Raising the spirits

The path to Minya Konka, one of Buddhism's most sacred peaks in the Daxue Shan mountain range of Sichuan province Photograph: Jon Miceler

Robert Macfarlane and the rest of the party camped overnight in a remote settlement Photograph: Jon Miceler

The house of Jatso, the Tibetan horseman who would accompany the group Photograph: Jon Miceler

Saddling up for the climb to the western face of Minya Konka, which towers at 7,556m Photograph: Jon Miceler

Pedestrian life began at 4,600m Photograph: Jon Miceler

Four hours of hard walking lay ahead Photograph: Jon Miceler

And then the party reached the Yulongxi Pass Photograph: Jon Miceler

Seen from the west, Konka resembles a child's sketch of a mountain: a triangular peak of white ice and black rock Photograph: Jon Miceler

Macfarlane and fellow traveller Erik on the Yulongxi Pass - the land just plunges away from the summit Photograph: Jon Miceler

Minya Konka monastery, a place of tremendous isolation Photograph: Jon Miceler

Pilgrims on their way to the monastery Photograph: Jon Miceler

Pushing on towards the mountain on its main western glacier Photograph: John Miceler

Leading away from the monastery, muttering mantras, felt like the descent back to earth Photograph: Jon Miceler

Erik sings his own praises to the mountain Photograph: John Miceler