Khan Tengri

Fast forward six months and we are disembarking from a Sovjet Mil Mi-8 helicopter from the 60s onto a glacier in the Tian Shan mountains on the border between Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and China. We are in the middle of nowhere, and a long way away from our dear mothers back home.

“We” were 4 Norwegian climbers (Me Martin, Peter, Filip and Joergen), one American climber (Michael), a British ex-military (Alice), an Australian biologist (Katherine), and the badass for science himself Dr. John All. John being one of only a handful of researchers who do high altitude research, having done research on Everest, Lhotse and Aconcagua to name a few.

The team boarded that helicopter to do three things:

• To collect snow and ice samples as we proceeded up towards the 7010m meter tall peak of Khan Tengri in Tian Shan. The samples would provide data to map Black carbon (soot residue from burning fossil-fuel) to further the understanding of the impact of pollution and dust in high-alpine terrain and how it is affecting water resources stored in big mountains as glacial ice.

• To link satellite-derived habitat maps with ground-truthed observations of snow leopards and other high-altitude wildlife on the Engilchek glacier at the foot of the mountain in collaboration with local researchers.

• And to hopefully summit an incredible mountain with some good friends.

After a slow first day in base camp, it was time to go catch some snow leopards. With wildlife cameras of course. Snow leopards are dangerous.

Every time we turn a corner on the glacier, we see all these little, ponds rivers and ice sculptures and it dawns on us that probably no other human has seen them before us. Both because the glacier is constantly changing due to global warming. And, because there has probably never been anyone else ludicrous enough to walk this far down the glacier from base camp.

Cameras were placed successfully, and sites were subsequently set on the acclimatization trip to the fore peak of Kahn Tengri, Chapaeva at 6150m.

A long day of trudging upwards and crossing steep crevasses was had before we made it to Camp 1 at 4600. We are really gazed about finally being on the mountain.

Upon meeting Pasang Dawa, one of the Nepalese sherpa working the mountain we lose all illusions about who is the most hardcore guy in camp. The man was casually smoking filterless cigarettes.

At 2 o’clock the push to the summit starts from camp 3. My headlamp of course decides to fail even though I put in new batteries before leaving the tent. The first climbing pitches are made with only the flickering light from the headlamp of my partner Filip.

Exhausted we make our way upwards inch by inch. It is a painful place to be, but also breathtakingly beautiful. At one point right below the summit I reach the top of a 30m vertical pitch to see the fix rope I had been connected to is sawed in half. Although in awe, there is nothing really to do but carry on.

After 8.5 hours we step onto the glacier covering the top of Kahn Tengri. At this point we can only go a couple of meters. Then stop. Pant. A couple of meters. Then stop. Pant.