EXPEDITION · JULY 2024 · PAMIR MOUNTAINS, KYRGYZSTAN
Peak Lenin
7,134 metres. A whiteout, a team that pushed on — and the call to turn around.
7,134m
Peak Lenin · turned back
6,148m
Razdelnaya · summited
100%
Our team home safe
Snow leopards
Climbing for DSWF
Powered by Christopher Ward · Kit by Páramo · In aid of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
THE STORY
Turning back in a whiteout.
In July 2024 I set out to climb Peak Lenin — known locally as Ibn Sina — on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It is one of the fabled Snow Leopard peaks of the former Soviet Union, and I was climbing to raise funds for the species it is named after.
On the way up we summited Razdelnaya, 6,148 metres, the peak above the high camp where the final push to the summit begins. Then, high on the mountain, the weather changed fast. Within a short time we were caught in a whiteout.
We turned back. Another team decided to try for the summit. They were stranded on the summit approach and later rescued with severe frostbite injuries. Our whole team walked off the mountain safe.
[Tom — two or three sentences in your own words: what you saw, what the conversation was like when you made the call, and how it felt walking down.]
“The summit is optional. Coming home is not.”
[Placeholder line — replace with Tom’s own words]
THE MOUNTAIN
The “easiest” 7,000er isn’t.
Lenin is often sold as an accessible first 7,000-metre peak: no technical climbing on the normal route, and hundreds of attempts every summer. Its weather tells a different story.
<25%
of climbers reach the summit, according to the Slava Topol Project.
~15
serious incidents on the mountain each summer — around a third of them fatal.
1974
A storm near the summit claimed all eight members of a Soviet women’s team led by Elvira Shatayeva.
1990
An earthquake-triggered avalanche hit Camp 2, killing 43 climbers — the deadliest single accident in mountaineering history.
Sources: ExplorersWeb; Global Summit Guide; SummitPost.
FIELD JOURNAL
From the valleys to 6,148 metres
8 July · The approach
9 July · [Camp name, altitude]
12 July · 05:06 · Pre-dawn start
12 July · 05:57 · On the rope
14 July · Through the icefall
13 July · Christopher Ward, high on Lenin [confirm location]
17 July · [Caption — what was happening this evening?]
23 July · Back to green · the whole team safe
WHY I CLIMBED
For the snow leopard.
The expedition raised funds for the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation’s work protecting species like the snow leopard across Asia. Christopher Ward supported the climb and donates profits from its C60 Anthropocene watch to the same cause.
Today I’m Head of Trusts & Foundations at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya — and every expedition still carries a conservation purpose.
TAKE THE LESSON WITH YOU
Three ways to go further.
CLIMB WITH ME
Project Purpose: Kilimanjaro
5,895m, led with the same judgement. 2026 teams: 70% summit success, 100% home safe.
BOOK A TALK
When to turn back: risk and decisions at altitude
Keynotes and team sessions built on this expedition.
LISTEN
Mountain stories on Build Your Purpose
Kenton Cool, Rebecca Stephens, Jo Bradshaw and more.