Avalanche Kills Two Russian Alpinists On Ismoil Somoni Peak – The Highest Mountain In Tajikistan
Peak Somoni, Tajikistan – At 7:50 AM on August 14, 2016 a group of three mountaineers were caught in an avalanche at 6800 meters on a ridge line while ascending Ismoil Somoni Peak in the Akademiya Nauk Range of the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan.
Two of the mountaineers, Chairman of the Mountaineering Club MAI Mikhail Volkov & Natalya Tsvetova, were swept down the east face of the mountain toward the Ordzhonikidze Glacier. A third mountaineer, Paul Tsvetova, was carried toward Khokhlova Pass.
Paul Tsvetova survived the avalanche. He descended two rope lengths to his climbing companions. After finding an ice axe, he was unable to establish voice or visual contact with Volkov or Tsvetova. Paul Tsvetova continued to search until 18:00. At that point he descended to Moskvina Glade. After reaching that base camp at around midnight, he notified authorities.
Search and rescue teams responded and began search operations. A helicopter arrived on the scene near Ordzhonikidze Glacier on August 16. The search was discontinued on August 17.
The Committee for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense claims that the climbing group arrived in Tajikistan via travel company PamirPik, but did not notify anyone of their plans or register their climb and route.
Ismoil Somoni Peak sits at 7495 meters in the Akademiya Nauk Range in the western Pamirs of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of eastern Tajikistan. It is the highest peak in Tajikistan and the 50th highest ranked peak in the world. The peak was name Stalin Peak until 1962. Then it was called Communism Peak until the Soviet Union collapsed and Tajikistan became independent in 1999.
Now the mountain is named Peak Somoni after Ismoil Somoni who was a ruler during the Samanid dynasty and one of the founders of Tajik nation (InterFax.ru). Somoni is also the name of the currency in Tajikistan. The peak was first climbed by Yevgeniy Abalakov on 3 September 1933.
