Peak Lenin - 7134 meters (23,405 ft)

 
I wanted to write a blog about my recent experiences on Mt. Lenin but I wasn't sure who I would write it for.  For other mountaineers who need some guidance?  For friends who are interested in my adventures?  Or a broad application that transfers inspiration from one category to others?  "We all have Lenins in our lives…"  In the end I decided on a lose-lose-lose compromise between the three that is sure to be an unhelpful and un-inspirational. 

Mountaineers come in all shapes and sizes but their motivations are even more wide-ranging than their parka sizes.  However, one thing they all seem to share in common is a propensity to spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about why they are climbing the mountain they are on.  There are enormous books with entire life stories dedicated to solving this philosophical puzzle, but the best explanation I have heard came from a wise old Russian man sitting on the bench across from me in Camp 1 (he was at least 50).  His nose was burnt to a crisp and he had been walking like a constipated duck and that could only mean one thing - he had summitted the mountain and returned down.  So everyone crowded around and he told us, "A mountain peak is like a small seed that gets planted in your brain and grows until, as hard as you try, you can't NOT climb it."  And that describes my relationship with Lenin perfectly.  Three years ago somebody told me about a 7000 meter peak in the country of Kyrgyzstan that didn't require any permit or royalty fee or LO or even a visa and I just couldn't NOT climb it. 

Basecamp - 3600 meters (11,800 ft)

Camp I - 4400 meters (14,400 ft)

Camp II - 5300 meters (17,400 ft)

Camp III - 6100 meters (20,000 ft)

I actually never intended to climb Lenin solo.  From three months before the trip, clear up until I was in Camp 1 (4400 meters - 14,450 ft) I was looking for people to team up with.  "Surely somebody else has no friends?"  Apparently not.  After I finally gave up I did find a rope of Poles (the ethnicity, not the object) who were gracious enough to let me clip on to their rope for the dangerous climb from Camp 1 to Camp 2.  I most likely would be typing this from the bottom of a crevasse right now if I hadn't met them, so I was more than happy to alter my schedule a little to join.

I also never intended to climb it in just nine days, but I kept getting bored sitting in my tent alone eating ramen and so at each camp I thought, "eh, I feel acclimatized enough, I'll just leave a day early."  And that's how I ended up sitting on top of Peak Lenin at 7134 meters (23,405 ft) five days ahead of schedule.  I had a lot of leftover ramen.

The Peak!  (there was nobody to take my photo so I just took Lenin's)

   

My advice for Lenin:

• Don't listen to any of the advice from backpackers or cyclists in Kyrgyzstan
• Don’t hire a guide
• Don't hire any horses or porters
• Don't go through an agency
• Don't plan anything before you arrive
• Don't pitch your tent too close to the melted snow wall in Camp 2 (it's the "bathroom")
• Buy 40 30 packs of ramen in Osh beforehand 

Also, don't listen to the "Tourist Info" guys in Osh.  Despite what they say you can indeed get a marshrutka to Sary Moghul and it will only cost $5 - saving you a $200 taxi ride.  In fact, as long as you already own all your own gear, and are willing to lug it up on your back, the cost of this mountain is negligible.  For those of you that don't climb Himalayan peaks as often, the normal bare-bones cost of climbing this high of a peak in any other country is at least $5000, and that's without a guide or gear. 

On a more serious note (just in case somebody actually does get inspired by my budget estimate) I will add a disclaimer.  Lenin is actually a quite dangerous peak.  It witnessed the largest mountaineering disaster ever recorded on a mountain when 43 climbers died in an avalanche in 1990 and still many people die each year due to altitude sickness, crevasses, exposure, etc.  While I was on the mountain 12 people either died or were seriously injured (like two broken legs and a broken arm).  On summit day, just 500 meters from the top, I came across a man who had gone blind (this happens when your goggles don't have enough UV protection) and had to rescue him off the peak.  So yeah, I recommend working your way slowly up to a 7000 meter peak.  If all your mountaineering experience is from the state of Michigan this probably isn't a good idea. 

The view of Tajikistan from 22,000 ft

Headed down the glacier

The way back to Base Camp

Some people consider Lenin to be the easiest of the world's 7000 meter peaks (there aren't too many to choose from since every one of them is located in Asia).  Well I think those people must have been on snowmobiles.  I had to spend nearly a week in Osh sitting and eating cheeseburgers just to recover.  Plus the tips of my fingers are still numb from summit day, now over two weeks ago.  Still, I can't complain too much, at least I was finally able to cut down my mountain-seed brain-tree. 

Bonus recommended gear list:

• 4 season tent (or if necessary a $90 Walmart tent and a shovel to build snow walls around it)
• 0 degF sleeping bag (but you'll have to combine it with every layer you brought and maybe light your cookstove at night in your tent)
• Crampons
• Plastic mountaineering boots (seriously, don't skimp, I saw two guys with legs frozen from the knees down)
• Ice axe (despite their popularity ski poles will not help you self-arrest)
• Harness and rope - 7mm, 20m is fine
• Ice screws, descender, and jumar (there are maybe 5 to 10 fixed ropes but I actually didn't use any of them)
• Gators
• Two 500g fuel canisters and a JetBoil (or more snow walls around your stove)
• USD - because in basecamp there are some folks who will sell you a hot dinner for $10
• Serious sun protection (or just get roasted)
• Really really warm gloves and stuff (think -20 degrees with a 70 mph wind)
• Dark Ski goggles - so you don't go blind for four days like Vadim did
• A gigantic pack - to fit all your ramen in
• Insulated water bottles or a thermos (because otherwise it will freeze solid in like 10 minutes)
• A little strap-on foam seat pad thingy (I didn't have one but I saw people with them just sitting wherever they wanted in the snow with perfectly dry butts and I was jealous)
• Snow shovel
• Insulated sleeping pad
• Watch or alarm clock - for those 2AM alpine starts
• Headlamp with extra batteries (I guarantee it will somehow turn on inside your pack for an entire day)
• Lightweight journal - to help you vent about the hell of getting out of your sleeping bag to pee at night