Dennis Gray's visit to the unclimbed granite domes of Keketuohai in the autumn of last year fired many an imagination around the world. But Gray was highly sceptical that a permit to climb in this sensitive area would easily be granted.

This year Americans Tommy Caldwell and Corey Rich made contact with Chinese climbers who knew park officials, and were told they'd probably be allowed to climb.

However, on reaching the Keketuohai National Park in the southern Altai Range of China's Xinjiang Province, they were firmly stopped by border police.

Persevering, they arranged a series of meetings with local officials, and were eventually rewarded with a go-ahead. Before they were allowed to change their minds, Caldwell, Hayden Kennedy and Rich set off for the most famous dome in the Park; Divine Bell.

The bottom section of the North Face looked featureless, so they rappelled the line from the summit to check it out.

The first pitch involved dirty wide cracks, while the third was deemed an unjustifiable lead without a few protection bolts. The National Park did not want bolts on Divine Bell as it is clearly visible, so the trio was only able to top rope this section.

Above, the line followed a superb series of cracks up the middle of the face, unfortunately marred by a heavy covering of moss.

The 350m route, named Red Tape, eventually went at 5.11+ and A0. The team felt that if thoroughly cleaned, and situated in somewhere like Yosemite, it would rapidly become an absolute classic (the area looks quite reminiscent of Tuolumne Meadows)

In the meantime Jeremy Collins and Mark Jenkins, the latter an avid climber with plenty of previous experience of mountaineering in China and dealing with its bureaucracy, had been working on another Dome.

All teamed up for the final ascent to create For Whom the Bell Tolls (300m: 5.10+), which featured the best crack climbing of the trip. This formation was a little less visible and the team was able to place some protection bolts where necessary.

Caldwell and Kennedy also climbed the 300m Liberty Bell at 5.11-.

Gray reported around 108 granite formations in the Park and the current team only scratched the surface. However, it is still unclear how the authorities will view climbing here by foreigners in the future. Not only does consent have to be given by the National Park, but also by the Border Police, and the area lies very close to the Chinese-Mongolian frontier.
 

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