After the excitement of last year’s expedition to Kyrgyzstan (you can read the trip report here), I’d thought about taking a year off from international climbing to focus on my photography and personal climbing projects in the UK.
When I received a phone call from Tom Davis-Merry earlier this year asking if I wanted to climb a new objective in Tajikistan this summer I couldn’t say no. With only two days climbing out of a planned 12 during last year’s trip it felt like we had unfinished business in Central Asia.
Tom’s plan was similar in execution to Kyrgyzstan; an explorative expedition to an unexplored region of the Pamir mountains to achieve first ascents and establish new lines on objectives between 5000 & 6000m. No records suggested previous exploration of this area.
This year, Tom Davis-Merry, Thomas Simpson and myself from last year’s team, will be joined by Wayne Auton, Chris Lewis, Alexander Hale and Sarah Wysling.
A Little About Tajikistan
Bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north and China to the east, Tajikistan is landlocked and the smallest nation in Central Asia.
It was once part of the ancient Silk Road and the country has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid and Mongol Empires and the Soviet Union.
On 9 September 1991, Tajikistan became an independent sovereign nation as the Soviet Union collapsed.
Almost immediately following independence, the nation fell into civil war. The war, lasting from 1992 to 1997, killed over 100,000 people and displaced 1.2 million refugees.
The country has been led by President Emomali Rahmon since 1994, who rules an authoritarian regime.
“For a greedy man, even his tomb is too small.”
The Tajiks are the principal ethnic group of Tajikistan, who speak the first official language of Tajik and one of the three Persian speaking countries alongside Afghanistan and Iran. Curiously there are more Tajiks in Afghanistan than in Tajikistan.
While the state is constitutionally secular, Islam is practiced by 98% of the population. As part of an "anti-radicalisation campaign” in 2016, police in the Khatlon region reportedly shaved the beards of 13,000 men and shut down shops selling the hijab. Shaving beards and discouraging women from wearing hijab is part of a government campaign to ‘preserve secular traditions.’
The Objectives
The expedition will visit the Rushan Range (shown in red) of the South-Western Pamirs, Tajikistan.
The mountains of Tajikistan are among some of the tallest on Earth and cover 90% of the country. The majority of these are over 3000m and found in the Pamir and Alay mountain ranges.
The tallest mountain in Tajikistan, Ismail Somoni 7495m, found in the Pamirs where the team will be based, was one of the five snow leopard peaks in the former Soviet Union that a climber was required to summit in order to received the Snow Leopard award. The highest honour that a Soviet mountaineer could receive.
This expedition of seven members has a strong exploratory element and will visit an unexplored glacier and surrounding peaks in the Rushan Mountain range in the South-Western Pamirs.
Looking south across Zaroshkul Lake.
The team will endeavour to climb using good ethics, in an Alpine style, and with a minimal impact to the natural environment. No power drilling equipment will be taken.
For those that wish to work with us on the expedition and learn further of our objectives you can contact me here.
The area has been well researched by obtaining reports from previous expeditions, consultation with Tajik Aviatour, and use of Google Earth and available Soviet-era mapping.
The political situation has been assessed as stable and permissive for a mountaineering expedition by seeking updates from ITMC and monitoring FCDO travel advice.
This expedition does not aim to visit the potentially unstable Kyrgyz-Tajik border area, which is currently experiencing minor skirmishing, and FCDO foreign travel advice will be followed at all times.
The Team
Expedition Leader
Tom Davis-Merry
Expedition Writer & Photographer
Alex Metcalfe
Team
Wayne Auton
Thomas Simpson
Sarah Wysling
Alexander Hale
Chris Lewis
Support & Funding
We have received funding from the Mountain Everest Foundation (MEF), Montane Alpine Club Climbing Fund (MACCF) and British Mountaineering Council (BMC). The Alpine Club of Great Britain have also endorsed this expedition. We are awaiting further confirmation from the Austrian Alpine Club if our grant request has been approved. We will be supported by in-country tour operator Tajik Aviatour.
We are so far kindly supported by Montane, OM-Systems, Fatmap & Brew Crew.
Although the team has received some funding, the majority of costs are being covered by ourselves. Any brands and organisations looking to contribute or work with us can contact me here for further information
Reports & Coverage
A full expedition report will be published on the Alpine Club website and an article published in their quarterly newsletter. An article will also be submitted for publication in the Alpine Journal.
Following a request from the American Alpine Club for an article in the American Alpine Journal (AAJ) for the 2021 Kyrgyzstan Expedition, an article for this expedition will also be submitted for publication in the AAJ.
Articles will also be featured online or in print with the BMC, Austrian Alpine Club AAC (UK), Climbers Club and Montane. A promotional piece will also feature in Base Magazine’s November issue in paid partnership with Montane.
Images will be shared via Instagram and Facebook by the Expedition Leader and then re-shared via the Alpine Club.
The MEF and all other partners will be duly mentioned in all publications regarding the expedition.
I am intending to make a short film on the trip too.
Impact on the Environment
The expedition will adopt a policy of ‘take nothing and leave nothing behind’. All human waste will be burnt, buried, and any remaining waste carried out. The siting of any latrines will seek to ensure that any water sources are not contaminated.
The expedition will ensure any disturbance to natural flora and fauna is kept to an absolute minimum. Particular care will be taken to avoid any disturbance to Alpine plant life, nesting fauna, or wildlife with young.
The team will offset the carbon emissions generated by the trip (of around 11.4 tonnes) by contributing roughly £250 to a portfolio of green projects which support the development of renewable technologies.