Peak Korzhenevskaya from Moskvina Glade

Academy of Sciences Range, northern Pamir · Tajikistan

Expedition Grade23 daysAsia~£4,300 est.

Save ✓ I did this

Overview

There is no road to base camp. You drive from Dushanbe into the Rasht valley, then wait for the weather to let an ageing Mi-8 lift you over the ridges and set you down on Moskvina Glade at about 4,200 metres: a green shelf between two seven-thousanders, with a mess tent, a sauna and no way out until the helicopter comes back. Korzhenevskaya, 7,105 metres, was named by a Russian surveyor in 1910 after his wife. The normal route takes the south side in three camps at roughly 5,300, 5,800 and 6,400 metres, with fixed line on the steeper sections and a summit day that keeps going long after you think the ridge should have ended. Across the glacier stands Ismoil Somoni at 7,495 metres; between them they hold two of the five peaks in the old Snow Leopard award. The season is July and August, nothing else. Budget three weeks and expect to lose days to helicopter weather at both ends - people have sat at Moskvina for a week waiting to fly out, so never book a tight onward flight. A full-service expedition with permits, helicopter, camp and food is around £4,300, one of the cheapest 7,000 metre peaks on earth. Experience above 6,000 metres and on fixed lines is essential.