Pobeda Peak (7,439m), also known as Jengish Chokusu or Victory Peak, is the highest mountain in the Tien Shan range. Located on the Kyrgyzstan-China border, it is the northernmost and coldest 7,000’er. Its climbing history is peppered with significant achievements but also major tragedies.
Though a popular climb, Pobeda is the most difficult of the five Snow Leopard peaks (the five mountains in the former Soviet Union above 7,000m). Pobeda’s climbing routes are very long, with huge chunks above 7,000m, making rescues almost impossible. We recount some of the mountain’s tragic climbs.
The 1938 attempt
A Soviet team led by August Letavet and featuring Leonid Gutman, Evgeny Ivanov, and Aleksandr Sidorenko made the first recorded attempt on Pobeda. In September 1938, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Komsomol (the Communist Youth Movement), they climbed from the Zvyozdochka Glacier on the northern side.
On September 19, they ascended the Kokshaltau Ridge, close to the eastern shoulder of Pobeda, and measured their highest point at 6,930m. They were 500m too low, and still between three and five kilometers from Pobeda’s true summit.
Climbers on the Zvyozdochka Glacier during one of the early expeditions to the region. In the background, Chapaev Peak and Khan Tengri. Photo: Silkadv.com
“This is the top of the wall. Altitude 6,930m above sea level. To the southeast, fading, go mountain chains…Everything is closed, only one unknown peak with a sharp knife, breaking through the thick of the clouds, sticks out over this troubled sea. Apparently, this is a very high peak,” the team wrote in their report.
The 1943 survey
In 1943, a Soviet geographical expedition accurately measured Pobeda’s height at 7,439m, confirming it as the highest point in the Tien Shan, surpassing 7,010m Khan Tengri. The team renamed it Pik Pobedy (Victory Peak) to honor the Soviet victory at Stalingrad in World War II. Tomur, meaning iron in Uyghur, was recognized as the peak’s name on the Chinese side.
The survey established Pobeda as a major mountaineering objective.
The first confirmed ascent
A Soviet team led by renowned mountaineer Vitaly Abalakov made the first verified ascent of Pobeda on Aug. 29, 1956. The team of 11 climbers approached via the northern ridge (now called the Abalakov Route, Russian grade 5B). They placed a summit cairn slightly below the highest point on the eastern part of the summit ridge because of snowy conditions.
But before this first ascent, Pobeda had already seen a mountaineering tragedy.
View of the east and central section of Pobeda. Photo: Countryhighpoints.com
An early tragedy
In 1955, a Kazakh expedition of 12 climbers attempted Pobeda via the northern ridge. At 6,900m, 11 members perished in a violent snowstorm, marking one of the deadliest incidents in Pobeda’s history. Ural Usenov was the sole survivor. One year later, he was among the climbers who made the first ascent.
1959: Death during descent
In 1959, a team from Uzbekistan led by Vitaliy Ratzek attempted Pobeda. The team employed a strategy where less experienced climbers delivered supplies to higher camps before descending. At a camp at 7,100m, the supporting group became exhausted and was unable to descend independently. The stronger climbers, instead of summiting, attempted to assist their teammates. Three climbers — whose full names are not fully documented in available sources but are referred to as V. Kiselev, A. Gontsov, and I. Bogachev — died of exhaustion during the descent.
A rescue team of Kazakh and Georgian mountaineers mobilized, but the remote location, severe weather, and high altitude prevented timely intervention. The bodies could not be recovered.
The 1961 Georgian expedition tragedy
Vazha Pshavela Peak (6,918m) is a subsidiary summit on the western part of the Pobeda massif. It lies along the western ridge, one of the primary routes to access Pobeda’s main summit. Climbers ascending or descending via this route often traverse or pass near Vazha Pshavela Peak, especially when approaching from the South Inylchek Glacier.
In 1961, a Georgian party attempted a traverse of Pobeda’s western ridge to the summit. On August 23, they reached the western shoulder at 6,918m and named it Vazha Pshavela Peak. On August 26, the team summited Pobeda, but the descent was catastrophic.
After summiting, the team faced deteriorating weather. Darkness forced climbers Ilia Gabliani, David Medzmariashvili, and Konstantin Kuzmin to bivouac in subzero conditions without adequate shelter.
Ilia Gabliani died during their descent, likely from exhaustion or exposure. While rappelling from Vazha Pshavela Peak, Teimuraz Kuhianidze fell with the rope and died. David Medzmariashvili, attempting to traverse the slope to search for Kuhianidze, also fell to his death. Konstantin Kuzmin, alone and without belay, reached Dikiy Pass, where rescuers observed him through binoculars and provided aid.
A 1966 expedition attempted to recover Gabliani’s body but only reached Vazha Pshavela Peak, unable to locate or retrieve the corpse in hazardous conditions. The bodies of Ilia Gabliani, Teimuraz Kuhianidze, and David Medzmariashvili remain unrecovered.
Almost as many deaths as summits
By 1969, Pobeda’s death toll was nearly equal to the number of successful summits. However, that year, an Uzbek team led by V.A. Elchibekov successfully climbed the northern ridge, emphasizing improved camp placement (for example, Camp 4 at 6,600m) and better equipment to survive the harsh conditions. This expedition marked a shift, as most subsequent teams avoided major tragedies.
Pobeda. Photo: Albert Kovacs
Recent tragedies
However, recent events demonstrate that Pobeda remains one of the most dangerous peaks in the world.
In August 2021, three separate incidents occurred, resulting in the deaths of Mehri Jafari, Reza Adineh, and Valentin Mikhailov.
British-Iranian climber Mehri Jafari initially planned a solo climb as part of an uncompleted project that included Lenin Peak. However, after an unsuccessful solo trek from base camp to camp 1 (4,500m), she joined a group of Iranian climbers for the summit attempt. During the ascent, Jafari struggled to keep pace with the group, likely due to an arm injury and insufficient acclimatization.
On August 4, while descending alone from around 6,300m, Jafari took the wrong ridge, slipped, and fell toward the Diky Glacier. Hungarian climbers Albert Kovacs and Peter Vitez, who were 50–100m away, witnessed the fall.
A volunteer rescue team, including Alexander Stone, Albert Kovacs, and Peter Vitez, searched near Camp 3 and Camp 4 (6,400m), but recent icefalls and avalanches hindered their efforts. Jafari’s body was never found, likely buried under snow or ice.
Iranian climber Reza Adineh was part of a team with Mohammad Mirzaie, Mohammad Babazaden Anari, and Mohammad Nikbakht. Between Camps 4 (6,400m) and 5 (6,900m), Adineh, struggling to keep pace, disappeared. Drone searches failed to locate him.
In the same season, Russian climber Valentin Mikhailov died during a rescue attempt on the Abalakov Route. A group led by Nikolay Totmyanin summited but fell into a crevasse at around 6,900m during a traverse. Mikhailov, part of a Moscow-St. Petersburg rescue team, attempted to assist them. However, a ledge collapsed under him, likely weakened by prior stress from Totmyanin’s group, and he fell to his death. Rescuers could not recover his body because of unstable terrain, harsh weather, and avalanches.
Search operations ended by August 12, with authorities unable to retrieve the bodies of Mehri Jafari, Reza Adineh, or Valentin Mikhailov.
Pobeda, 2021. Kovacs and Vitez were at the orange circle when Mehri Jafari, orange line, took the wrong ridge and fell. Photo: Albert Kovacs
More deaths in 2023
In the summer of 2023, well-known Russian alpinist Dimitry Pavlenko, his wife Svetlana, and two clients went missing on the Abalakov Route. They didn’t summit, but reached 7,300m. Their tracker showed that they descended to 7,200m. However, at that point, one of the climbers’ trackers dropped suddenly to 6,580m. An avalanche may have swept them away.
The green circle marks the location of the tracker after its sudden drop to 5,710m on Pobeda in the summer of 2023, when Dimitry Pavlenko, his wife Svetlana, and two clients went missing. Photo: Mountain Ru
Summer 2025
On August 12, 47-year-old Russian climber Natalia Nagovitsyna, pursuing the Snow Leopard award (the five 7,000m peaks of the former Soviet Union), fell at the Black Rock section at around 7,150m while descending from the summit.
Nagovitsyna fractured her leg and was unable to move. Her climbing partner, Roman Mokrynsky, secured her in a tent with minimal supplies and then descended to South Inylchek Base Camp to seek urgent help.
On August 13, Italian Luca Sinigaglia and German Gunther Siegmund reached Nagovitsyna, delivering a sleeping bag, stove, and gas canister, but the exhausted climbers could not take her down. Sinigaglia and Siegmund spent the night in extreme conditions at 7,150m before descending. At approximately 6,900m, Sinigaglia collapsed in an ice cave, and he died on August 16, likely from cerebral edema and hypothermia. Also on August 16, a Russian helicopter crashed at 4,600m because of turbulence, and foot rescue teams only made it to 6,400m.
A drone confirmed Nagovitsyna was alive on August 19, but high winds and snow halted rescue efforts.
By August 25, the rescue was abandoned, and on August 27, a military drone with thermal imaging showed no signs of life in Nagovitsyna’s tent. Experts, including Alexander Yakovenko, deemed the situation hopeless because of the 3km ridge and extreme conditions.
A climber has never been rescued from such high altitude on Pobeda, and Russian experts estimated it would require a 30-strong team for any chance of success. The four-man rescue party that was available finally turned around from below 6,500m in bad weather. They were fortunate to return alive.
Nagovitsyna’s 2024 attempt
According to Russian sources, Nagovitsyna had attempted Pobeda in 2024, but her guide told her to descend because she was not prepared for the ascent. She only had Pobeda left to complete the Snow Leopard challenge. Nagovitsyna’s husband, Sergey, died on Khan Tengri in 2021.
Natalia Nagovitsyna. Photo: Izvestia
A hidden double fracture?
Russian media have suggested that Nagovitsyna may have hidden a double leg fracture sustained just two months before her 2025 Pobeda climb. Mountaineer Alexander Ischenko told Russian news site MSK1.Ru that Nagovitsyna suffered a double leg fracture from rockfall in May 2025 during a climb on 4,479m Teke-Tor in Kyrgyzstan’s Ala-Archa region. Ischenko says Nagovitsyna was evacuated by helicopter. Despite this severe injury, she joined the Pobeda expedition in August.
Ishchenko suggested that Natalia likely concealed the injury from her guides and expedition organizers to gain approval for the climb. “No responsible guide would allow someone with a double fracture from two months ago to attempt such a climb,” Ishchenko stated.
Ishchenko’s claim is echoed by Alexander Pyatnitsyn, Vice President of the Russian Mountaineering Federation, who told the TASS news agency that three guides had previously denied Natalia permission to climb because of inadequate preparation, yet she proceeded with an independent team. Meanwhile, Russian media outlet SHOT reported that Natalia’s second-class mountaineering rank fell short of the third-class rank required for Pobeda.
Pobeda Peak, center. Photo: Shutterstock
Other fatalities on Pobeda this month
Legendary Russian climber Nikolay Totmyanin died on August 11 at the age of 66. He fell ill while descending from Pobeda. He descended under his own power, but later died in hospital.
On August 12, Iranian climbers Maryam Pilehvari and Hassan Mashhadiaghalou — climbing independently without notifying their federation or South Inylchek Base Camp — perished after descending from Pobeda’s summit. The exact circumstances are unclear, but they could have succumbed to exhaustion, altitude sickness, or an accident. Drone searches failed to locate their bodies because of poor visibility, and no rescue attempts were successful. Their bodies remain unrecovered.
Long routes
The climbing route on Pobeda via the classic west ridge route is approximately 27km from South Inylchek Base Camp (4,000m) to the summit (7,439 m). This includes 15km to Camp 1 and a 12km summit ridge. Other routes, like the Abalakov, likely have similar lengths because of the shared summit ridge, though measurements for approaches vary. This lengthy summit ridge, combined with Pobeda’s massif structure, adds complexity to rescue operations. Injured climbers who cannot descend from above 6,800m by themselves have very low survival chances.
Around 80 climbers have died on Pobeda.
Looking down Pobeda’s slopes. A dangerous descent for inexperienced climbers. Photo: Albert Kovacs
