Abstract
A team of three travelled to the Tien-Shan (Tian-Shan) mountains of Kyrgyzstan, hiking up the Inylchek Valley to establish a base camp on the northern side of the Inylchek Glacier close to Khan Tengri (6,995m). Two unsuccessful attempts were made at the first ascent of Peak Gorky (6,050m).
You can view the original report (more content, nicer layout) in the window below or download it here. You can read more stories about the trip here. Any questions, contact Tim.
Introduction
Our expedition took place between July 14th and August 12th of the year 2003. The team comprised three young climbers, two of which were undergrads at University College London (UCL) and were awarded a grant by the ‘UCL Expedition Committee’.
This report contains details of our team’s attempts to climb Maksima Gor’Kogo Peak (Peak Gorky, 6050m) via its southern ridge. There are also detailed notes on our trek into the Central Tien-Shan, where Peak Gorky is to be found, our equipment and our accounts.
Although we were unsuccessful in summiting we feel that our efforts weren’t without merit, and we all had a grand adventure. We hope you enjoy this report.
The Team
Thom Allen, Tim Moss, Ben Trinder
The Area
The Tien-Shan mountain-range is found in the eastern most point of Kyrgyzstan (the Kyrgyz-Republic). Kyrgyzstan itself is located in Central Asia and borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. It is a small country, covering only 200 km2 of land, with an average altitude of 2,500m.
We flew to Bishkek (Frunze airport) and made our away across the north of the country, to Karakol. We were then driven into the mountains in a hired 4×4 to the end of the last road. At this point we had to start trekking, up a huge glacial valley and onto the mammoth South Engilchek Glacier, for 5 days. Our destination was an organised based camp at the base of the Tengri-Too Range in the heart of the Central Tien-Shan. For more information on our journey see ‘The Diary’ below.
The Objectives
- Explore remote regions
- Possible first British ascents
- Mountaineering experience
- Experience different culture first hand
Peak Gorky (6,050m)
A stunning pyramidal peak with steep slopes rising just over two thousand metres from the northern edge of the South Engilchek Glacier. It is part of the ‘Tengri-Too’ range and the second summit due west of Khan-Tengri. Its southern face is split by a steep ridge that forms an obvious line to the summit. As soon as we saw peak Gorky we knew it would become our objective.
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