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Climbing to Kommunizma peak.
Summit ascent to Peak Somoni.
“[In mountaineering, if] we look for private experience rather than public history, even getting to the top becomes an optional narrative rather than the main point, and those who only wander in high places become part of the story”
Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust «A History of Walking».
Pamir mountains and on Silk Road Tour.
Pamir - one of the interpretation of the origin of the word is "The Roof of The World" is one of the world's biggest and highest (up to 7,495 m - Communism peak) mountain land on the south of Central Asia where virtually all kinds of mountain outdoors are possible - from medium trekking to extremely difficult mountaineering.
The entire area keeps ecological purity and untouched wild nature so far because of practically absent of industrial development and very rare population. Communism Peak (renamed to "Ismoili Somoni") - the highest mountain of Tajikistan and former USSR - is located in Akademii Nauk (Academy of Sciences) Range.
Discovered by Tadjik Complex Expedition (leader - N.P. Gorbunov) in 1932. First ascent (East Ridge) - Sept. 3, 1933, Eugeny Abalakov and Nikolay Gorbunov. The mountain's name has an interesting and very politized history.
The ist name was Pik Garmo until 1933, then it was changed to Stalin Peak after the current leader of Soviet Union. If you take a look at the area's map, the surrounded names are suited the Uncle Joe: NKVD and Beriya (after the predessor of KGB and it's bloody leader) glaciers and so on.
In 1962, after Nikita Khrustcev took over the ortodox stalinists in Politburo, it was renamed to Communism Peak. After the collapse of USSR, in 1998 it was next time changed to Ismaili Somoni (Ismail Samani or Ismoil Somoni), but so far the peak is widely known as Communism 'cause not very much people know who the great guy Somoni is (in fact, it is believed he was the foundator of ancient Tadjik state).
Communism Peak is a huge mountain looks like a giant heavily glaciated wall, despite it rising above a dry, barren region. The common way (via Borodkin Spur and Dushanbe Peak) lays through interesting natural phenomena: Pamirskoye Firnovoe Plato (PFP, Pamir's Neve Plateau)- neve and snow-covered flat ground of a size of few football stadiums, rised to the altitude of about 6,000 m! Climbing Communism peak is real mountaineering adventure involving full set of mountainering (mostly ice) gear and it needs good acclimatization and previous mountaineering background.
It is good idea to climb Lenin or Korjenevskoy peak as a preparation for Communism peak (see corresponding chapters).
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www.asraresokhan.com