Caro North, Soledad de las Nieves, and Tatin Sanchez likely made the first ski descent of 5,000m Pogranichnik Peak, which is on the border of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Pogranichnik Peak lies in the Tien Shan mountains of Central Asia, one of the world’s great ranges. Pogranichnik means “border guard” in Russian and reflects its location on the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border. Strong winds, icy slopes, and challenging conditions for both climbing and skiing characterize this remote area.
The team also climbed Uzlovaya Peak, which is about 4,800m high and part of the same Borkoldoy Too subrange.
On the way up. Photo: Caro North
After summiting Uzlovaya Peak, the team followed a sharp ridge to the top of Pogranichnik.
Due to strong winds, most of the climb had no snow, so they used crampons on the bare ice. But De las Nieves had spotted a potential ski route down Pogranichnik’s north face. Sure enough, they found powder snow between large crevasses and skied down the whole way.
The new ski line from the summit of 5,000m Pogranichnik Peak. Photo: Caro North
There’s limited information about Pogranichnik Peak’s first climb. In the early 2000s, mountaineers explored the Borkoldoy Too area and summited some unclimbed peaks around 5,000m. Pogranichnik may have been climbed then, but no specific record confirms this.
Caro North is a North Face athlete from Switzerland. Her frequent partner is Soledad de las Nieves of Chile, and Tatin Sanchez is from Argentina.
