Ashley Burke's Web Page

Mountaineering Page

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Welcome to my mountaineering page

Of all the activities I undertake, I find mountaineering the most extreme, the most challenging, and - sometimes - the most life threatening, disappointing or exhilarating. Mountaineering is the sport of extremes. It offers challenges both physical and mental that are well beyond my current levels of experience and ability, so it is this activity that I turn to when I feel the need to push myself beyond previously attained limits.

My mountaineering life began in 1990 when I went on a mountaineering course near Mt Cook in New Zealand. I then returned to new Zealand in the summer of 1990/1991 to put these new skills into practise. During this epic New Zealand trip a crevasse fall and numerous potentially life threatening situations gave me pause to reconsider my pursuit of this dangerous activity. In subsequent years I was careful to limit my mountaineering adventures to relatively safe and non-technical peaks such as Mustagh-Ata in western China, Aconcagua in Argentina and Europe's Mont Blanc. Then, in 2007 I found my confidence restoring once again. I climbed Mt Aspiring in New Zealand and Huascarán in Peru that year. These successes inspired me to go to Central Asia in 2009 to climb in Tajikistan's Fann mountains and then to Peak Lenin in Kyrgyzstan. This trip hooked me on the exotic and mystical mountains of the former Soviet states in Central Asia.

Then, in 2011 I went to Kazakhstan to attempt an alpine traverse of the Tian Shan mountains and an ascent of Khan Tengri, a beautiful mountain on the border of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China. This trip proved to be an all time life epic experience that I cannot hope to describe here.

On this web page I share some photos and descriptions of some of the mountaineering trips that I have undertaken from 1991 to present. I hope you enjoy the photos of the dramatic landscapes in exotic places that only mountaineering allows you to witness. If you would like more information or want to share mountaineering experiences, you could always email me.

Index to Photos and Trip Reports

Trip Date(s)		Content
July - August 1993		A ski mountaineering attempt on Mustagh Ata, China (7546m)
February 1999		An ascent of Aconcagua, Argentina (6962m).
13-15 Aug 2002		An ascent of Mont Blanc from Les Houches, near Chamonix France
October 2004		An ascent of Yala Peak, Nepal
22 Feb - 1 Mar 2007		An ascent of Mt Aspiring via the North West Ridge, New Zealand
17 Jun - 1 Aug 2007		An ascent of Huascarán, Peru (6768m) .
28 Jun - 9 Jul 2009		Climbing to 5200m in the Fann Mountains, Takijistan . Ascents of Zamok (5070m), Energia (5120m) and Mirali Pass (5060m).
12-30 Jul 2009		An ascent of Peak Lenin, Kyrgyzstan (7134m).
17-24 Aug 2010		An ascent of Mt Ararat, eastern Turkey (5137m)
25 Aug - 4 Sep 2010		An ascent of Mt Elbrus, Russia (5642m)
31 Jul - 21 Aug 2011		KAZAKHSTAN - The Marble Wall and Khan Tengri traverse
18 Sep - 12 Oct 2011		Shivling, Northern India - A beautiful mountain at the source of the Ganges, holy to the Hindus
16-26 Jan 2013		Mountaineering in the Darwin Range of Tierra del Fuego, far southern Chile
6-26 Jul 2014		KAMCHATKA - Land of Ice and Fire. The volcanoes of Russia's far east. Not really mountaineering but we did climb to the summit of the Tolbachic volcano at 3600m.
8-22 Jul 2015		The Seven Summits of Ecuador. Climbing Ecuadorian volcanoes, where there are snow storms on the equator. Includes the peaks of Cayambe, Cotopaxi and Chimborazo.