Translated, the 7,439-meter-high mountain on the border between Kyrgyzstan and China means “Victory Peak” in both Kyrgyz (Jengish Chokusu) and Russian (Pik Pobeda). But these days, there are no victors on Kyrgyzstan’s highest mountain.
On 11 August, Russian climbing legend Nikolai Totmyanin – winner of the Piolet d’Or award for the first ascent of the North Face of Jannu (7,710 m) in eastern Nepal in 2004, among other achievements – died at the age of 66 in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, after most likely suffering from high altitude sickness while descending from the summit of the seven-thousander. But that was only the beginning of the drama.
In the days that followed, two Iranian and one Italian climbers lost their lives on Pik Pobeda. It is highly doubtful whether a female Russian climber, who has been stranded on the summit ridge at around 7,200 meters with a broken leg for two weeks, is still alive. And even if she is, it will probably be of no use to her. According to Anna Piunova from the Russian mountaineering portal mountain.ru, the rescue operation was finally called off yesterday due to bad weather with snowfall and temperatures dropping to minus 30 degrees Celsius at night.
Continue reading “Drama on Kyrgyzstan’s highest mountain – rescue operation called off”
