Central Tien Shan. Khan Tengri peak (7010 m) climbing from North side.Pass hopping (heavy trekking) and climbing fotoreport.
Slides by: Nikolay Gonenko. Photos by: Georgy Regetsiy. Scanning, image processing and comments: Igor Fedyaev. to enlarge picture click on thumbnail image |
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| Above the intermediate camp the slope is moderate steep and leads to the 2nd rocky step which is only 3-4 m high but very unreliable- destroyed rocks looks like the cheese slices. |
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| Immediately after this steep, you reach wide flat ground- Camp-2 site at 5600 m. |
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| You can pick up tents either here or climb a bit up and stay in snow caves (see photo below). Bear in mind, camp-2 is common place to deliver loads by porters. BTW, the author stays at the very right side and not too politee (AMS? ;-) |
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| Further up, you proceed along fixed rope up to the Chapayev peak summit at 6371 m, then turn left and descent on the Western Col at 5900 m. Descent way is clearly seen here. |
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| As a rule, climbers descend further down to the South side (about 30 m ice wall) and stay in the camp-5900 (see also Khan Tengri South climbing report). Next day you need climb this wall again, but up, not down- but this is your doom ;-) |
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| After climbing the ice wall to the saddle, you can take a
rest a bit walking to the foothill of the summit spur... and then the dances
begin again... Take a look at the same photo but with the marked
ascent route. You can also see the step which hides the Camp-6300 site.
Above it is one more camp- so-called Camp-6700, but bear in mind it is very
small ground (1-2 tents only!) which is used only in emergency!
Note. From this point, the routes from South and North sizes are joined. We recommend for those climbers who climb Khan Tengri North to descend onto South side because it is much easier! |
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| Camp-6300 (sometimes referred as Camp-6400) is small site for Amax 3-4 tents and is using usually as intermediate camp for those who couldn't reach the saddle on descent. Be aware of the snow cornices to the North (bottom photo)! |
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| Virtually the entire summit spur is rocky and steep- so, you go using continuos fixed rope (provided by our guides!). On this photo, you also can clearly see the summit of Peak Chapaev with the tracks of those who climb Khan Tengri from the North - it is much harder route! Camp-5900 site and the col are also well seen. |
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| Closer to the summit, the spur is becoming a bit gentle and icy... |
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| And finally, you see the summit's snow dome and the tripod with the pieces of aluminum foil- so, you're lucky, job is done and you have to take the Victorious Picture! Raising flags, anthems, loving dolly - all are here! ;-) But don't forget you have to descend same day before the sunset! Try to reach Camp-5900 to have a good rest! We recommend descent on South side- it is much easier than repeat all the way described below- see corresponded Khan Tengri South chapter! |
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