[TJ] Tadschikistan Pamir Durchquerung 2024

[thedutch]

Day 26

We stayed in Vanj and didn’t do very much. Bit of laundry, changed some dollars at the local bank and got invited into the directors office.
Photos of the president are everywhere in Tajikistan and no matter where we went it seemed he was always looking down at us. It is completely impossible to miss him.
We had lunch at a local kebab restaurant then did a bit of internet and at the end of the day we had a meal in the garden of some local restaurant.




Vanj is doing it’s best to enter the world wide tourist market



The main street



He is everywhere



Did he play in a James Bond movie as the bad guy?



No shortage on sweets in Tajikistan

[thedutch]

Day 27

After a early morning garden breakfast in Vanj we left.. First to the police station to get registered… Funny because the police didn’t understand a thing of our visas.
It took a long time before we could finally leave. Then a two hour drive to Stargh in an ld jeep. In Stargh we had to register once again but this time with the national park guard. 30US dollars later we left.. Had lunch at a local homestay before starting the hike… Way to much food but delicious.
Left at 14:00 and started a serious climb up to 3000 meters where we camped for the night.. We saw bear prints and droppings…brrrrrrr


Invited in the local homestay for lunch



The start of the next stretch



A bit of bush whacking before we found the trail





Amazing view





Don’t be afraid just cross





Our camping spot for the night. The shepherds have already left the mountains as the summer is over

[berniehh]

Hi Bernd, es ist wohl in etwa so wie es Robtrek beschreibt. Theoretisch müsste es zwar auch möglich sein ohne Guide ein Permit zu bekommen aber alles ist so was von undurchsichtig das es gar nicht klar ist an wem mann sich überhaupt wenden soll um es zu bekommen. Dazu kommt das die Behörden gar nicht gewollt sind an Individualtrekker Permits aus zu stellen. So nach dem Motto wenn was passiert bin ich Schuld und verliere mein Job.

Ja das klingt alles sehr kompliziert und undurchsichtig. Da kann man eigentlich nur noch versuchen auszuloten ob es überhaupt Sinn macht das Permit zu beantragen oder gleich ohne Permit geht.
Daher würde ich gerne den Rat von Robtrek befolgen und Deinen Guide fragen, vielleicht kann er mir ja genauere Auskunft darüber erteilen. Falls Du seine e-mail Adresse hast und Du sie mir per PN schicken würdest, wäre schön.

Das Jahr 2025 ist bei mir eh schon verplant, aber für 2026 wäre Tadschikistan eine wirklich coole Option für mich, da die Gegend so spektakulär aussieht und ich noch nie dort war.

[thedutch]

Day 28

Nice start because it wasn’t cold. It wasn’t going to be an easy day because it was a steep going up all day. Claire didn’t feel very good so we chose one of the last „proper“ campsites before the pass and it’s glaciers and moraines. We spent a lovely afternoon relaxing and enjoying the views.
Camp was at roughly 3900 meters.


Just a very nice view looking backward





Our camping spot



A view in the direction we will be heading tomorrow



Room with a view



What a great place and great western to hang out for the rest of the day

[thedutch]

Day 29

We started the day with a short kind of gentle going up but that didn’t take long. Next was the scramble up the moraine and after that came the glacier itself. A short rest before the last steep bit and then we tackled the pass. Views were great in both directions. The way we were heading down was a hugh uglacier bowl. We strapped on our crampons and of we went. It was a pretty long glacier walk with a lot of crevasses that we had to jump over. Finding our way through this maze of crevasses was not always easy and some jumps could have gone wrong.
At the end of the glacier we descended into a valley where we set up camp at 3900 meters. Promised to be another cold night.


The start was still easy and the going up gentle


Checking out the glacier. Going up left, right or the mid section or maybe the moraine




In the end one of us took the left side glacier route and rest of the team the lefy side of the moraine




What a view




Hitting the glacier


Finally on the glacier


The last steps before reaching the Starghi pass




The view ahead of us from the top of the pass



Lunch break onto top of the pass with super weather


The first serious crevasse on our way down


The start of the decent


Using a rope on the steep part



Made it down the steep bit


Checking out hidden crevasses



What a place for a quick break







Looking back



Finally finished the glacier. The glacier in view coming down from a side valley



Amazing



What a view



Lost in time



Camping spot after a long day. Not the most comfortable but at least plain

[StefanBoe]

Really great!!🤩🤩🤩

What was the height of the pass? Were there difficulties because of thin air?

[thedutch]

Really great!!🤩🤩🤩

What was the height of the pass? Were there difficulties because of thin air?

Hi Stefan, height of Starghi pass 4473 meter. We didn’t have any problems with thin air. We were very acclamatized as our tour has been going on for a long time.
✋

[thedutch]

Day 30

I had a bit of a rough night because of stomach cramps and diarrhea.
Felt bit better in the morning, I left coffee and breakfast out.
It would be a rough hiking day. As soon as we left it started snowing lightly.
Almost like someone wanted to teach us that it is not always fun in the mountains.
On top of that we had to cross long and steep boulder fields that needed full concentration.
The last bit of the day gave us the full bite. Crossing the riverbank for a long time. Sometimes the scree/mudslides would reach directly into the river and all we could do was wade through the river itself. Doing this with my regular river crossing sandals was no option so I just jumped in with hiking boots.
How nice to have wet boots…..
At the end of the day we were happy to find a decent camping spot.
A campfire lightened our spirits and dried our wet shoes.


A view of the valley towards our campsite



Happy or waving for help😮



Boulder fields again and again



View ahead





No trail and steep slopes. More than once someone slipped



Ice bridge



No need to cross as we were to stay on the same side



Putting our shoes back on after wading through the river. Steep and slippery slopes and a lot of rock fall.. Not the best part of the trip.



The valley finally opens up and we search for a campsite





Drying our boots

[thedutch]

Day 31

What a day it would be. It started with the river crossing of the Sagdar glacier.
Although it was early morning the current was still very strong and we all got almost washed away. Not really the thing you want early in the morning.
After the crossing we walked through a lush plateau with very different views of the Pamir valleys. No human signs so it was nature pure. We saw lots of bear droppings and turned around stones by the bears (probably looking for food, maybe insects?) but no bears in sight.
The last bit of the day was a high up climb to avoid ravines and mudslides that ran down the slopes. Some very scary stretches that need to be crossed. There were parts that allowed no mistakes or bad luck. It could have meant death. All of us fell or slipped at some point but luckily we all made it.
In the end we all reached our river camp safely.. By the way the first bit of serious rain since we started the hike. As we stood next to our campfire our guide Nasrullo gave us the first hint that he did not want to continue and do the last stretch of the hike. It continued to rain and when we woke the next morning all the mountains were covered in snow.


Putting our shoes back on after crossing this river first thing in the morning



Doesn’t look easy.. The question that pops up is where to cross. And you have to cross because there is no way back



Looking up the Sagadar side valley



Looking back from where we came yesterday



If we would have crossed the snow bridge we would have had to cross this strech..Basically this was one of the problems in the valley all the time. Dangerous crossing that we had to do as there was no way back



But there were also the joy of landscape this beautiful





Wide meadows with lots of bear droppings but no 🐻 to be seen



Looking up a side valley that eventually leads up to Shirgovad pass



Just beautiful…





Over and over again we had to cross slopes like this



Views like this is why we do it





That must have been a big boy





Until this point we thought it was hard… But crossing slopes like this was the hard part and did not allow any mistakes



Where to cross ?





We finally made it after a long day with lots of bruises a d scratches.
Tomorrow we have to cross the biggest river so far