Ling Dang, Apple and I, plus Ian, a local friend are just back from a few days walking / driving around tracking down possibly unclimbed peaks. The night before we set off was mostly spent receiving phone calls from people telling us that they'd heard everywhere was closed to foreigners and that we'd be turned back. Others told us that there were lots of checkpoints but were passable after showing ID. We certainly knew that the situation was changing all the time and that no-one had any concrete experience so we decided to give it a go. The good news is that it's definitely still possible for foreigners to legally get to both Rilong (Siguniang Shan), and Lixian. We had our ID checked by a man with a very worn looking machine gun as we entered Aba Prefecture, but that was it until much closer to the troubled areas. I've updated the West Sichuan access article with more details.

We'd been told that an unnamed peak at the end of Changping Gou, beyond the pass over to Bipeng Gou was unclimbed so we set off with our regular local guide, Yuan Erge, to locate and photograph it. Altitude and old age slowed Ian down a little, and it was obvious we weren't going to get where we wanted before it was dark so we stopped early at the hut at Muluozi by the track up to the Yaomei base camp -- conveniently just a few minutes before it started snowing. Yuan Erge and I got up early the next morning and raced up to the end of the valley to snap some pictures and play with a GPS and compass then we all headed back to Rilong. We shared a van back into town with a couple of Chinese guys who'd been driving around China and had spent the last couple of weeks in West Sichuan. They confirmed that most places were still open for Chinese tourists, albeit with a lot of checks on the way.

Saturday we wanted to visit a gorge near Xiaojin which is rarely visited and stood a chance of having some unclimbed peaks. Sadly just beyond the Jiajin Shan road we hit a police checkpoint. Seeing me at the wheel they tried to turn us around immediately, but we ignored their hand signals and stopped to chat to them anyway. They were pleasant and friendly enough, offering us tea and, though they made it clear that beyond was off limits, I suspect that eventually we might have been able to talk our way through -- we did only want to go a few km the other side and were coming back the same night. I'd left my drivers license, passport with residence permit and work permit in Rilong though and since that meant I was already technically breaking the law on at least three counts, I didn't want to push things too far.

Being stopped before Xiaojin, our possible peaks near Danba would definitely be off limits as well, so after a bit of thought decided to try Lixian instead. Again this was an area that many people had told us we wouldn't be able to get to but, not believing in rumours, we gave it a try anyway. We were in fact not stopped once on the way and made good time on the new Yingxiu - Wenchuan road, arriving in time to do all our prospecting the same day. A night chatting with our local guide and we returned direct to Chengdu the next day, delayed somewhat by a flat tire (more so by a wrench which bent in preference to loosening wheel nuts!) and then again by the usual road works heading down into Dujiangyan (more so by brain dead drivers thinking they can jump the queues of traffic before the single file sections and end up blocking the road in both directions as a result). The sooner the new road's open the better!

Back in the office this morning and it looks like the peak at the end of Changping Gou was first climbed about 20 years ago and hasn't been since. Oh well, worth a try. The other side, nearer Bipeng Gou still does have lots of unclimbed peaks though. Our photos and conversations looked encouraging and we'll be back to Lixian in a month or two to get closer and take some more photos.