Main Page
From Snow Leopards 2009 Expedition Wiki
Motto:“Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambitions to achieve. They are cathedrals, grand and pure, the houses of my religion. I approach them as any human goes to worship. On their altars I strive to perfect myself physically and spiritually. In their presence I attempt to understand my life, to exorcise vanity, greed, and fear. From the vantage of their lofty summits, I view my past, dream of the future, and with unusual acuteness I experience the present moment. That struggle renews my strength and clears my vision. In the mountains I celebrate creation, for on each journey I am reborn.” —Anatoli Boukreev
Welcome to the wiki pages of the Tien Shan 2009 Khan Thengri Expedition (provisional name)! It is organized by the Transylvanian KODIAK Association , and its main objective is summiting what was considered by Anatoli Boukreev perhaps the world's most beautiful peak because of its geometric ridges and its symmetry: Khan Tengri (7010 m) in the Tian Shan mountain range in Kyrgyzstan.
Contents |
Description
Quick Facts
- Mountain range: Tian Shan
- Peak name: Khan Tengri (7010 m)
- Route: Solamatov Route (1974)
- Route grade: 5B
- Base camp: North Engilchek Glacier (4100 m)
- Elevation to climb: 2910 m
- Required time: 24 days
- Planned period: August 2009
About the Mountain
Located on the Kyrgyz-Kazah border and 7 km West of the Chinese border, Khan Tengri is the northernmost 7000 m peak on Earth, with an appropriately cold climate. It is one of the five peaks over 7000 m high of the former Soviet Union, called the Leopards Peaks.
The summit can be approached from two different base camps, one on the South, another on the North side of the mountain. The easiest route is the Progrebetsky route (Russian grade 5A, first climbed in 1931) from the South, but it is more prone to avalanche danger (climbers were killed on this route in 1991, 1993, 2004 and 2006), so we chose the classical Northern route, the Solamatov route (Russian grade 5B, first climbed in 1974) which is is technically more difficult, but at the same time safer. It lies against the background of the vigorous Northern Wall of Khan Tengri, formed of black granite, blue ice and yellow marble, striking by its dimensions and the play of sunlight and shadows on the mountain wall. The route has a total elevation of 2910 m, which are climbed in 3 to 5 days once properly acclimatized, using three high camps. The first two camps are located on the North ridge of Peak Chapaev. This ridge has the most difficult sections of the route, the "crux" being a 20 m rock wall of 85°. Reaching Peak Chapaev is an important achievement on its own. From there, the route descends to the col between the two peaks, where we find the last camp (C3). The last part of the route is the rocky West ridge of Khan Tengri, exposed to high winds, with a 50°–60° steepness.
Civic aspect of the expedition
Although the main purpose is to accomplish an alpine climb on this magnificent peak, another important aspect of this expedition is that a team member (Alpár) was operated with the neck backbone, having the neck vertebrae C3 and C4 fixed with 2 titanium rods and 4 screws. This happened at the beginning of 2008, due to a car accident in which he suffered the fracture.
Given this fact, our intention is to mount a plate dedicated to the doctors of the Neurosurgery Hospital in Cluj, the hospital where he was treated for his injury. With this gesture we want first to thank those people for everything they do day by day, and also to underline the professionalism of Romanian doctors. Medicine in Romania needs more support, recognition and trust. Through this initiative we want to have our own input.
Our Plan
We will fly to the capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty, spend 1-2 days there to solve paperwork and buy food supplies. From Almaty we will drive to Karkara base camp, located at 2200 m altitude, where we will make a short acclimatization hike to one of the neighboring 4000 m "hills". A helicopter will fly us to the base camp on the North Engilchek Glacier at 4100 m. There are no roads into that area, the Tian Shan range is very isolated so this is our only option. Depending on weather conditions and speed of acclimatization we will organize our climb, for which we have about two weeks. We will climb some of Karlytau Peak (5450 m), Bayankol Peak (5791 m), Kazakhstan Peak (5761 m) for acclimatization.
We will document events with photos, and are also planning to shoot a short documentary, if we will be able to get a suitable camera.
Check out our Internet bookmarks for more info!
Members (in alphabetical order)
Alpár Katona (Alpár)
Personal file
- Affiliation: KODIAK Association
- Age: 27
- City: Cluj Napoca
- Occupation: Programmer
- Blog (Romanian): Gorky's blog
- Pictures: Picassa
Achievements (Vita alpinistica)
- 2001.04: started climbing (with ropes and stuff)
- 2004.08: Grossglockner (3798m), Alps, Austria
- 2004.08: Mont Blanc (4810m) attempt, reached 3850m (bad weather)
- 2006.06: Arpasel Ridge Traverse Fagaras Mountains, West-to-East
- 2006.07: Grossvenediger (3668m), Alps, Austria
- 2006.07: Matterhorn/Cervino (4478m), Alps, Switzerland, Hornli Ridge
- 2007.07: Mont Blanc (4810m) attempt, reached 4550m (bad weather)
- 2007.08: Mount Elbrus (5642m), Central Caucasus, normal route
- 2007.10: Lomnica peak (2632m), High Tatras, Birkenmayer ridge III/IV
- 2008.08: Alphubel (4206m), Alps, Switzerland
- 2008.08: Weisshorn (4506m), Alps, Switzerland, East ridge
- 2008.10: Draci peak (2523m), High Tatras, West Ridge IV
Zoltán Szénási (Zoli)
Personal file
- Affiliation: KODIAK Association
- Age: 28
- City: Cluj Napoca
- Occupation: Entrepreneur
Achievements (Vita alpinistica)
- 2003.08: Grosses Wiesbachhorn (3560m), Alps, Austria, normal route
- 2003.08: Bratschenkopf (3414m), Alps, normal route
- 2004.08: Grossglockner (3798m), Alps, Austria, normal route
- 2004.08: Mont Blanc (4810m) attempt, reached 3850m, from Midi plateu
- 2005.08: Weisshorn (4506m) attempt, reached 3600m
- 2005.08: Dom de Mischabel (4545m), Alps, Switzerland
- 2006.06: Arpasel Ridge Traverse Fagaras Mountains, West-to-East
- 2006.07: Grossvenediger (3668m), Alps, Austria, normal route
- 2006.07: Matterhorn/Cervino (4478m), Alps, Switzerland, Hornli Ridge
- 2007.07: Grossglockner (3798m) attempt, reached 3600m
- 2007.07: Mont Blanc (4810m) attempt, reached 4500m (bad weather)
- 2007.08: Mount Elbrus (5642m), Central Caucasus, normal route
- 2007.10: Lomnica peak (2632m), High Tatras, Birkenmayer ridge III/IV
- 2007.12: Piatra Craiului Ridge Winter Traverse, Southern Carpathians, Romania
- 2008.08: Alphubel (4206m), Alps, Switzerland
- 2008.08: Weisshorn (4506m), Alps, Switzerland, East ridge
- 2008.10: Draci peak (2523m), High Tatras, West Ridge IV
Estimated Cost
All of the following is calculated per person.
Travel
- For those travelling from Cluj-Napoca getting to Budapest and back will cost about 50 €.
- Budapest/Barcelona - Moscow: Highly variable, optimistically we are counting with 300 €.
- Moscow - Almaty: The cheapest flight is about 400 € with Transaero Airlines.
- Difficult to estimate now, also depending on airline policies, we should have a reserve of no less then 200 € for overweight surcharges.
- Travel beyond Almaty is covered in the expedition package (see below).
SUBTOTAL: 950 €
Expedition Package
This includes travel from Almaty to the Base Camp and back, accomodation and meals in the Base Camp. The best offer so far is from kanTengri, Kazakhstan, for 1000 €.
SUBTOTAL: 1000 €
Red Tape
The expedition package includes support for getting necessary visas, but the prices of the visas themselves are not included.
- We may or may not need a 2-entry transit visa for Russia (TBD)
- Kazakhstan 2-entry transit visa
- Kyrgyzstan tourist visa
- Embassy/consulate travel costs (to apply for and receive visas)
We don't know any details on this yet, but according to our experience visas will cost at least 100 €.
SUBTOTAL: 100 €
Extra technical equipment
While we own most of the basic mountaineering equipment, this high-altitude technical expedition will require some very specific items we don't have. Estimate: 400 €.
SUBTOTAL: 400 €
Other (food, unaccounted costs )
While we own most of the basic mountaineering equipment, this high-altitude technical expedition will require some very specific items we don't have. Estimate: 250 €.
SUBTOTAL: 250 €
GRAND TOTAL: 2700 €
Sponsors
An expedition like this will not be possible without the help of our generous sponsors. If you can help us out with anything at all to make it happen, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@sl2009.selfip.org. The easiest/fastest way to help is via the PayPal donation system, using the button below:
Don't forget to check out our bookmarks to see our sources of research for the expedition. The web page of our 2007 Caucasus expedition is available in Hungarian.
We already got help from:
Media Sponsor
Only the Main Page and Bookmarks are public. If you are an expedition member, log in and proceed to the Contents page to access the restricted pages.
