On July 29 a dramatic series of avalanches walked a group of four climbers on the 7010-meter Khan Tengri peak in the Tien Shan Mountains. Reports from the Kazinform News Agency and other Kazakh sources provide a detailed account of the painful incident.
The group included three climbers from Almaty, Kazakhstan—Boris Dedeshko, Pavel Blazhnov, and Marianna Petrova—along with Aleksey Smirnov from Moscow. While Dedeshko, Blazhnov, and Petrova managed to survive the ordeal, Smirnov tragically lost his life.
The climbers initially escaped the first avalanche, but their relief was short-lived. Later that day, a second, more devastating avalanche descended from the nearby Chapaev Peak, catching them off guard.
In a desperate bid for survival, Dedeshko, Blazhnov, and Petrova dove behind some rocks, which created an air pocket that kept them alive. Unfortunately, Smirnov was unable to reach the rocks in time and perished in the slide.
After the avalanche subsided the survivors used their radio to call for help. Four guides who were nearby and arrived within 40 minutes to rescue them, providing much-needed assistance and ensuring their safety.
According to the Kazakh source aikyn.kz the two avalanches occurred three hours apart on that fateful day and adding to the climbers’ challenges and highlighting the perilous nature of high-altitude mountaineering.
Trapped Under Wet Snow
According to Pavel Blazhnov, the second avalanche struck the group at 5,050 meters around 8:15 am, catching them off guard.
“We were saved by a rock formation,” Blazhnov recounted. “Our feet and chests were buried in wet snow. Although our heads and arms were free, we were immobilized. We tried to free ourselves, but it was futile. The wet snow quickly turned to ice, and our fingers started to freeze.”
As the minutes enraged by the climbers began to submit to the cold but remarkable, rescuers arrived just in time to save them.
Efforts to recapture Aleksey Smirnovs body were planned for a couple of days later. If all went according to plan, they would have accomplished this by now.
One of the survivors, Boris Dedeshko, is known for his partnership with the renowned mountaineer Denis Urubko. Together, they achieved the first alpine-style ascent of the southeast face of Cho Oyu in 2009.
Avalanches are a frequent and deadly occurrence on Khan Tengri. Twenty years ago, more than a dozen climbers perished when an avalanche struck the Pogrebetskiy route, the most popular path on the mountain.
