Field note

Lenin Peak, 2026

Base camp huts below the red and green slopes of the Pamir, Lenin Peak, Kyrgyzstan — Base camp, Lenin Peak, Kyrgyzstan

August 20, 2026 ← All field notes

Peak: Lenin Peak
Range: Pamir, Kyrgyzstan
Elevation: 7,134 m
Climbed: August 2026
With: Elise and Angela, with David as our local guide
Outcome: High point 6,100 m, no summit

An AWExpeditions team. Elise, Angela and me, with David as our local guide. The first alumni team AWE has run.

Conditions were generally good. The exception was the 3am call at Camp 3 to pack up and move back down the mountain in a snow storm.

Short but steep, and rather thrilling even in the dark.

Tents buried in fresh snow at high camp under a dark storm sky, Lenin Peak — High camp, Lenin Peak

Health is what ended it. A stomach bug, and other things, went through the team and deterred a second attempt. High point 6,100 m.

We go back in August 2027 with a different plan. It is built around protecting team health, it changes how we acclimatize, and it moves us to a better gear carrying system so there is less weight going between camps.

I still think about sitting at Camp 1, staring at the mountains and watching the tiny dots on the horizon move, knowing soon I’d be right where their boots are.