Now the real adventure begins. You have eight days available to tackle the main objective, perfectly acclimatised. The route uses three strategically placed high camps: you reach Camp 1 (4,520 metres) in three to four hours from base camp without major difficulties. It sits on a rocky spur at the edge of the north face of Pik Chapayev. Camp 2 (5,500 metres) requires a further five to seven hours of ascent on the fully fixed-roped snow ridge. Normally there are only a few icy or rocky steep steps, all of which are readily manageable. The camp site on the shoulder of the ridge is superbly located.
You reach Camp 3 (5,950 metres) after around six to eight hours. The route continues, fixed-roped throughout, along the crest of the ridge, first to the north summit of Pik Chapayev (6,110 metres) and finally descending some 150 metres of altitude along the flat ridge to the lowest point of the col between Pik Chapayev and Khan Tengri. Here you can spend the night in a tent or make yourself comfortable in one of the existing snow caves.
Summit day: the big day starts very early, still in the middle of the night. You leave the shelter of the camp in icy temperatures and climb the fixed rope up to the west col. From there you follow the increasingly steep and rocky west ridge. A magnificent panorama opens up: mountain chains to the horizon, huge glaciers and the mighty wall of the 7,439 metre Pik Pobeda. The view into the vast north face of Khan Tengri is breathtaking.
After a few hours you reach the site for an optional Camp IV at 6,400 metres, where you pause briefly, drink tea and refuel. You continue along the steep, stepped rock ridge. At around 6,600 metres you traverse to the right, overcome an almost vertical section of about twenty metres on fixed ropes and reach a narrow snow ridge at roughly 6,800 metres through a steep couloir. All the difficult sections are protected with fixed ropes.
Over the last rocks and the survey marker you arrive on the flawlessly level summit dome of Khan Tengri at 7,010 metres. An overwhelming moment! At sunrise the white marble takes on a magical light. The whole Tien Shan lies beneath you.
After this magnificent summit experience the long and demanding descent follows. You abseil down the fixed ropes and reach the west col again. Many manage the descent as far as Camp 3, some even as far as Camp 2. The next day it is back to base camp – a very long but unforgettable day with 1,200 metres of ascent and the descent along the entire route.
An impressive journey awaits you: some 460 kilometres take you eastwards, past the vast Issyk-Kul lake, the second largest high-altitude lake in the world. This deep blue lake lies at 1,600 metres and in summer reaches pleasant swimming temperatures of 18 to 20 degrees – a detail you will appreciate after the expedition. After roughly seven to eight hours of driving you reach the Karkara base camp at 2,200 metres on the Kazakh border. This day serves your first altitude adaptation. In good weather we undertake an acclimatisation ascent, possibly even to Bas Karkara Peak at 4,059 metres. From up there you already enjoy a first panoramic view of the snow-covered chains of the Tien Shan. The comfortable base camp with permanently pitched tents offers you ideal recovery.
