Viewed from north: (A) Zartosh, (B) White Pyramid, and (C) Leopard’s Tooth. Adam Thomas
(Back to: Asia, Tajikistan, Pamir)
Muzkol Range, Zartosh (6,128m).
By Adam Thomas, Alpine Club
In August, Jock Jeffrey, Graham Rowbotham, Simon Woods, and I arrived in the Muzkol Range. We wished to make the first ascent of Zartosh, a peak that had been attempted in the late 1990s and 2000 by commercial expeditions organized by EWP, a UK outfit. They had made three attempts via the northwest face from the col below neighboring White Pyramid and a fourth, in 1999, by the spectacular north face, which however ended in tragedy.
Jock Jeffery on east ridge of White Pyramid with northwest face of Zartosh behind. Route up Zartosh gained foreground col from left, then climbed obvious snow gully and steep mixed ground to gain summit ridge. Highest point is behind. Graham Rowbotham
A four-day drive from Dushanbe brought us to base camp at 3,870m. From there we spent the next week establishing a camp on the glacier at 5,100m, with an intermediate moraine camp at 4,500m. We also climbed Leopard’s Tooth (5,470m), first named and summited in 1998 by an EWP expedition (AAJ 1999). The weather had been stable, although notorious Pamir winds picked up each afternoon and made base camp dusty and unpleasant. This changed on the night of August 16, and it snowed, albeit lightly, every night for the next week.
After carrying tents a little higher to the foot of Zartosh’s 800m north face, Simon and I made an attempt on the 22nd. We reached a height of ca 5,650m on the face, before retreating due to unconsolidated snow on technical terrain and the prospect of at least one bivouac in less than favorable conditions.
Looking across north face of Zartosh from approach slopes to col between Zartosh and White Pyramid. Graham Rowbotham
On the same day Jock and Graham set off to climb White Pyramid (6,060m), first summited in 1998 by an EWP expedition (AAJ 1999). Deep snow on the slopes leading to the Zartosh-White Pyramid col hampered progress, and Jock was battling to regulate his type-one diabetes, trying to decide whether his symptoms were due to altitude or blood sugar imbalance. After crossing a seemingly safe area of snow at the top of the slope, Graham suddenly felt a tug on the rope and, looking around, saw no sign of Jock, only the rope leading into a hole. A few moments later snow-caked sunglasses flew out of the hole, and then Graham was able to gradually start taking in rope as Jock hauled himself out. This proved the last straw for Jock, as the effort of extricating himself almost put him in a coma. However, Jock is a tough, determined bugger, and after a chocolate fix kicked in, only a little encouragement was required to get him up the final 100m ridge to the summit.
I was keen for another try at Zartosh, and although Graham was not overenthusiastic about slogging back up to the col, the summit of White Pyramid had proved a good vantage point for studying the northwest face of Zartosh, and he had seen a reasonable line. We stayed at high camp, while Jock and Simon went down to base.
Graham Rowbotham climbing steep mixed ground on northwest face of Zartosh. Adam Thomas
At 5 a.m. on the 24th we set off for the col. Although the previous tracks had filled with spindrift, Graham was delighted to find the going much easier than it had been. Above the col the terrain became more challenging, and down jackets stayed on due to the shady aspect, wind, and a temperature of -12°C. Graham led a gully of loose powder and, above the first rocks, a section of precarious climbing on loose snow over ice. A snow/ice gully led to a steep and technical rock step. Above this, I took over and headed left over easy snow to the base of a steep rock band guarding the summit ridge. A groove that Graham had spotted from White Pyramid proved the key to overcoming this section, and also provided the route’s crux. A few tricky moves gave access to a ramp leading to more broken, but easier-angled rock.
The summit ridge was a perfect knife-edge of snow, with huge cornices over the north face and broken rock and snow to the south. We short-roped a series of small steps and steep, unconsolidated snow, reaching the summit cornice in time for a late lunch and plenty of time to soak up the scenery. Descent was by the same route, rappelling from Abalakovs and downclimbing.
On the return trip to Dushanbe, we took a more southerly route along the Wakhan Corridor, which provided magnificent views of peaks in the Hindu Kush. We thank the Mount Everest Foundation for its generous support.
