Trip Reports

Peak Lenin 2024

A rare glimpse of the sunshine on the upper mountain
Trip Report

Written by Leader Christopher Groves (Chris), August 2024

Luxury. Probably not the first word to spring to mind when thinking about a Russian basecamp. Well, it wasn’t Russian although most of the staff appeared to be, it was Kyrgyz. Anyway, the shipping containers that had been converted to loos & showers were a welcome & surprising sight after a couple of days traveling to the heart of Central Aisa.

Basecamp at 3600m was our comfortable home for 3 nights as we began our acclimatisation, the highlight of which was a great ridge walk on the shoulder of Pik Petrovsky, reaching 4100m and still returning to camp for lunch. By now the team had expanded as we were joined by guide Julia, from St Petersburg and Pemba from Nepal.

For the move up to C1 or ABC, pack horses carried most of our kit. The morning was cloudy so no real views then snow showers turning thundery just after we arrived in camp which was starting to be the weather pattern. Without any rush we easily arrived in time for lunch. The first real challenge of the trip but was not to overeat given 3 meals a day.

Pik Kholm, 4700m was a pleasant summit with great views over to Lenin on the best weather day so far, although further snow followed later that afternoon. On our second day we used a short steep wall on the glacier for a skills refresher / training session and overall kit check ahead of going higher.

Rather than 3 rotations on Lenin, Julia suggested climbing Yukhin Peak, 5130m, taking tents and spending a night just below the summit. This would be much shorter than going to C2 and had the benefit of being much closer to C1 should there be any problems. The team didn’t take much convincing!

With no need for an early start, we had the usual breakfast and finally left at 0930 taking 3½ hours to reach the camp 5mins below the summit. The existing tent platforms need only minor adjustments and very quickly we settled down. Thankfully there was no real wind and our camp felt warmer than C1 700m below us although we had constant light snowfall all afternoon & into the evening.

We woke the following morning to a perfect day, calm and completely clear with incredible views over to Lenin. Even without rushing we were back down in C1 in under 90mins so plenty of time to sort & air kit, relax in the afternoon sunshine and even get a hot shower. Things were going well and were slightly ahead of the original itinerary.

After a rest day, the first day where it didn’t snow in the afternoon things got a bit more challenging. A 0230 breakfast meant we got away just after 0300, taking 90mins to reach the crampon point. Unfortunately, Ron who had been suffering with a GI issue decided C2 was going to be too much so turned back with Pemba. With a few queues it was a couple of hours to the top of the fixed ropes including two short ladders over crevasses. Around 5000m the wind really picked up blowing spin drift directly at us. With the majority of the climbing done there was a long traverse towards the tents of C2 then a final sting in the tail of a short climb. Impressively team were all in camp completing the 1160m ascent, 8.75km in 7:15hrs (10-11hrs was common). A tough day.

After a cold night, as soon as the sun hit the tent the frozen condensation inside turned to rain. Thankfully everything dried later in the warmth of the day. Climbing quite steeply out of C2 we found the wind again on reaching a broad col then a long rising traverse towards the final slopes up to C3. At around 6000m Richard decided he was done, I cut a large ledge for him to rest on. On seeing this Vejay said he was done too and wanted to know why there was no fixed rope. Continuing, I managed to catch Julia & Jimmy just before C3, 6100m. Lots of tents and lots of snow plus a strong wind. They managed to get a hot drink with some other guides and rest a little before heading over to Pik Rasdelnaya, 6150m. While I quickly descended to collect the others and headed back down to C2.

A second cold and very windy night meant for limited sleep & recovery still, descending past the crowds heading up was almost pleasant, satisfied that we’d completed our acclimatation without any real issues. And of course, we made it back to C1 in time for lunch and even managed another hot shower.

Vejay decided he wasn’t going to attempt the summit but would use the time to visit family in India before returning to Australia. Overnight, Richard & Ron also decided that they weren’t feeling up to a summit attempt. Jimmy was, although he wasn’t relishing a couple of nights in C3 having already experienced an hour there.

The weather pattern had changed since our arrival in C1, gone were the afternoon storms, mornings generally had a clear view of the summit and although there were still some snow patches around camp winter appeared to be finally leaving. The others departed for BC leaving Jimmy & I considering our options and discussing the updated weather forecast. Into the mix was the knowledge that there had only been 3 successful summits so far this season (<1%), reports of really strong winds and deep snow once out of C3. Additionally, an American had descended with frostbitten fingers and there had been a fatality caused by avalanche debris. The forecast for our potential summit was for more snow and quite high winds. I said we could go and have a look; Jimmy wasn’t too keen on returning to C3 if there was no real chance of summitting.

If it’s not a YES, then it’s a no.

We quickly packed up, sorted things out in C1 then headed down to BC rejoin the others. After a bonus day in the city of Osh the team celebrated with an excellent & excessive Georgian meal in the capital Bishkek before going our separate ways.

A huge thanks to the team; Vejay, Richard, Jimmy & Ron. Guides Julia & Pemba and to all the camp staff – my return to Lenin after 22 years was certainly much more luxurious than the first.

« | Next report »

Jagged Globe Newsletter

We publish an email newsletter with trip reports and latest availability, plus features, competitions and general news of our climbing, trekking & skiing activities.

Categories
Archives
 
Follow Us:
1