The Genyen Massif and Hutsa

Upon arrival in the Genyen massif, David Anderson and crew tried their luck on an unclimbed spire known as Sachun. From there, they marched along a faint yak trail to the foot of the unclimbed 6,000-metre Hutsa, a peak whose summit would prove elusive.

As David Anderson flipped through the 2006 American Alpine Journal, his eyes caught on an image of a Tibetan monastery perched beneath an array of high peaks. The Genyen massif, located in western China, pulled Anderson in, and he couldn’t help but imagine the climbing objectives that might await just outside of the frame. Finally reaching the Genyen massif, Anderson, along with Sarah Hueniken, Andy Tyson and Molly Tyson, began to canvass the area that the image had left only to the imagination.

The foursome tried their luck on an unclimbed spire, known locally as Sachun, but all the while their sights were set on the lofty heights of a peak to the north, the 6,000-metre Hutsa. Their journey to its summit was punctuated by missteps and false starts. This is their story.