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'Jengish Chokusu' is the highest mountain in the Tian Shan mountain range. It lies on the Kyrgyzstan-China border, in the Kokshaal-Too subrange, the highest part of the Tien Shan, southeast of lake Issyk Kul.

Contents

Names

Description

Records

History

Notes

Names

The mountain's official name in Kyrgyz is ''Jengish Chokosu'', which means "Victory Peak"; its Russian name is '''Pik Pobedy''' (or Peak Pobeda) meaning the same. In Uighur, it is called '''Tömür''', which is also the official name of the mountain in China. The Chinese name '''Tuōmù'ěr Fēng''' 托木尔峰 is a combination of the Uighur tomur, meaning 'iron' and Chinese feng meaning 'peak'..

Description

Jengish Chokusu is a massif, with several summits along its lengthy ridge. Only its main summit breaks 7,000 m. It is located 16 km (10 miles) southwest of Khan Tengri (7,010 m / 22,998 ft), separated by the South Engilchek (or Inylchek) glacier, where base camps for both mountains are usually located. The massif runs at right angles to the glaciers it spills into three alpine valleys on the north (Kyrgyzstan), all eventually running to the Engilchek glacier, the largest in the Tian Shan. Its main summit is usually approached from the Zvozdochka (Russian for "little star") glacier, which is coloured red with rocks from Jengish Chokusu.

Records

Jengish Chokusu is the highest mountain in the Tian Shan, and the highest one in Kyrgyzstan. Jengish Chokusu has the most northerly 7,000-metre rock in the world, and by geologists is considered the most northerly 7,000-metre mountain. (Because mountains often contain ice caps on top of rock, mountaineers consider Khan Tengri, the Tian Shan's second highest peak, as the northernmost 7,000-metre summit.)
The South Inylchek (Enylchek) Glacier and its side glaciers occupy the entire north side of Peak Jengish Chokusu. This glacier, currently at 62 km in length, is the fourth longest outside of the world's polar regions.^[1]

History

Although Jengish Chokusu is almost 1,500 ft higher, Khan Tengri was believed to be the highest peak in the range until Jengish Chokusu's survey in 1946. Jengish Chokusu's first verified ascent was in 1956 by Vitaly Abalakov's party though there are unsubstantiated reports of a successful 1939 attempt as well^[2]. The mountain was renamed Victory (Pobeda) Peak short after the USSR's victory in the Great Patriotic War (World War II). A Chinese expedition climbed the peak from the Chinese side in 1977 : the expedition book ^[3] makes no mention of the Russian first ascent and gives the impression that the Chinese ascent was the first climb.
The first winter ascent of the peak was made by Valery Khrichtchatyi in February 1990.
^[4]

Notes

1. Tajikistan's Fedchenko Glacier is 77 km long, and the Karakoram's Siachen and Biafo Glaciers are 70 and 63 km long respectively. Measurements are from recent imagery, with Russian 1:200,000 scale topographic mapping for reference as well as the 1990 ‘’Orographic Sketch Map: Karakoram: Sheets 1 & 2’’, Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, Zurich.
2. [http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/151896/peak-pobeda-mnt-tomur.html
3. Raising the Five Star Flag on Mount Tomur,Beijing
4. Chris Bonington, “Great Climbs”, p.206, ISBN 1-85732-573-7