Khan Tengri
Interesting facts
- Its name is usually translated as King Heaven or Lord of the Sky, after Tengri, the sky god of the old Turkic and Mongol religion.
- Anatoli Boukreev, who rated it perhaps the most beautiful peak on Earth, made the first solo speed ascent in 1990.
- A team of seven Kazakh climbers made the first winter ascent of Khan Tengri on 7 February 1992.
- The first ascent from the northern, Kazakh side was made in 1964 by a team led by M. Kuzmin.
- Its far-northern latitude gives Khan Tengri a shorter climbing season and harsher weather than most peaks of similar height.
- Though the highest point of Kazakhstan, it is only the third-highest summit in Kyrgyzstan, after Jengish Chokusu and Avicenna Peak.
- The peak rises about 1,685 metres above the highest saddle that links it to taller ground.
Why it is worth it
Khan Tengri stands where Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China meet, and for mountaineers it is the most beautiful peak of the Tian Shan — a steep, near-symmetrical pyramid of marble sheathed in snow. The rock summit is 6,995 m, but its ice cap takes it to 7,010 m, so climbers count it as a 7,000-metre peak; it is the highest point of Kazakhstan and, counting its ice, the world's most northerly 7,000-metre peak. At sunset the marble turns red, which is why Kazakh and Kyrgyz also call it Kan-Too, the blood mountain. Anatoli Boukreev thought it might be the most beautiful mountain on Earth.
Its sharp outline fooled surveyors for decades: seen from the plains of southern Kazakhstan it looked like the highest summit of the range, and only in 1943 was the bulkier Jengish Chokusu, 16 km to the south, shown to be over 400 m higher. The Russian geographer Pyotr Semenov was the first European to describe the peak, in 1857. Mikhail Pogrebetsky's Ukrainian team made the first ascent in 1931 from the south, finishing along the west ridge; the route still carries his name and remains the most popular, though an avalanche on it in 2004 killed more than a dozen climbers. Under the Soviet system Khan Tengri was one of the five peaks needed for the Snow Leopard award.
Non-climbers reach its foot by helicopter or trek up the Engilchek glacier. There are two base camps: the South Engilchek camp at about 4,000 m on the moraine, facing both Khan Tengri and Victory Peak, and a northern camp on the North Engilchek glacier, directly below the peak's north face. The peak also appears on the Kyrgyz 100-som banknote.
Getting there
Geography puts the nearest city in China — Wensu is about 104 km away and Aksu Hongqipo Airport (AKU) about 106 km — but the practical approach is from Kyrgyzstan. Groups start in Karakol at the east end of Lake Issyk-Kul, drive about 180 km (around five hours) over the Chon-Ashu pass to the Maida-Adyr camp, and fly by helicopter to the base camps in about half an hour; flights generally run from mid-July to late August. International flights arrive at Manas International Airport (BSZ) near Bishkek, about 380 km from Karakol, or seasonally at Issyk-Kul International Airport (IKU) at Tamchy.
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range in Central Asia. It is on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan. Its geologic elevation is 6,995 m (22,949 ft), but its glacial icecap rises to 7,010 m (22,999 ft). For this reason, in mountaineering circles, including for the Snow Leopard award criteria, it is considered a 7,000-metre peak.
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