Up
to the late 1930s Khan Tengri was thought to be tile highest peak in Tien Shan.
The ice mass that constitutes Pobeda Peak, which is almost always hidden behind
thick clouds, had escaped the notice of mountaineers and explorers such as Semionov,
Cesare Borghese and Gottbied Merzbacher. Even in those rare days when it was
visible, Pobeda seemed to be smaller than Khan Tengri because it is more northerly,
hence farther from the valleys that afford access to this region, as call be
seen in the panoramic photographs that Merzbacher took at the beginning of this
century. And yet the local inhabitants' accounts and stories speak of two very
high, splendid and terrifying mountains - Khan Tengri and Khantau. Semionov
had no precise indications concerning the location of the two mountains, so
he identified Khan Tengri with the fantastic ice pyramid he saw during his second
expedition. But the natives most probably identified Khan Tengri. the "Lord
of the Spirits,'' as the root of the Celestial Mountains; while the mountain
we now call Khan Tengri was called Khantau in Kyrgyz - "Blood Mountain," because
the pylamid becomes red at dusk.
The first persons to attempt to climb
up Pobeda were a three-man team of mountaineers led by L. Gutman. They went
up the northern side of the Zviozdochka (Little Star) glacier in September 1938,
when the temperature was -30°C. To this day there are serious doubts as to whether
they really succeeded in conquering the peak. In any case, the three alpinists
were not aware they were trying to climb up the tallest peak in the Tien Shan
system. The true geographic "discovery" of the peak was made only in 1943. The
first successful climb dates from 1956, when an expedition headed by V. Abalakov
reached the summit after a 30-day climb. Abalakov called it Peak Pobeda, or
Victory Peak, as a tribute to the Red Army's triumph in the war against the
Nazis. Many mountaineers had attempted to climb the forbidding peak before Abalakov
and the outcome was often tragic, as in the case of the 1955 Kazakh expedition:
eleven of the twelve members of the team died in their tent at 6900 meters during
a violent snowstorm. In 1958, I. Erokhin's expedition made the first climb via
the Chon-Teren glacier. The complete crossing of the massif from east to west
was made in 1970 by A. Riabukhin's expedition. Set amidst the Kokshaal-Tau (Forbidding
Mountains) chain, Pobeda Peak is the northern most peak over 7000 meters high
in the world. The weather conditions during climbs are extremely rough. The
rare days with good weather are separated by long periods of bad weather in
which the icy wind from the Takla Makan desert - significantly called ''Thousand
Devils'' - often buffets the mountain, making it impossible to climb.
The
base camp is on the Zviozdochka glacier which converges with the Southern Engilchek
glacier. The climb up to Camp 1 (5200 m) on Dikiy (Wild) pass is very long and
there is no possibility of setting up an intermediate camp. You must leave early
in the morning at a pre- established time, because huge avalanches are likely
to fall from the northern face of Western Pobeda and sweep over the Zviozdocllka
glacier. The route crosses a sort of ice and snow canyon. Before reaching Dikiy
Pass there is an icefall with ice towers; in the most difficult parts there
is a fixed rope on which you can use ascenders.
Set up camp 2 on the snow plateau
that opens out onto the pass. The best place for this is higher up on the ridge,
just before the rocks (5800 m). You should dig a snow cave: because of the wind
coming from the west it is extremely cold in a tent. The route continues towards
West Pobeda Peak (6918 m), along the snow, ice and rock ridge. There is a fixed
rope in the difficult passages. In this part of the route as well it is not
possible to set up an intermediate camp; the only exception might be at 6400
meters, but this should be done only in case of an emergency, as the night wind
is so strong it can tear your tent to shreds. It is advisable to go to West
Pobeda Peak and dig an ice cave on the Chinese side, which is sheltered from
the wind, and set up Camp 3. Lastly, there is the way long twelve-kilometres
ridge at 7000 meters, which leads to Pobeda Peak (7439 m). Before reaching the
summit, climbers usually set up Camp 4 at 7000 meters. The highest point of
the peak itself lies 400 meters after you have reached the top plateau. The
descent follows the same route and takes two days. The brief climb from the
ridge to West Pobeda Peak is very taxing.