Solid reservoir

Moving on, the team saw a dead horse floating in an icy lake; it was fitted with a military-grade saddle, and its limbs were stiff. Yet another horse had perished - a grim reminder of what could happen.

During this journey, the team found themselves walking on what appeared to be a layer of gravel. However, when they scraped it away, they found they were actually walking on ice that was tens or even hundreds of meters thick. This glacier was still on the move, leaving gravel behind. But it was moving too slowly for its speed to be noticed. Glaciers at that elevation of 3,900 meters move at around 72 meters a year, or around 20 centimeters a day.

The Tomur region contains 829 glaciers covering 3,850 square kilometers. The area has a water storage capacity of 500 billion cubic meters, of which two-thirds lie within Chinese territory. The region of Mt Tomur and the neighboring peak of Khan Tengri (6,995 meters) accounts for more than half the ice cover in the Tianshan range. Thus, the glaciers here act as a "solid reservoir" that feeds the oases in the Tianshan Mountains.

Why are there so many glaciers in the region? The peak is part of a cluster of giants with a height of 6,000 meters or more. This natural barrier blocks moisture-laden air from the west, releasing as much as 1,500 to 2,000 millimeters of precipitation that feeds the glaciers.

In July 1977, the Chinese team successfully scaled Mt Tomur, and planted the Chinese flag and a survey marker on its summit.