(Tibet, Central Tibet, Chang Tang)
Mayer Kangri and Jomo Ri massifs, reconnaissance, Mayer Kangri I East (6,053m)
By Janusz Majer, Poland
On September 23, 2008, Grzegorz Chowla and I flew from Kathmandu to Lhasa intending to reach the Mayer Kangri Massif on the Chang Tang plateau. As far as we could ascertain, these isolated mountains remained unexplored. Although the highest peak (6,266m, N 33°24’, E 86°46’) is called Mayer Kangri I on contemporary Western maps of Tibet and on Chinese road maps, it is referred to as Bonvalet Peak on Russian maps. Frenchman Gabriel Bonvalet was the first foreign traveler to see the mountain, during his journey through the Chang Tang and the central Arka Tagh in 1889-90, and the name Bonvalet Peak is also used on the map in Sven Hedin’s book Trans-Himalaya (1909). (read more)
