Having long ago given up ideas of climbing Everest or any other 8000m peak, I've been realizing my personal Mt. Everest as a 7000m peak. I've been to ~6000m several times and have been investigating candidate 7000m peaks but haven't identified one or more that have a reasonable chance of success. I see the key factors for success as good weather, relatively non-technical terrain, good logistical support (either reputable guide service or locally available pack animals, porters, etc.), and a price tag that won't break the bank.

Here are a few of the 7000m peaks that I've looked at: Peak Lenin, Lhakpa Ri, Nun, Kun, Satopanth, Spantik, Mustagh Ata, Koskulak. In reading other threads I've seen that Peak Lenin is prone to avalanche and Mustagh Ata has a 20% success rate. I don't have any beta on the other peaks other than prices from guide services. Lhakpa Ri seems to have become ridiculously expensive in recent years.

Any ideas on the above mountains or other candidate peaks?

I climbed Peak Lenin in August. It was OK.

Paid around 800 euros to Ak-Sai Travel for full service (Bishkek-Osh-Bishkek flight, Osh-BC-Osh van, unlimited stay in BC & C1, tents and mats in those camps, all food in those camps, but no hill food, no porters, no guides, no horses) etc. Horses BC to C1 are 3 euros a kilo for loads. We did one load carry ourselves, then used horses for the 2nd one. I'd say half or more of the climbers were in commercially guided groups, mostly European, no Americans, a couple of Brits and Asians. Most of the guided groups used porters to help carry gear above ABC.

Ak Sai are the main company, but there were three or four others with BCs and they seemed OK. Compared to Himalayan / Karakoram peaks, I think having a serviced C1 at 4400m, which was really an ABC, helped as you only had two camps above that to carry to and cook at. There are two different C3 locations, both are windy and exposed. I spent around four nights at C2 and two nights at C3, then one night at each on the way down.

Weather not too bad, couple good days, several bad days, like most big peaks. Very easy technically, some crevasses down low. My partner got sick right out of C3 on summit day so I went on alone, but there were about 15 other people summiting that day. All up for the season around 300-500 people summited, going by a quick look at the log book. Only C2 seemed 'crowded' and was a bit dirty.

I think if you allow enough time to sit out some bad weather, which so many groups do not nowadays, then you have a really good chance of summiting, better than in the Himalaya / Karakoram. Note that summit day is long - around 1100m vert gain, over a long horizontal distance. Most take 8-10hrs to summit, 3-4hrs down.

It's only 150m higher than Aconcagua, but it's a full step higher really, much more of a true 7000m peak than Aco is, if that helps. Aco is not really a 7000m peak climb at all, compared to other 7000m peaks. Lenin is easy, and fixed, but it's a real big-mountain climb.

I went mainly to a) finally stand on an Asian summit over 7000m, and b) experience first-hand the area and the leftover system from Soviet times, which it still is, mostly. So in that sense it was a good and successful expedition.

But a warning...

Spantik you say. Well continuing the theme of New South Welshmen and their experience of 7,000 m peaks in August of this year..I put together some dispatches and pics.

http://www.summitpost.org/snow-falling-on-sirdars/811056

Damien and Radson, thanks for the beta. Peak Lenin seems to be much more affordable than Spantik, based on the listed rates from Ak-Sai for Peak Lenin and from FTA for Spantik, so that is definitely a factor. And while I personally would love to visit Pakistan, the worry it would cause my parents, friends, work, etc. just isn't worth it right now.

Damien, would you be willing to share the itinerary you followed and the gear/food you used? I'd like to compare your trip duration with the programs offered by Ak-Sai and others to see whether their itineraries are sufficiently adequate for summit success.

Guys, thanks again for the info.

If ~ 6960 meters is close enough look at Aconcagua. A "walk-up" on the normal route.

Great advice on Pik Lenin Damien, thanks! Ak Sai sounds like a good option. I assume you used white gas for C2 and C3, right? Guess iso butan is not frequently found on the market in Osh?

Hi Andre - actually we used gas canisters, bought at C1 for about 8euros each! I think we only used about four in total? Our stove was a MSR Reactor. There is a gear store (Red Fox) in Bishkek, that sells some canisters maybe, but it's much better to get them at C1

mjp20k - I only kept a diary up to summit day, so the last days of this itinerary are a bit hazy in my memory:

1 Bishkek-Osh flight, lunch in Osh, 6hr van ride to Achik Tash BC (3600m)
2 Rest and sort food in BC
3 Rest and short hike near BC
4 3.5hr hike to C1/ABC (4400m) with 12kg load, lunch there, return 3hrs
5 Rest BC
6 Rest BC - bad weather, snow down to 4000m
7 3.5hr hike to C1 with daypack only, 19kg load on horse comes after (19kg x 2euro = 38euro)
8 Rest C1
9 Rest C1
10 Rest C1, bad weather
11 Rest C1, bad weather
12 Rest C1, bad weather
13 Wake 0200, depart 0300, 2hrs across moraine, 3hrs up glacier, reach near C2 in 5.5hrs from C1 and deposit load
14 Rest C1
15 Wake 0300, depart 0345, reach C2 (5300m) in 5hrs
16 Rest C2, big avalanche (pics above) at 0830 rips down onto track near camp
17 Rest C2, bad weather
18 Late start, poor weather, reach C3 (6080m) in 4hr40
19 Rest C3, weather mostly bad
20 Wake 0400, depart 0500, very cold and windy, reach summit (7135m) at 1400, after 9rhs (incl. one 30min break), return to C3 in 3hrs
21 Late start, C3 to C2 in around easy 3hrs
22 C2 to C1 in a few hours
23 C1 - BC
24 BC - Osh, 6hrs in van
25 Osh - Bishkek flight
25 - 28 Bishkek, beer, fights with taxi drivers, nightclubs, sleep, eat, beer, pizza, lose partner in brothel, trouble with police, beer, go home...


Gear was:
- light shell jacket and pants (First Ascent BC200 jacket, Rab Neoshell pants)
- thin synth top, merino zip neck exped-weight top, thin merino bottoms for baselayer
- light fleece pants and light fleece pullover as midlayer on summit day only
- Patagonia DAS parka for summit day morning and hanging around camp
- sleeping bag rated -30C but it probably never got below -15C (but summit morning was very cold in the wind and dark)
- Thermarest Prolite 3 pad, orange Z-rest foam mat
- Macpac Ascent 70l pack, GoLite Ion day/summit pack
- Smartwool exped socks in LaSportiva Spantik boots
- BD Verglas gloves (just warm enough, but I don't get cold hands), mitts would not be overkill for summit day
- OR windstopper balaclava, OR Powerstretch hat, Julbo Explorer sunglasses
- Suunto Core watch, Garmin eTrex30 GPS (good for route across moraine to glacier in dark)
- Grivel EvoTech 66cm axe, Petzl Vasak crampons, BD trekking poles

Pick a peak that excites you the most. One that will make you WANT to push for and work towards. How fun is it getting up ANY random 7000m hill that you can care less about, purely based on the fact that it is easier than others?

Vitaliy M. wrote:Pick a peak that excites you the most. One that will make you WANT to push for and work towards. How fun is it getting up ANY random 7000m hill that you can care less about, purely based on the fact that it is easier than others?

Maybe the idea of getting to the top of a 7000m peak in the most efficient way is what excites him the most? In theory what you say is fine, I have felt the same, but in reality a person can train hard, get good, push hard and do all the work and not get to the top of a succession of big peaks. There are many mountain variables that undermine our puny human abilities and ambitions. After a while, this gets old and priorities change. Life is short.

We can still get our technical fix on lower peaks and change focus for bigger peaks, or we can do remote, rarely climbed peaks for our own reasons, then next year do a popular peak with friends for a different experience. Only doing one thing, one way, is dumb and boring.

He's nearly 30 years older than you Vitaly, so his perspective is different. Advice should be adjusted accordingly, otherwise it is more about you than him.

Damien Gildea wrote:

Vitaliy M. wrote:Pick a peak that excites you the most. One that will make you WANT to push for and work towards. How fun is it getting up ANY random 7000m hill that you can care less about, purely based on the fact that it is easier than others?

Maybe the idea of getting to the top of a 7000m peak in the most efficient way is what excites him the most? In theory what you say is fine, I have felt the same, but in reality a person can train hard, get good, push hard and do all the work and not get to the top of a succession of big peaks. There are many mountain variables that undermine our puny human abilities and ambitions. After a while, this gets old and priorities change. Life is short.

We can still get our technical fix on lower peaks and change focus for bigger peaks, or we can do remote, rarely climbed peaks for our own reasons, then next year do a popular peak with friends for a different experience. Only doing one thing, one way, is dumb and boring.

He's nearly 30 years older than you Vitaly, so his perspective is different. Advice should be adjusted accordingly, otherwise it is more about you than him.

My advice is that it is important to be excited about the peak first- all the mentioned by the OP peaks are not too hard. If you are excited about one of them (whatever the peak is), there is more motivation/adventure/satisfaction. I think the OP should (it is 100% up to him, just a suggestion) try to look at what trips to different peak he proposed may offer (such as travel through country of former USSR or Tibet or w/e. How scenic the approach is. Availability of other land marks or unique spots he may want to see). Reputation/price of available guiding services. Many of these places have much more than just the mountain to experience. This way even if you don't summit, you will have fun and a successful trip. And if mountain is all you want, that's great too. Up to you. Has nothing to do with how old OP is, but has everything to do with what he wants out of his trip. Throwing out some other criteria he might want to look at, before making his decision.

why have you given up on 8,000m peaks? i think the price difference isn't that great. nothing you can't save in a year or two.

field touring and summit climb offer affordable basecamp service. however, their service might not be top notch. you can eat spam for a month or you can eat steak. you get what you pay for.

why have you given up on 8,000m peaks? i think the price difference isn't that great.

Cost may not be that big of a difference, but time is. It seems that you can do a 7000 meter peak in 4 weeks or less. 8000 meter peaks take at least a 6 week commitment.

Damien, thanks for the itinerary and gear information.

Damien and Vitaliy, thanks for the interaction regarding objectives. I'm 54, reside on the flat US East Coast, work a desk job that gives me about six weeks of vacation a year, and will not indefinitely have the energy to climb big peaks, so efficiency/logistical support/fixed camps/etc. all factor into the equation.

Kevin, I'll be honest, 8000 meter peaks are dangerous, even if weather/snow conditions/all other factors are perfect. And they require too much suffering to be called "fun" or a "vacation". I'm just not interested enough and I have so many other objectives. And an 8000 meter trip would blow my entire vacation allowance for a year. Not worth it.

Sunny Buns, thanks for the links.

Matt, a.k.a. mjp20k

muztagh ata