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A new initiative has just been launched to support the formation of a preventative safety and rescue (PSAR) system on Lenin Peak (7,134m). Situated on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, “Pik Lenin” is the highest mountain in the Trans Alay range of central Asia. Here's some background from the organisers...

Widely believed to be the "Easiest 7000m Peak", Lenin Peak attracts around a thousand visitors each year. However, ascent rates are low (less than 25%) and levels of injury and illness are high. In recent years, a significant number of fatalities have occurred.

In 2024, Slava Topol Project (STP) will undertake a pilot study to identify just what is needed to improve safety on the mountain.

The programme is a British-American-Kyrgyzstan partnership. American ski-patroller and rescue expert Dave Wade, based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the British academic and mountaineer, Stephen Taylor based at the University of Cumbria are leading the project. The pair met on Lenin Peak back in 2019 and returned together four years later. Taylor has been researching the sustainability of tourism on the mountain since 2017 and they both share an interest in mountain safety.

Today, Lenin Peak is normally climbed via Razdelnaya Peak and along the north east ridge. Typically, mountaineers take between 2 and 4 weeks to reach the summit. Although there is little steep ground to cover, the long distances and considerable height gain make this mountain a challenging objective!

During their most recent visit they found themselves evacuating a dangerously ill climber with high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) from a height of 5,300m.  While this proved successful, the experience underlined the inadequacies in the current rescue and medical provision on the mountain. An account of what happened can be found here.

Following this incident, the pair resolved to improve the existing situation by introducing an appropriate PSAR system on Lenin Peak. To that end, the pair have established the STP in order to fund the development of rescue and medical support on this incredibly popular central Asian mountain.  

With the generous support of donors, the STP will work to establish the necessary resources and systems required for a PSAR on Lenin Peak. The development of the rescue capacity will be led by Wade in cooperation with the recently established Kyrgyzstan-based "Rescue in the Mountains" project. This is a private/public sector joint venture (“public foundation”) initiated by the highly respected Vladimir Komissarov. Back in 2017, Komissarov led the Kyrgyz Mountain Guide Association (KMGA) in their successful bid to join the International Federation of Mountain Guides (IFMGA) and has been a major figure in the development of mountain tourism in Kyrgyzstan since the break-up of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

Vyacheslav Sheiko, known to many as Slava Topol, was a highly respected mountain guide renowned for huge feats of physical endurance. Following his death in 2022, his friends and family have helped establish a project to kick start a sustainable mountain recue and medical programme on Lenin Peak 

While Wade will head up the development of the rescue aspect alongside Kyrgyz partners, for the medical dimension, Taylor has reached out to the British Mountain Medicine Society (BMMS) who he knew from an earlier presentation at one of their research events. He approached his contact at the BMMS, Jeremy Windsor who is a Consultant in Anaesthetics and Critical Care and is also involved, as a Senior Clinical Lecturer, in the delivery of the Diploma in Mountain Medicine at the University of Central Lancaster (UCLan). Windsor is currently in the process of establishing partnerships with appropriate Kyrgyz medical organisations with the goal of creating a sustainable emergency medical and support capacity on Lenin Peak. The summer of 2024 will see Windsor and several experienced BMMS colleagues, undertake an initial visit to Lenin Peak to identify and pilot a suitable strategy for establishing an appropriate emergency medical operation on Lenin Peak. It is envisaged that this project will be a long-term commitment of at least 5 years to establish a sustainable medical provision on the mountain and to also offer excellent training and research opportunities for health care professionals interested in mountain medicine.

Funds are now needed to realize the goals of the project. Teewinot Institute of Wilson Wyoming, a 501-c-3 nonprofit (IRS# 83 0286687) will serve as the project’s fiscal sponsor. To contribute, send your check made to Teewinot Institute, PO 1210, Wilson WY 83014, USA, with a note indicating that it is for the Slava Topol Project.

If you have questions about the project please get in touch via the blog.

If this is your sort of thing why not take a look at other posts on the blog? Better still, join the British Mountain Medicine Society! More information can be found here.

For more about the University of Central Lancashire's Diploma in Mountain Medicine (DiMM) take a look at this.