjiang Province

The mountain Mustagh Ata sits between the Pakistani border and Kashgar. It represents the essence of Himalayan beauty, with a valley floor 13,000 feet above sea level. I went out for an evening stroll from my campsite to get a better view of the ridge that the great, late photographer/climber Galen Rowell had skied down a couple years before when the area was first opened to westerners.