LENINE PIC

On the road to Tajikistan rises, majestic, the second highest peak of the Pamir massif. Located in the northern Pamir Mountains, in the Zaalaiskiy mountain range, on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, its summit is 7,134 m high. In 2006, the Lenin Peak was renamed "Independence Peak" but the name given to the Russian revolutionary leader has remained in common usage.

Despite its impressive altitude of 7,134 metres, the "ease" of access to its summit makes it the world's busiest "7,000". And every year numerous expeditions criss-cross its slopes following the different ascent routes. As a result, numerous camps are set up throughout the Atchyk Tash base camp, located at an altitude of 3,750 metres. They are managed by different Kyrgyz tour operators based in Bishkek and it is very easy to book a place for the night or to camp around them. The difficulty will be to reach the base camp, the best solution being to share a 4x4 with other travelers, as the Osh Guesthouse or CBT in Osh does.

Everywhere around the base camp, climbers walk around, loaded with all their equipment, to acclimatize before the start, waiting for the right weather window. But you don't need to be a mountaineer to climb from the base camp up the gently sloping plain to a splendid panorama dominated by the peak itself. It was first climbed in 1928 by the German-Russian team of climbers Karl Wien, Eugene Allwein and Erwin Schneider. It remained the highest peak in the Soviet Union for five years, until an expedition managed to climb Ismail Samani Peak, located about 100 kilometres to the southwest, and to accurately measure its altitude, which was 361 metres higher! Although Lenin Peak is easily accessible, the history of its ascents is marred by the heaviest death toll in the history of mountaineering: in 1990, during an earthquake, Camp 2 was buried and 43 climbers died.

As a simple walker, you will be able to wander around the base camps: it is an enchantment (apart from being out of breath after only a few metres!) of greenery and mountain pastures dominated by the peak which, unfortunately, can often be lost in the mist or clouds. You will console yourself by counting the countless marmots but don't sympathize too much, some of them are on the menu of the day in the campsites!