Khan Tengri Expedition

Arrival in Bishkek and transfer to the hotel.

Team meeting, gear check, time for a city tour, and opportunity to do some shopping. Accommodation in a hotel.

Car transfer (460 km) to the helicopter station Karkara at the Kyrgyz-Kazakh border. We pass by Issyk-Kul, the second largest mountain lake on earth, picturesquely situated in front of the snow-covered chains of the Tien Shan. 

Karkara is a small village that lies in a wide valley wtih meadows. Our helicopter is stationed there. Accomodation in tents.

Flight with a helicopter of the Kyrgyz military to the base camp "South Inylchek" (4,000 m / 13,120 ft). We fly over a vast mountain terrain of the Tien Shan, with its wild valleys and large glacial rivers. We land on the moraine of the Southern Inylchek Glacier, where our base camp is set up. It has a large kitchen tent, living tents, and even a sauna. We are supplied by the legendary Kyrgyz mountaineer Dima Grekov and his team.

Acclimatization and preparation for the ascent. Depending on how we feel, we have a rest day or go for a short hike. We prepare the gear for the first acclimatization rotation that starts the next day.

Ascent to C1 (4,200 m / 13,780 ft), overnight stay there. We walk for about an hour along across the moraine, then we cross over to the flat Inylczek glacier at the foot of Khan Tengri. There we establish camp 1 and enjoy the surrounding mountains, especially the impressive south face of Khan Tengri.

Ascent to C2 (5,500 m / 18,045 ft), where we spend the night. Very early, in the middle of the night, we set off and climb up the narrow valley between Peak Chapaev and Khan Tengri towards the West Col. The path leads over an increasingly torn glacier with deep crevasses and impressive ice towers - roping up is absolutely necessary. The crossing under Peak Chapaev is particularly impressive - with big seracs above us. We have to hurry to cross the passage before the first sunrays hit the slope. After the strenuous ascent, we enjoy the rest of the day in camp 2 and hope not to have too many altitude adjustment problems.

Ascent to C3 (5,900 m / 19,357 ft), where we spend the night either in a tent or in a snow cave. From camp 2 we ascend over relatively flat snow slopes to the West Col. At noon this ascent can become very hot, as the sunlight in this glacier basin is very intense. Shortly below the West Col we pitch our tents or make ourselves comfortable in one of the snow caves. Here on the south side of the saddle, we are protected from the cold wind.

Descent to base camp. We start our descent very early in the morning. The most important tools are the ski poles. The descent is amazingly fast, in a few hours we are back in camp 1, around noon in base camp. Thanks to the previous overnight stay at 5,900 meters / 19,350 feet, we now are acclimatized for the summit.

Food, sauna, lying in the sun, dozing in the sleeping bag. Expedition life as it should and may be.

Enjoying the second rest day in the basecamp and packing the equipment for the summit push.

In the morning we can enjoy a slow breakfast and at noon we will make our way to high camp 1.

Ascent to high camp 3.  We leave early from Camp 1, but thanks to previous rotation, the ascent is faster than the first time. In camp 2 we have a thorough break, then we start the second, strenuous and hot part of the ascent towards the west saddle, where our snow cave or tents are waiting for us.

Like all summit days, this day starts very early. We leave the shelter of camp 3 and climb the fixed rope to the saddle in freezing temperatures. From there it goes along the increasingly steep and rocky west ridge, where the first rays of the sun hit us. A magnificent panorama opens up: mountain ranges to the horizon, huge glaciers, and the mighty 7439-meter Pik Pobeda peak. And of course the view into the massive 3,000 meters (10,000 feet!) high Khan-Tengri north face. We secure ourselves on the fixed ropes with jumars. After a few hours, we reach the tiny space for Camp 4 (6400 meters), where we stop for a moment, drink tea. We continue up the steep, stepped rock ridge until we cross to the right at about 6,600 meters (21,650 feet), overcome an approximately vertical passage of approximately 20 meters on fixed ropes, and reach a narrow snow ridge at about 6,800 meters (22,300 feet) through a steep couloir. All difficult passages are secured with fixed ropes. Over the last rocks and the survey triangle, we reach the immaculately flat summit dome of Khan Tengri. A great moment. After the strenuous ascent with a difference in altitude of 1,200 meters (3,900 feet), we have to concentrate fully on the long and demanding descent. We abseil off the fixed ropes and reach the west saddle again via Camp 4. A very long and tiring day.

Descent to the base camp from C3.

In case of bad weather or longer acclimatization we use these days. In the Tien Shan, there are often bad weather phases with lots of fresh snow. That's why, we have to include reserve days to sit out the bad weather (best of course in the base camp with good food, and the sauna).

Helicopter flight from the base camp to Karkara and transfer to Bishkek in the afternoon. Hotel accommodation in Bishkek.

Transfer to the airport and travel home.